Dr Douglas Cawthorne

Job: Reader in Digital Heritage

Faculty: Arts, Design and Humanities

School/department: Leicester School of Architecture

Research group(s): Digital Building Heritage Group

Address: De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, UK, LE1 9BH

T: +44 (0)116 257 7442

E: DCawthorne@dmu.ac.uk

W: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/dbh

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Personal profile

Douglas Cawthorne is a UK Registered Architect, author and researcher.

Research group affiliations

Publications and outputs

Bosworth Battlefield Digital Landscape Project – An Interactive Wide Area Digital Model and Digital Heritage Framework
dc.title: Bosworth Battlefield Digital Landscape Project – An Interactive Wide Area Digital Model and Digital Heritage Framework dc.contributor.author: Cawthorne, Douglas; Johnson, Paul S.; Knox, Richard; Lewis, Melissa; Phillips, Martin P.; Stratton, Andrew; Rye, Eleanor dc.description.abstract: This report is an outcome of The Bosworth Battlefield Landscape Project, a one year project funded by Arts Council England’s Museum Resilience Fund and administered by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) in the United Kingdom as part of NCCPE’s Museum and Universities Partnership Initiative (MUPI) in 2017-18. The purpose of this initiative was to assist museum staff and academics to form working groups, carry out desk based feasibility studies, hold discussions and collaborate on new project development and establish funding routes. Bosworth Battlefield is one of the most historically important late medieval (1485) battlefield sites in the UK, and the battle which took place there in 1485 was the culmination of the Wars of Roses a dynastic struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster which saw the defeat of the last Plantagenet King Richard III and the establishment of the Tudor dynasty by the victor King Henry VII. Led by members of the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre in Leicestershire, The Bosworth Battlefield Landscape Project focusses on the strategic planning, background research and feasibility study for the development of a major multi-purpose digital asset for the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre. This is a proposed wide area, multi-purpose, 3D digital landscape model covering approximately 4 Km2 with integrated GIS data-handling capability, linked to augmented and immersive reality visualisation, with serious gaming applications and a predicative analysis capability across several domains, including archaeology and heritage interpretation. This report sets out the strategic aims and objects that were developed from the discussion of this group, including the socio-economic, intellectual and technical background and recommendations for full project bid development to a UK funding agency. This report also provides a strategic overview of the background thinking behind the project, supported by relevant examples of projects from elsewhere which have been used to inform the discussions. The project aims and objectives are to create an innovative, multi-layered, digital landscape resource with multiple interpretative, academic and engagement outputs, which meets the interpretation, learning, engagement and research agendas of all partners. Project Activities are to further Archaeological and landscape research on the Battlefield landscape. Digital mapping of the Battlefield landscape allowing an interactive reconstruction of the 1485 landscape to better understand possible troop movements and view sheds. The creation of a Battle interactive set on the digital landscape allowing alternative scenarios to be played out on gallery. Importing of key non-battle-related landscape features and their stories into the digital landscape data set. Digital scanning of key objects from the battlefield area to enable CGI reconstruction to give improved interpretation on gallery. Experiment how the varied cutting edge digital technologies currently available for testing can be used together to carry stronger interpretation models. Interrogate local place names and family names to help tie in historical and modern communities, including local grave stone surveys with local history groups. Collating digital images and video clips of local people and places to capture their sense of place.
Proportional Systems in the Design of the Cathedral of St. George of the Greeks, Cyprus
dc.title: Proportional Systems in the Design of the Cathedral of St. George of the Greeks, Cyprus dc.contributor.author: Cawthorne, Douglas; Irodotou, Romylos dc.description.abstract: The cathedral of St. George of the Greeks was built in the 14th – 15th c. in Famagusta, Cyprus to accommodate the religious needs of the Greek orthodox community living under a Frankish aristocracy. Its design is a hybrid of western European and Greek orthodox architectural traditions which reflect the political and social circumstances of its creation. This paper examines the degree to which the underlying design methods employed can be extrapolat-ed from the physical remains of the building, the historical sources bearing upon its interpretation and comparisons with related structures. Results are presented of a recent (2016) photogrammetric survey of the building and a new digital reconstruction of the church derived from it. These are used to quantify, assess and illustrate a three dimensional armature of regulatory proportions which it is proposed for reasons of ecclesiastical philosophy and practical execution, were employed to shape the building’s physical form. dc.description: This publication arose from new and original digital survey work carried out in the north of Cyprus by Romylos Irodotou as part of his De Montfort University MArch dissertation in 2016. From the photogrammetry survey data the authors reconstructed the cathedral church of St George of the Greeks and undertook a historical and proportional analysis of it drawing on wide range of sources and placing its concept and development within a broader context of late medieval architectural practice and orthodox Christian belief. The publication is a significant contribution to the study of byzantine/Christian orthodox architecture in the Levant and proposes a novel design hypothesis based on number and geometry for the characteristic hybrid aisled cross-in-square plan found in churches of this period in this region.
