GUARDA’S REPRESENTATION LABORATORY (100-2010): RESEARCHING, INTERPRETING, MODELING AND VISUALIZING A CITY’S GROWTH

Abstract

This article focuses on the construction of the city of Guarda between the years of 100 and 2010, assessing the importance of computer technology as a tool for historical research. In urban research, computer technology can be a tool with potential for a more democratic opening for research findings. Although three-dimensional models and other visual means can help the historian in his interpretation process, nowadays, he must also be concerned with the means of communication that help to expand the dissemination of his work. By explaining the process of research, interpretation, modelling and visualization of Guarda’s growth, we will introduce the steps and the difficulties found in the project of building a representation laboratory of Guarda. As a tool for historians, architects and citizens that interpret Guarda’s growth and critically design its future, the laboratory is a first step for providing citizens and researchers the comprehension of Guarda’s growth through democratic access tools.