🚁 The future of restoration: drones in the service of architecture
How do you imagine the restoration of historical buildings? Surely the masonry of baked bricks and pedantic monograms of stucco are similar to what was on the building before.
Restoration helps strengthen the structure and recreate its original appearance, but this requires experienced specialists and funds for high-quality materials. Otherwise, the place ceases to resemble itself. Wooden windows and doors are replaced with plastic ones, and colored bricks with cheaper white ones. In the worst case, we end up with cracks and a destroyed foundation.
But what if you do not interfere with the natural course of life and restore its former greatness for just a few moments? With the help of drones, Cyberdrone specialists stop time and dress the ruins in futuristic architectural clothes. Light-emitting drones are restoring historical structures brick by brick right before the eyes of an admiring public.
Just imagine, you came on an excursion in the evening to look at the ruins, and here hundreds of colorful drones slowly rise into the night sky. The invisible wings of the robotic swarm send you back in time. Let's look at the shapes of which historical buildings the Cyberdrone architects have already managed to recreate.
Whitby Abbey, England
The monastery was built at the end of the 7th century on the site of religious buildings destroyed by Danish invaders.
It stood intact until 1540, when anti-Catholic chaos began. And then shells from German ships during the First World War left only ruins of the abbey.
The remains of the building, left on a hill, served as a landmark for sailors for a long time. The monastery was one of the places that inspired Bram Stoker to create the story of Dracula.
Ancient Theatre, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Presumably, the theater was built at the end of the 1st – beginning of the 2nd centuries. It was discovered during excavations in the 70s of the last century. The theater seats up to 7,000 spectators and is still used for its intended purpose today.
Colosseum, Rome, Italy
The colossal amphitheater began to be built in 72. The arena hosted brutal entertainment events, such as gladiator fights and animal persecution. The structure was damaged by fire, several earthquakes, and was partially stolen for building materials. In the mid-18th century, the Colosseum came under the care of the Catholic Church. Now it is under protection and is considered a symbol of Rome.
Ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey
There are many ancient cities with huge ports scattered throughout Turkey, whose history goes back thousands of years. Most of the structures were damaged due to strong earthquakes. Some tourists have already explored. Others are still in the process of being excavated, but are gradually opening up to the public.
Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia or Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
Construction of the basilica began in 1882. But due to a lack of funding other than donations, construction is progressing slowly. Locals joke that if the cathedral is ever completed, the world will end.
For reference:
Cyberdrone is an international commercial startup whose main product is a drone light show. The office is based in Dubai, but performances take place all over the world. The company’s specialists develop all the mechanics, electronics, on-board and ground software themselves.
Oman was inspired to work with historical buildings by Notre-Dame de Paris, which was damaged by fire in 2019.