Indexing System for Recognizing Traditional Timber-Framed Structures: Fid-Bau Portal

Indexing System for Recognizing Traditional Timber-Framed Structures

Debailleux, Laurent

Wood has been used from the earliest times worldwide as a structural material, and, in rural areas in particular, many timber buildings are still standing. However, this rich heritage is rarely fully protected and significant alterations to buildings made by successive owners often diminish the building’s authenticity. In addition, if, for example, cottage gables are examined, it is surprising to note the variety of member alignments that frequently differ from one region to another. Hence, in a survey, it is often difficult to identify a specific typology or to arrive at any conclusions regarding the original structure. An innovative indexing system for traditional wooden framed structures is hereby proposed that facilitates the identification of similarities and that will be of use to architects, archaeologists and historians in their building classifications. This semi-automatic approach is based on the calculation of statistical descriptors between pairs of pictures. The fractal dimension, the Hausdorff distance and the geometrical ratio are evaluated and then combined as a single original parameter, facilitating comparison of various structures, notwithstanding any modifications which may have been made.