From the point cloud to knowledge. Geometry, metrics and construction of the cloister of the Cathedral of Tarragona

The availability of dense point clouds for the assessment of ancient buildings has become reality in recent decades. This continuous and detailed information facilitates an analysis of cultural heritage as it had not been possible to carry out previously. Thus, it is possible to study their shape and metrics, giving a new interpretative analysis and set, for example, new hypothesis of their constructive evolution. In this sense, the research aims to apply formal analysis methods based on point clouds in the case of the cloister of the Cathedral of Tarragona, due to its unique characteristics and the existing documentary void on its construction history. It is a monumental enclosure characterised by an irregular plan and various apparent constructive inconsistencies that are due to different phases of execution. From its metric and formal analysis, various hypotheses of its constructive evolution are raised.