Authenticating Anastylosis: Para Data in the Digital Reconstruction of Greyfrairs Church Leicester and the Tomb of King Richard III
dc.title: Authenticating Anastylosis: Para Data in the Digital Reconstruction of Greyfrairs Church Leicester and the Tomb of King Richard III dc.contributor.author: Cawthorne, Douglas; Davies, Steffan dc.description.abstract: Creating visualisations of historic buildings and interiors from partial evidence requires realistically implementable strategies for managing the evidence upon which they are based and for documenting the decisions taken concerning the selection and value judgements made about that evidence. This paradata is essential for scholarly audiences for whom the degree of authentication and probability of correctness are central issues in developing trusted research. Several methods of generating this paradata are already recorded in the literature but while often systematic they are also complex and largely text based and for this reason it is recognised that their use is still the exception rather than the norm. In early 2014 Archaeologists at the University of Leicester in the UK discovered the remains of King Richard III, who died in 1485. This internationally important archaeological discovery prompted Leicester City Council to commission the Digital Building Heritage Group at De Montfort University to use the newly discovered archaeological evidence and pre-existing literary and circumstantial evidence to create a highly detailed digital reconstruction for public exhibition of the now lost church and medieval precinct in which the king was buried. The international scrutiny surrounding this case required particular quality control over the paradata and the required development time for the reconstruction also required that any process used should be efficient, and practical to implement in a compressed time-frame. Experience was therefore drawn from quality control techniques in processes in the construction industry to authenticate decision-making using a particular form of drawing we call “body-maps”. These are graphic representations which specify options applicable to generic 2D and 3D representations of buildings and artefacts allow their development and change in design, allow the recording, over marking and notation of selections made, alternatives proposed, final decisions arrived at and official endorsement or “signing off” of the final visualisation. We have found this diagram based approach a time and cost efficient vehicle for generating a rich and accurate paradata record and one which can be easily stored digitally and retrieved for future examination. One of its advantages is that because they are largely graphical in format the “body-map” drawings can be read in chronological sequence and so provide a narrative with minimal use of explicitly narrative text. Factors which affect the method’s use are the need for personnel who can use simple computer based drawing packages like Sketchup and Photoshop to create and modify the base “body-maps” and a willingness amongst the participants to engage in basic hand-drawing diagramming and over-marking on paper print-outs. Interestingly we found that formal drawing ability has little if any effect upon the utility of the process with all participants from a range of backgrounds able to intuitively engage with it. Furthermore the process actively encourages thoughtful and reflective practice and the development of shared frames of reference between different disciplines. This paper explains the detail of the process we have developed, with examples of body-maps and their use, the resulting reconstructions and the methods we propose to archive and curate the paradata arising from it. dc.description: Documentation of an innovative documentation methodology developed in the course of a project comissioned by Leicester City Council to create exhibition content for their King Richard III visitor center which opened in 2015, in Leicester, UK.
Hidden but not lost; Exploring the Great Hall at Boughton House
dc.title: Hidden but not lost; Exploring the Great Hall at Boughton House dc.contributor.author: Gration, Jonathan Roy; Cawthorne, Douglas dc.description.abstract: This is an abstract of a presentation delivered at CAA2015 in Siena which describes preliminary doctoral research on the creation of high resolution, textured digital reconstructions and novel visualisations of several historical phases of the Great Hall of Boughton House in England. Boughton House (1538-1910) is a sprawling country house built around 7 courtyards with twelve entrances, 52 chimney stacks and 365 windows. Its nickname “The English Versailles” is understandable. The focus of this paper is the Great Hall, which has been the central space of the house since its first establishment as a manor house on this site. The most eye catching element of the Great Hall is undoubtedly the wonderfully painted ceiling by Louis Chéron of 1705 depicting the Apotheosis of Hercules. The wainscoting panels appear to be of the same date, but are in fact additions of a restoration campaign in 1911. The panelling replaced a series of Corinthian pilasters of the same period as the painting by Chéron. The painted barrel vaulted ceiling however hides an earlier phase of this space, the Tudor Great Hall. The Tudor ceiling with its carved wind braces and quatrefoil patterns is still in a remarkable state of preservation although hidden behind its painted plaster successor. An original doorway dating to this period has also remained in situ. In addition there exist detailed inventories of furnishings many of which can be traced and there is also a valuable art collection which adorned the space and is still retained by the family. Using these sources and a conservation level examination of the extant fabric including laser scanning, photogrammetry and HDR