A combination of 3D model and panoramic photography for a 3D isovist tool

The identification of the elements within space that can be perceived by an observer is achieved by the isovist tool which can be developed in a planimetric vision. What is lacking is the possibility of identifying the elements in three-dimensional form. Recent studies were aimed at extending isovist to space in different ways. In our study, the potential of the 360-degree panoramic photography technique was exploited to obtain a three-dimensional visualisation. We carried out research on an interior architectural space which was surveyed and reconstructed virtually. It was decided to explore the Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art (Genoa, Italy) designed (1948-1971) by Mario Labò because of its volumetric simplicity contradicted by an articulated cyclical path which is difficult to identify. The combination of panoramic photography and virtual parametric model led to preparation of a tool (PanoProj) useful for simulating a 3D isovist, which considers objective data (the visible portion of the space from a single viewpoint) and which offers the possibility of making perceptual considerations through dynamic simulation in a virtual model environment. Two different views were compared in sequence along the path, and different tools were also used such as a vertical 2D isovist and a graph. It was found that the spatial riddle of the Chiossone Museum could be explained in a more effective way using an integration of analysis, trying to identify those qualities that give visitors the pleasure of discovering a complex space that gradually reveals itself while being explored.