Reflections on the digital reconstruction of the portico and garden pavilion of the Rubens House

This article presents a digital, geometrical analysis of the relative positioning of the portico and garden pavilion of the Rubens house in Antwerp (Belgium) in regard to the main entrance of the house. While this is not a fully accurate historical reconstruction, the creation of a three-­‐dimensional model allowed assessing certain geometrical properties of the site and how they can be related back to the depiction of the architecture into the iconography of Rubens. Based on a combination of available blueprints from fairly recent site measurements and photographic imagery taken on site, we were able to derive a reasonably accurate 3D reconstruction in a limited timeframe, sufficient for 2D and 3D visualization and a geometrical analysis of the optical effects that are apparent in the site. In addition, the article reflects on the applied software-­‐based methodology, including the benefits and pitfalls of Building Information Modeling (BIM), which is increasingly being used for the modeling and management of digital building models worldwide, but is not oriented towards historical models. However, the use of BIM allowed maintaining a consistent link between 2D and 3D graphics, which is not available with other CAD-­‐based 3D modeling or 2D drafting techniques.status: publishe