texture capturing it is possible to reconstruct the earlier phases of the architectural features of the Great Hall, its contents and furnishings. The paper examines the challenges of doing so, the creation of digital reconstructions of the phases in the history of the Great Hall and issues of diminishing levels of certainty achievable the further back in time one goes. It also examines comparisons of various forms of evidence that inform and influence the end result. The need to exercise balanced evaluation is examined when combining physical evidence and remains, such as tangible objects and textures that are preserved in situ and elements of which only intangible archival evidence remains. In order to create authenticated and trusted 3D digital reconstructions, particular research methodologies from the digital humanities have been combined with the practice based methodology of heritage conservation and restoration. Applying the rigorous standards of physical conservation and restoration to digital reconstructions is presented as a quality control measure that ensures all elements of the reconstructed 3D models can be authenticated, avoiding the temptation of modelling for effect instead of fact. This ongoing project is presented as a specific example of the work that the Digital Building Heritage Group at De Montfort University undertakes, making the past of architectural heritage accessible through the creation of engaging digital reconstructions based on thorough academic research. dc.description: Work undertaken as part of PhD research at De Montfort University.
Driving Engagement in Heritage Sites Using Personal Mobile Technology
dc.title: Driving Engagement in Heritage Sites Using Personal Mobile Technology dc.contributor.author: Corah, Thom; Cawthorne, Douglas dc.description.abstract: In a recent UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project researchers from De Montfort University, the University of Nottingham and the University of Durham have collaborated with two community heritage groups to produce two innovative new mobile apps. The project and the apps are intended to address particular issues surrounding the use of mobile digital technologies for co-production of community heritage interpretation in community archaeology and to examine how the explanatory and interrogatory potential of mobile device software can be used to build community led interpretive paradigms for post excavation analysis, presentation and education in community archaeology projects. The use of smartphone and tablet devices has been growing significantly over the past five years and is now becoming more common in heritage and museum settings. The aim is often to further develop public engagement with tangible and intangible cultural heritage, explain and explore existing information about artefacts, sites and cultures and present new information in engaging, accessible and meaningful ways to a range of audiences. Community archaeology groups are becoming alert to this trend and wish to engage with it too, particularly for 3D exploration of built archaeology and the artefacts associated with it. This poses a number of challenges to these aims that differ from those for artefacts and documents in museum settings alone. It also poses contextual challenges in relation to specific and highly engaged user groups like community archaeologists. This paper describes the completed apps which have been designed to address some of these unique challenges of interpreting and exploring 3D digitally reconstructed historic buildings on mobile platforms for community archaeology and heritage groups. Concepts underlying the design and implementation of the apps are addressed and examples of their use in two specific archaeological projects in England are described; a Roman bath house in Northumberland and an historic urban fabric in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. The paper focusses upon paradigms adopted for visualisation and exploration and also upon the web-based management methods. dc.description: Principal Investigator Dr. Douglas Cawthorne, Digital Building Heritage Group, De Montfort University Co-Investigators: Mr. Thom Corah, Facuty of Technology, De Montfort University Dr. David Petts, Department of Archaeology, University of Durham Dr. Chris King, Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham
A Prototype Audio-Tactile Map System with an Advanced Auditory Display
dc.title: A Prototype Audio-Tactile Map System with an Advanced Auditory Display dc.contributor.author: O'Sullivan, Liam; Picinali, Lorenzo; Gerino, Andrea; Cawthorne, Douglas dc.description.abstract: Tactile surfaces can display information in a variety of applications for all users, but can be of particular benefit to blind and visually impaired individuals. One example is the use of paper-based tactile maps as navigational aids for interior and exterior spaces; visually impaired individuals may use these to practice and learn a route prior to journeying. The addition of an interactive auditory display can enhance such interfaces by providing additional information. This article presents a prototype system which tracks the actions of a user's hands over a tactile surface and responds with sonic feedback. The initial application is an Audio-Tactile Map (ATM); the auditory display provides verbalised information as well as environmental sounds useful for navigation. Two versions of the interface are presented; a desktop version intended as a large-format information point and a mobile version which uses a tablet computer overlain with tactile paper. Details of these implementations are provided, including observations drawn from the participation of a partially-sighted individual in the design process. A usability test with five visually impaired subjects also gives a favourable assessment of the mobile version. dc.description: Departments and organaitaions involved in the research are noted below; School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (O'Sullivan) Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College, London, UK (Picinali) Faculty of Technology, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK (Gerino) Digital Building Heritage Group, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK (Cawthorne)
