Conservators scan Ukraine’s wooden churches to help preserve them
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, people have been evacuating and safeguarding Ukrainian works of art and museum pieces. Now, a team of conservators and students are also creating permanent, 3D records of buildings and objects that can’t be moved in case they are damaged or destroyed.
In a high-ceilinged lab room at the Lviv Polytechnic National University in western Ukraine, a high-tech Leica laser scanner whirred to life. It spun on a tripod as it mapped its surroundings.
“We use it on our trips 3D-scanning Ukrainian wooden churches — 17th and 18th centuries,” said Illia Lytvynchuk, an assistant in the department of architecture and conservation, who demonstrated the tool.
Illia Lytvynchuk, an assistant in the department of architecture and conservation, demonstrates how to use the Leica laser scanner he and his team are using to create architectural records of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainians have been evacuating and safeguarding works of art and museum pieces. But among these objects of vital cultural importance are many buildings and objects that can’t be moved. So, a team of conservators and students are working to scan Ukraine’s unique wooden churches, creating permanent, 3D records of its cultural heritage, in case they’re ever damaged or destroyed.
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