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Belle Camp Blog
 

Seeing With New Eyes

By

Published on September 30, 2024

By Todd Lasseigne
Executive Director

A Major Step Forward: 3D Scanning of Bellingrath Home

Thanks to a recent grant from the Alabama Historical Commission, Bellingrath Gardens & Home has undertaken a project that I have long desired to see done. This funding has allowed us to produce a full 3D scan of all interiors and the exterior of the Bellingrath Home. Better yet, it is now completed!

Why Is This Project Important?

You might ask, why is this project important to BGH? After all, we already have extensive photos of the Home, both outside and inside. And yet, I can say that we don’t have enough information on how the Home was built and how it exists today from an architectural and structural standpoint.

Going all the way back to the architectural design for the Home done by George B. Rogers in the 1930s to the present day, what we have at BGH, in terms of plans and designs, is only:
a) the physicality of the Home itself, and
b) a small blueprint drawing of the Home.

Mr. Rogers’ designs no longer exist, and the blueprint drawing represents only a small portion of the information needed to understand the Bellingrath Home. Therefore, we have no ability to observe in detail and study how the Home is holding up over time and what measures we should be taking to ensure its preservation.

What Is 3D Scanning?

If you’re not familiar with 3D scanning technology, think of it as a document scanner combined with a camera. When we take photographs using a camera, we measure color and light data of a given space, and that data is saved in a file. A 3D scan does the same thing, but it also measures distances between objects, as seen from the reference point of the scan’s angle.

In other words, a 3D scan represents a three-dimensional model of a given space. This model can be studied by architects, engineers, and others to assess the conditions that existed at the time of the scan so that plans to remediate minor damage or address structural concerns can be produced.

Why Worry About the Bellingrath Home Now?

You might say, “Todd, why do we need to worry about this? After all, the Bellingrath Home is ‘only’ 89 years old! I know of houses that are 200 years old, and they’re in great shape!”

To this, I might say:

  • Has that 200-year-old house been hit by multiple hurricanes over the decades?
  • Does that house have thousands of visitors tour it every year?
  • Has that house benefited from restoration work over its lifetime?
  • Does that house have a full set of architectural drawings that can be consulted to ascertain why a given wall is sagging, or a roof is leaking, or a steel lintel is rusting, etc.?

Looking to the Future: Preserving the Home

As many of you probably also have, I grew up watching episodes of This Old House with Bob Vila on PBS. Although I do not consider myself an expert in anything related to home repairs, I do know that older homes are ignored at your peril.

As Executive Director of Bellingrath Gardens and Home, you can rest assured that the future of the Bellingrath Home is being taken seriously. We will do our best to ensure that it lasts for many decades longer into the future, come rain or shine, calm winds or hurricanes.

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