A Prototype Interactive Tactile Display with Auditory Feedback
dc.title: A Prototype Interactive Tactile Display with Auditory Feedback dc.contributor.author: O'Sullivan, Liam; Picinali, Lorenzo; Cawthorne, Douglas dc.description.abstract: Tactile surfaces can display useful information in a variety of applications for blind, visually-impaired and even sighted users. One example is the use of paper-based tactile maps as navigational aids for interior and exterior spaces; visually- impaired individuals may use these to practice and learn a route prior to journeying. The addition of an interactive auditory display could enhance such tactile interfaces by providing additional information. This paper presents pre- liminary work on a prototype multi-modal interface which tracks the actions of a user’s hands over a tactile surface and responds with sonic feedback. The initial application being considered is an Auditory Tactile Map (ATM); the auditory display provides verbalised information as well as environmental sounds useful for navigation. Another pro- posed implementation adds interactivity to reproductions of museum exhibits, making these more accessible to the visually-impaired and allowing exploration of their tactile affordances while preserving the original works. dc.description: Liam O’Sullivan School of Engineering Trinity College Dublin, Lorenzo Picinali Faculty of Technology De Montfort University Leicester, Douglas Cawthorne Digital Building Heritage Group De Montfort University Leicester.
Audio Tactile Maps (ATM) System for the Exploration of Digital Heritage Buildings by Visually-impaired Individuals - First Prototype and Preliminary Evaluation
dc.title: Audio Tactile Maps (ATM) System for the Exploration of Digital Heritage Buildings by Visually-impaired Individuals - First Prototype and Preliminary Evaluation dc.contributor.author: O'Sullivan, Liam; Picinali, Lorenzo; Feakes, C.; Cawthorne, Douglas dc.description.abstract: Navigation within historic spaces requires analysis of a variety of acoustic, proprioceptive and tactile cues; a task that is well-developed in many visually-impaired individuals but for which sighted individuals rely almost entirely on vision. For the visually-impaired, the creation of a cognitive map of a space can be a long process for which the individual may repeat various paths numerous times. While this action is typically performed by the individual on-site, it is of some interest to investigate to what degree this task can be performed off-site using a virtual simulator. We propose a tactile map navigation system with interactive auditory display. The system is based on a paper tactile map upon which the user’s hands are tracked. Audio feedback provides; (i) information on user-selected map features, (ii) dynamic navigation information as the hand is moved, (iii) guidance on how to reach the location of one hand (arrival point) from the location of the other hand (departure point) and (iv) additional interactive 3D-audio cues useful for navigation. This paper presents an overview of the initial technical development stage, reporting observations from preliminary evaluations with a blind individual. The system will be beneficial to visually impaired visitors to heritage sites; we describe one such site which is being used to further assess our prototype. dc.description: P.I. Dr. Lorenzo Piccinali, Faculty of Technology, DMU
The McGruer Lorne Class Yachts - Their History and Architecture
dc.title: The McGruer Lorne Class Yachts - Their History and Architecture dc.contributor.author: Cawthorne, Douglas dc.description.abstract: Established in 1911 on the river Clyde, the family-run firm of McGruer & Company Ltd created some of the finest sailing yachts ever built in Scotland. The smallest of these were the Lorne Class, designed in the 1960's by the legendary James McGruer as "affordable" family sail cruisers. At 28 ft. LOA not only did they have the thoroughbred lines and renowned sea-keeping qualities of their larger cousins but they were one of the last and best examples in small cruising yacht design of the centuries old woodworking skills and traditional plank on frame construction which had made McGruer & Company Ltd famous. Using original documents from the McGruer archive and first-hand accounts from builders and owners this meticulously researched and extensively referenced scholarly work tells the story of how and why the Lorne Class yachts were conceived and constructed, the men and women who sailed them, the often incredible voyages that these plucky little yachts undertook as far as the Pacific and the Sub-Arctic and their continuing importance within the world-wide revival of classic yachting and classic yacht architecture.
McGruer - Why Art Matters in Yacht Design
dc.title: McGruer - Why Art Matters in Yacht Design dc.contributor.author: Cawthorne, Douglas dc.description.abstract: This 3000 word symposium paper was presented at the first ever classic yacht design symposium to be held in the UK, "Clyde Classic", at the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club in June 2013. The paper deals with issues of aesthetics in classic yacht design, particularly in the current revival of interest in classic yachts world-wide and rehearses a number of issues that bear upon the appreciation of the visual and perfomative characteristics of sailing yachts. In approaching the application of aesthetics to yacht design the paper presents three points originally put forward in the 1950’s firstly that a reasonable length of overhang and a concave sheerline are innately graceful; secondly that ideas of beauty in classic yacht design at that time had become “accepted” by “the main body of yachting opinion; and thirdly that ideas of beauty in yacht design have absolute aesthetic values. The paper goes on to note that in contrast today there is a need for a broader education of the yachting public by exemplars, good practice and equally importantly in written texts in the connoisseurship of the art in yacht design generally.

