Winnipeg man is using 3D printing to preserve Manitoba's history
One Winnipeg man is making three-dimensional models of Manitoba buildings to preserve the province’s history.
To carry out this project, Patrick Letourneau, owner of Polygons.ca, said he seeks out older structures that may be on their last legs.
From there, he goes out and takes hundreds and hundreds of photographs of every square inch of the structure from multiple angles.
The photos are then fed into the computer and looked at by specialized software that finds common elements and extracts a three-dimensional model.
Letourneau explained the three-dimensional model can be converted into a format that can be 3D printed.
“The process that we carry out is called photogrammetry,” Letourneau said in an interview on Thursday.
One of the scans in full colour. (Source: Patrick Latourneau)
To decide what buildings to scan, Letourneau uses a map on the Manitoba Historical Society’s website, which shows locations of historical structures in the province.
“Grain elevators, schools, churches, that kind of thing,” he said,
“Basically, I go on that website and I click around on that map and I’ll build little road trips based on the structures that I find there.”
HOW HE GOT STARTED
Letourneau has been a professional 3D artist for about 10 years.
He said structures and buildings started as good test subjects for him.
“Then as I started scanning more and more of these, I realized how many of these really old historic structures there are in Manitoba,” Letourneau said.
However, it was when he scanned the Windsor Family Grain Elevator -- a structure that was demolished – that he realized the work he was doing had value for historical preservation.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Letourneau said ideally, he would like to find supports that would allow him to continue to preserve these structures and get the models into people’s hands. He noted it would also be nice to sell the prints.
As for future buildings he’d like to scan in the future, Letourneau said he’s interested in the oldest grain elevator in Canada, located in Elva, Man.
He noted the grain elevator is owned by a demolition company.
“So I know that building is on the way out,” Letourneau said.
“It’s super, super full of character. There is lots of sagging wood and it’s very weathered. It’s very, very worn down and you can see how old it is in its appearance. So I’m hoping I can get to that before it’s demolished.”
A scan of a barn in Wampum, Man. (Source: Patrick Letourneau)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Calgary police to release more details on pro-Palestinian protest
Details on arrests, tickets and charges against a number of pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at the University of Calgary will be released on Friday, police say,
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.