CIPA is an International Scientific Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites. Founded in 1968, it is one of the oldest. The CIPA was established jointly with the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing to facilitate the transfer of technology from the measurement sciences into the heritage documentation and recording disciplines. The acronym originally stood for the Comité International de Photogrammétrie Architecturale (English: International Committee on Architectural Photogrammetry), but was changed to CIPA Heritage Documentation in recognition of the full scope of its activities.
Aims and functions of CIPA 'CIPA Heritage Documentation' is now an organisation that endeavours to transfer technology from the measurement and visualisation sciences to the disciplines of cultural heritage recording, conservation and documentation. It acts as a bridge between the producers of heritage documentation, and the users of this information. Its mission is to encourage the development of principles and practices for the recording, documentation and information management for all aspects of cultural heritage; and to support and encourage the development of specialised tools and techniques in support of these activities.
Architectural photogrammetry
The technique of photogrammetry is most often associated with preparing maps from aerial photography. However, through the second half of the C20, applications in ‘close range’ or ‘terrestrial’ photogrammetry grew. Architectural applications were one of the most successful areas to use the technique. While the geometrical principles are the same, the actual application is quite different. It is from this background that CIPA was established and grew. The basic principle of classical photogrammetry is that photographs with a ‘metric’ camera have to be taken in stereopairs, a number of stereopairs usually being needed to photograph a building or structure. A complex device know as a photogrammetric plotter is then needed to produce a drawing of the facade. This process is not automatic in any way, a skilled ‘operator’ has to work the machine to produce the drawing. In recent years however, there have been many advances in the equipment and in the outputs of the process, largely involving computerisation of the processes.
History CIPA was formed as a result of a resolution of the symposium on The Application of Photogrammetry to Historical Monuments organised by ICOMOS and held at Saint-Mandé France in July 1968. The meeting also endorsed the proposal that the Committee be set up in conjunction with the then International Society for Photogrammetry (now ISPRS). The first meeting of CIPA was held in Paris, France, on 18th and 19th June 1970.
The composition of the Committee was fixed at the time of its foundation, with the agreement that the Committee should have eight members, four from ICOMOS and four from the then ISP, with Ing. Gen. Maurice Carbonnell (France) as President from the inception of the Committee. In addition, the Director of ICCROM in Rome was included as an ex officio member. In the early years, the aim of the Committee was solely to promote the technique of photogrammetry as a method of recording historic buildings and structures. However, as time went on it became clear that this was too restrictive and that there was a need for a broader remit for CIPA to encompass the whole of the field of recording and presentation of data for the historic environment. The Committee was moving in this way and in 2001 this was formally endorsed by the renaming of the Committee to ‘CIPA Heritage Documentation’, decided at the Potsdam Executive Board meeting held in Potsdam after the 17th International Symposium. During the course of time, the statutes of CIPA have been modified, for example by increasing the Committee membership and creating Regular Members. In 2019, CIPA celebrated its 50th Anniversary and marked the occasion with a publication, CIPA - Heritage Documentation 50 Years: Looking Backwards.
Specialisations of CIPA CIPA covers a wide range of techniques and areas, far wider than the original aim of photogrammetry applied to recording standing buildings. These are encompassed in three Permanent Commissions: One. Application of Recording, Documentation and Information Management for Cultural Heritage Two. Technologies for Cultural Heritage Geometric Documentation Three. Education and Dissemination Specific examples of areas of interest are:
field surveying laser scanning building surveying site documentation monument conservation landscape modelling archaeological exploration data base systems underwater recording information systems 3d modelling close-range photogrammetry analysis of old photographs multimedia and virtual reality displays petroglyph and pictograph documentation
Activities CIPA holds an International Symposium every 2 years, either in conjunction with a major conference of the two parent organisations or as a special CIPA event. Often, accompanying these Symposia are specialist workshops dealing with specific topics. The proceedings of the Symposia are also published, either as a journal or on CD-ROM, and some papers are available online from the web site. It also maintains a discussion list, where the experts provide advice and information on problems and solutions.
The CIPA ‘RecorDIM’ initiative RecorDIM, standing for 'Recording, Documentation and Information Management', was a major activity in which CIPA participated from 2001 through to the completion of several publications in 2007. The programme followed proposals by Robin Letellier (1944 - 2007), then Vice President of CIPA, concerning an initiative developed by him in the previous five years, leading to the ‘CIPA 5-Year Outreach Workshops’. Three outreach workshops took place in Austria 1996, Sweden 1997 and Brazil 1999. Those meetings brought CIPA to reflect on its activities, to question its operations, and to work towards restructuring itself with a new framework of activities. In particular, the realisation that simple documentation in itself was not enough – it had to be tailored and brought to the many professionals involved in heritage management. The initiative in turn led to the involvement of the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) through François LeBlanc, their Head of Field Projects. This led to the publication of five documents, the most important being Recording, Documentation and Information Management for the Conservation of Heritage Places: Guiding Principles Vol I and Illustrated Examples Vol II.
Membership and participation In the early years of CIPA it was run by a Committee composed of equally numbers of ISPRS and ICOMOS representatives, supported by a series of National Delegates. The Statutes were revised in 2019, and approved by CIPA, ICOMOS and ISPRS. The membership categories comprise the Executive Committee, within which there is an Executive Bureau, then Regular Members, Expert Members, Honorary Members and Honorary Presidents and Sustaining Members. Individual Membership of CIPA is open to all ICOMOS members and/or individuals belonging to ISPRS. There are more than 1,000 members representing over 100 countries.
References
External links Official website