Re-printing architectural heritage: The Hippolytuskerk and Mauritshuis projects

Additive Manufacturing (commonly known as 3D printing) technology has become a global phenomenon. In the domain of heritage, 3D printing can be seen as a time and cost-efficient method for restoring vulnerable architectural structures. The technology can also provide an opportunity to reproduce missing or destroyed cultural heritage or to express lost appearances, in the cases of conflicts or environmental threats. Researchers from TU Delft have led two experimental projects published respectively in Innovative Materials (volume 6 2018 and volume 1 2019). The projects show the challenges and possibilities of contemporary 3D printing technology for the 3D printing of heritage. The first one, a 4TU-project called ‘Re-printing architectural heritage’ focused on the Hippolytuskerk in the Dutch village of Middelstum. There, the group of researchers tested available technologies to reproduce a mural on a section of one of the church’s vault with maximum possible fidelity to material, colours and local microstructures. Simultaneously, a second project was conducted at the Mauritshuis at The Hague. This to investigate and to discuss the potential of reprinting historical spaces as a copy.