Projects Vieille ville d’AlUla

Modélisation 3D haute densité de la vieille ville d’AlUla

2020 – 2021

Carried out in 2020, during the Covid pandemic, this project presented several challenges. In addition to logistical complications and difficult accessibility, the feasibility of a hybrid survey at such scale required great confidence in Geokali’s acquisition method. Despite recruitment difficulties, equipment shortages, tight deadlines and quarantine risks, the project was successfully completed.

Client

Royal Commission for AlUla

Architect

HCC - Heritage Conservation Consulting, Mahmoud Bendakir

On behalf of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), architect Mahmoud Bendakir — a specialist in the restoration of mud brick masonry structures — entrusted Geokali with the 3D digitisation of all buildings in AlUla’s Old Town, located in north-western Saudi Arabia.

The scope of work included exterior façades, street corridors and house interiors within a 3,000 m² pilot zone chosen for its characteristic typology. Geokali also performed quality control on a mobile laser-scanning (SLAM) survey carried out by the British firm Oxford Archaeology North.

The total survey area covered 7 hectares. Six weeks of acquisition, carried out by two operators, produced a complete survey with a resolution of 3 mm/px and a verified geometric accuracy better than 1 cm.

The history of AlUla’s Old Town remains little documented, yet it lies in a region of exceptional heritage. Located about thirty kilometres from Mada’in Saleh — the UNESCO-listed Nabataean site — the oasis once formed part of the ancient kingdom of Dadan, over two millennia ago. The town was vacated by royal decree in the 1980s, and since then it had only undergone limited studies and occasional restoration work.

decor-interieur-d-une-maison-des-quartiers-sud-de-la-vielle-ville-d-alula

Interior decoration of a house in the southern quarters of AlUla’s Old Town

The 3D survey served as a crucial reference for documenting the site before archaeological excavations and restoration began. It now stands as a lasting scientific record of the town’s appearance before its restoration and transformation to welcome visitors.