Click here to view a full listing of Douglas Cawthorne's publications and outputs.

Research interests/expertise

Architecture

Areas of teaching

Architecture

Qualifications

BSc Architecture
BArch (Hons)
PhD (Cantab)

Courses taught

Architecture

Membership of professional associations and societies

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS)

Professional licences and certificates

Architects Registration Board (ARB) license to practice.

Key articles information

Consultancy work

Cawthorne D, Moran R, “Leicester Cathedral Revealed”, a series of animated digital reconstructions and fly-through of fifteen phases of the evolution of Leicester Cathedral from 210AD to the present and including architectural proposals for a new cathedral visitor centre designed by van Heyningen and Haward Architects (VHH). Commercial contract for Leicester Cathedral. 04/07/2016-30/09/2016.

Cawthorne, D, Davies S., Irodotou, R., 3D digital reconstruction, 2D textured renders and a Large 3D print of a Reconstruction of Bradgate House. Commercial contract for the Bradgate Park Trust’s Bradgate Park Visitor’s Centre in collaboration with Creative Good Ltd, exhibition designers 25/04/2016-20/07/2016.

Commercial Sub-Contract for University of Leicester – Part of an AHRC research Grant Ref: AH/L008025/1, Title: Affective Digital Histories: Recreating De-industrial Places, 1970s to the Present, Prof. Ming Lim (P-I, University of Leicester), 05/10/2014 – 02/03/2015.

Leicester City Council (LCC) Commission for high quality CGI reconstruction of Greyfriars Church and Greyfriars Medieval Leicester for the new King Richard III Visitors centre 05/04/2014 – 20/06/2014.

