Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1
Title
Riesentor and its Layered Character
Author(s)
Nikola Beim
Affiliation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.65686/XLHS4819
Keywords
Digital Preservation, Technology, Palimpsest
PP
151-157
How to Cite
Beim, Nikola. “Riesentor and its Layered Character.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 151–157. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.
Abstract
The Riesentor, the west portal of St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, compresses eight centuries of additions, repairs, and ideological debates. Instead of isolating a single authentic moment, this paper proposes a digital palimpsest methodology that co-registers archival drawings, historic photographs, laser-scan point clouds, and photogrammetry models into a single, time-stamped spatial model. Every documented phase, such as Romanesque form, Gothic refacing, Baroque polychromy, post-war reconstruction, and contemporary digitization, is stored as an independent layer. Viewers can slide through centuries or juxtapose moments side by side, replacing the static “before-and-after” narrative with a four-dimensional continuum. This layered visualization reframes preservation practice by shifting decision-making from material excision or replacement to data-rich simulation that tests minimally invasive scenarios before any change is made. The digital palimpsest thus reorients preservation methodology by positioning the portal as an unfinished artwork that future scholars and experts can extend rather than redo. By demonstrating how the digital domain can preserve and even amplify the monument’s accumulated meanings while guiding any upcoming interventions, the project offers a transferable workflow for other cases that prioritize narrative continuity and the evolution of built structures over time.
Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai
Publisher
STH Press, Firenze
ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263
Year
2026
Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.