Monastery Kamp

A journey through time

In a joint project of the Anhalt and Rhine-Waal Universities of Applied Sciences, students of different courses of study of the Faculty of Communication and Environment in Kamp-Lintfort, under the direction of Dr Frank Diessenbacher and Prof Dr Frank Zimmer, resurrected the famous and first Cistercian monastery in its eventful history in the computer. Within only a few weeks it worked out that the monastery could be shown how it looked like when it reached its zenith during the baroque era. The involved parties rummaged in archives, pored over old maps, conducted interviews and also filmed and took photographs on the ground and from the air for it. They used 3ds Max for 3D reconstruction, software which is also employed for the creation of modern cinema films. The computing processes that were necessary – cost a lot of time – and that although up to 20 machines were running at full speed simultaneously.

IThe virtual reconstruction was presented in the "Næxus" in the Lohnhalle of the RAG West Mine (Ruhrkohle Aktiengesellschaft: Coal producing Public Limited Corporationin) direct proximity to the University in July 2011. Næxus is the prototype of a mobile "Virtual Reality"-System, a space of illusion which was developed within the scope of a Master Thesis (Supervision: Prof Dr Claus Diessenbacher) in the special field of Architecture, Facility Management and Geographic Information of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and allows to assess and visualise architectures in real time. In an accessible construction made from wood with a diameter of six metres and a projection screen allowing 240 degree bends in front of the eyes of the observer and which is illuminated by a total of four projectors, you do not only look at – like on television - one single point but vision also catches things happening in the corner of the eye.

(Photograph: Ralf Darius)

And the result is outstanding: Here are space and time fused together, history becomes clear and understandable.

For the students different points were of importance why they took part in the project. Some of them considered it to be an enrichment of their skills, the others "are just having fun". However, to also present the University was important to many. "It is a good opportunity to get more closely together the town and the University", said Rebecca Schneider, a student of the University and she immediately added: "That is how the citizens can see what we are doing here."

The students are currently working on printing on DVD the virtual images and scenes and also the interviews with Father Dr Georg Geisbauer who has been living in the monastery for almost 40 years. The final product will not be for sale. "The DVD is a kind of business card for us because in the next step, we want to have virtually developed the Mine Kamp-Lintfort", says Professor Dr Ingeborg Schramm-Woelk, Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Environment. "That will be a big project on Kamp-Lintfort presenting the history of the town in a vivid way. Therewith we want to present the Kamp-Lintfort University of Applied Sciences with something special!"

A sincere thank you to:

Martin Conrad, Town of Kamp-Lintfort
Frey Dießenbacher, Pilot, Aerial photographs
Prof. Dr. Claus Dießenbacher, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
Pater Dr. Georg Geisbauer (O. Carm.), Order of Carmelites
Prof. Jörg Petri, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Information and Communication Design
Pfarrer Karl Josef Rieger, Parish of St Joseph
Andreas Riedel, Sexton
Annerose Schmitz, Kamp-Lintfort Theological and Cultural Centre
Uwe Sin, Organist
Dr. Albert Spitzner-Jahn, Town of Kamp-Lintfort