BBC East Midlands, commercial contract: The Sir John Moore School, a 3D digital reconstruction of an un-built, late 17th century Wren/Hawksmoor design for a school in Derbyshire. Part of the BBC’s Great British Story TV series. Principal Investigator: Dr Douglas Cawthorne, 05/05/2012 – 05/07/2012.

Commercial contract: Digital reconstruction of the Athenian 4th century BC Choragic Monument of Lysicrates and 3D prints of it at 1:20 for exhibition and other related work. Principal Investigator: Dr Douglas Cawthorne, 06/06/2010 – 20/11/2010,

Leicester City Council Museum’s Department. Experimental 3D laser scanning of Roman artefacts and 3D printing of copies for exhibition and visitor handling. Principal Investigator: Dr Douglas Cawthorne, 07/01/2010 – 11/07/2010.

Externally funded research grants information

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Grant Reference: AH/L013290/1, Title: Digital Building Heritage: Phase 3”, Follow On funding. Research Organization: De Montfort University, Collaborating Institutions: Dept. of Archaeology University of Durham, Dept. of Archaeology University of Nottingham. Principal Investigator: Dr. Douglas Cawthorne, 03/02/2014 – 02/04/2015.

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Connected Communities Showcase Award, award for project stand and display for exhibiting Digital Building Heritage Group (DBHG) work in an Edinburgh AHRC Showcase at Heriot Watt University, P.I. Dr. Douglas Cawthorne, June 2013-July 2013.

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Grant Reference: AH/K007610/1, Title: “Digital Building Heritage: Phase II”, Follow On funding. Research Organization: De Montfort University, Principal Investigator: Dr. Douglas Cawthorne, 1/2/2013 – 31/12/2013

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Grant Reference: AH/J013366/1, Title: “Digital Building Heritage”, Research Organisation: De Montfort University, Principal Investigator: Dr Douglas Cawthorne, 1/2/2012 – 31/01/2013.

Cawthorne D, Imbabi M.S. (Later R. Webster) EPSRC Grant GR/K23461/01, "The Use of Diffusive and Dynamic Insulation for Combined Heat Recovery and Ventilation in Buildings". 04 January 1995 - 03 January 1998

Internally funded research project information

Cawthorne, D, “The Newarke Through the Ages”. A Phased 3D digital reconstruction of the Newarke Precinct in Leicester from the Roman period (210 AD) to the Edwardian period (1904). For De Montfort University Heritage Centre. 17/10/ 2015 – 01/04/2016

Cawthorne, D, DMU Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) 5 Proof of Principle (PoP) Grant, Title: Commercialising Laser Scanning to Building Information Modelling (BIM) Dr Douglas Cawthorne (PI), 02/02/2015 – 31/07/2015

Picanali, L (PI) Cawthorne, D (CoI), Prof. Ferranti Neri (Co-I), Dr. Mark Case (Co-I), DMU Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) 5 Proof of Principle (PoP) Grant, Title: Audio Tactile Maps: Stage II 01/10/2014 – 30/06/2015

DMU Higher Education Investment Fund (HEIF) 5 Grant, Title: Audio Tactile Maps with Dr. Lorenzo Picinali, DMU, 6/01/2014 – 6/07/2014.

DMU RCIF2 Research Capital Investment Funding, Faro Focus 3D laser scanner and associated equipment. Research Organization: De Montfort University, Principal Investigator: Dr. Douglas Cawthorne, November 2013.

MU PhD Scholarship Award (Full Fees + £13,770 p/a Bursary for 3 years) “3D Digital Interpretation with English Heritage.” First Supervisor Dr. Douglas Cawthorne, PhD Student: October 2013 – October 2017.

DMU RCIF2 Research Capital Investment Funding, Computer equipment and software for Digital Building heritage Research. Research Organization: De Montfort University, Principal Investigator: Dr Douglas Cawthorne, January 2013.

De Montfort University, Internal Award. 3D Visualization of development proposals for De Montfort University campus. 01/02/2011- 18/06/2011

Institute of Creative Technologies (IOTC) and East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA): Virtual Roman Leicester: research contract to build a 3D interactive virtual reality model of Roman Leicester in the year 2010AD using the Unity games engine, Principal Investigator: Dr Douglas Cawthorne, 01/01/2009 – 22/12/2009