Odesa Fine Arts Museum

The museum is located in one of the oldest manors of Odesa, built at the beginning of the 19th century. The building is located in the heart of the city, in close proximity to the port and industrial facilities.

Author – Pixelated Realities (Odesa), laser scan – Natalia Moldavska
Partners – Odesa Fine Arts Museum, supported by the Aliph Foundation; Laser scanning with the support of Pixelated Realities NGO
Object name, scanning location – Pototski-Naryshkiny Palace, Odesa.
The date of the destruction – minor damage in July-August 2022
Scan date – from May to September 2022

In the middle of the summer of 2022, the city was systematically bombarded by kamikaze drones. A vintage glass ceiling lantern of one of the exhibition halls of the museum was destroyed due to the seismic waves from the explosions in the port. Currently, the entire permanent exhibition of the museum has been conserved and evacuated. The rooms are empty.

The museum was closed only twice in the history: during World War II and from February 24th 2022. Now the collection is locked in the basements with very limited chances of being seen and appreciated by the public or scholars.

Thanks to the support of Aliph Foundation in the spring of 2022 we’ve started a project of collection conservation and evacuation. One of its part was a small scale support for the 3D scanning of the facade and interiors of the Palace.

Start of the building restoration was planned for the summer of 2022, but never had the chance to start. The materials about the building were scarce, and the documentation was yet to be developed for the restoration project. One of its elements was to produce a detailed 3D scanning and use it for BIM project during conservation activities and research.

Starting from May and Until September 2022 Pixelated Realities PO finished a ground photogrammetry and laser survey and collected data for 3D reconstruction. The 3D model lacks its roof, as it was not surveyed due to martial law it is prohibited to use drones in the city. The team collected over 30000 high resolution photos. The model can be viewed on site. Laser scanning was an investment from the PO to add precise measurements to the scan. For 2023 it is planned to use model for a metamuseum, enabling online exhibitions of digitized collection.