Moscow students virtually renovated the Central Baths

You can even walk around the digital model in VR glasses

The project for the reconstruction of the Central Baths in the Theater passage of Moscow using digital technologies was developed by students of the Moscow Polytechnic University.

The building of the Central Baths, which in the old days was visited by rich industrialists and bankers, is an object of cultural heritage, an architectural monument of the late 19th century. The complex functioned from 1889 to 1990. A fire that happened here in 1993 destroyed many of the interiors, some of which are still being reconstructed.

The students of the Faculty of Urban Studies and Urban Economy of the Polytechnic University decided to help the restorers. They first digitized the damaged interiors and façades of the Central Baths by measuring them using laser scanning. A three-dimensional model was built from many points created by a laser. Then, with the help of 3D modeling, young scientists created the so-called BIM model of the building. This is a digital copy of the building, which contains all the design and interior elements.

However, the developers of the “double” of the Central Baths did not stop there, but additionally “breathed” life into the model, or rather, interactive functions. For example, they introduced informative banners into the 3D space and even added the function of natural light to the program at different times of the day. All this is activated when a user or, for example, a customer for the restoration of baths, wants to walk around the virtual model in the developed VR glasses.