SEPTEMBER 2024 TALK
DATE: Tuesday 17 September 2024
TIME: 8 pm
VENUE: The Athenaeum, corner of Campground Rd & Mariendahl Lane., Newlands
Drive through security boom at Boundary Terrace office park, and turn left at the end into the dedicated Athenaeum parking area
SPEAKER: Roshan Bhurta
TOPIC: Preserving History: Spatial Documentation of Heritage Sites through the lens of Mostert’s Mill and other sites
Central to the restoration of Mostert’s Mill after the recent devastating fire, was the availability of the spatial 3D documentation of the mill that was done a few months prior to the fire.
The laser scanning of the mill provided invaluable detailed information on the workings of the mill that was not possible to be obtained from any of the existing drawings.
The spatial documentation that has been undertaken by UCT’s Geomatics unit has provided detailed 3D images of many significant cultural heritage sites around the world, which Roshan will share with us.
Roshan holds both an MBA and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town (UCT), and he holds a CopyrightX certificate from Harvard.
He is currently serving as a Chief Scientific Officer at UCT, he has done fieldwork in 20+ countries since 2007, participating in projects such as Egypt’s Valley of the Queens (Getty) and Petra (UNESCO).
He is part of the Global Digital Heritage team, housed in Civil Engineering at UCT.
From 2012 to 2019, he taught programming to Honours students at UCT’s Geomatics division.
In addition to his role at UCT, Roshan is the Director of Protea VR, a startup specialising in Virtual Reality, Machine Vision, and 3D printing.
His expertise encompasses data capture and processing involving laser scanning, photogrammetry, panoramic photography, 3D model creation, Python scripting, and metadata generation.
Fluent in both English and French, Roshan has contributed to workshops in Africa and Asia, focusing on 3D modelling in spatial heritage documentation. He is also a committee member of the Vernacular Architecture Society of South Africa (VASSA).
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SEPTEMBER 2024 OUTING
As the Weekend Away is usually scheduled as the outing for this month, there isn’t any other arranged outing.
However, in keeping with the subject of this month’s talk, Mostert’s Mill will be open on Saturday 22nd September from 10:00 in the morning until 15:00.
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READ THE LATEST VASSA Newsletter September 2024
or access all newsletters in Publications
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ABOUT MEMBERSHIP
For a very small sum of money, each year you get … ten lectures, ten outings – including an ‘away weekend’
PLUS… monthly newsletters, informative publications / reports / journals, & special perks.
To say nothing of CPD points if you are a professional!
Lost badges can be replaced for R40, which is what we pay for the badge.
2024 SUBSCRIPTION FEES / Rates are being held at previous years’ fees.
Single member R250
Family membership R400
SACAP accreditation R500
Click here for HOW TO JOIN / PAY
Please send proof of payment to: avisfisher47@gmail.com
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A GENTLE REMINDER
TALKS happen on the third Tuesday of a month, at the Athenaeum in Newlands. All are welcome, free of charge
OUTINGS happen on the last Saturday of a month (usually). Members only
VASSA outings usually take us onto private properties, and into private homes.
This is a special privilege which must be respected. Hence this list of rules.
GENERAL
Only paid up members may attend outings. (Visitors pay the annual price of membership to attend the outing.)
Strictly no children and no pets. Always wear your Vassa name badge.
ON ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
Make sure to sign the register.
On arrival stay close to the leader so that the host can be introduced. Do not wander off before the introduction.
On departure, gather around the leader to thank the host. Do not leave before this.
If you have to leave before the end of the outing, inform the outing leader so that they do not wait or look for you.
ON THE PROPERTY
Switch off cell phones or put them on ‘silent’.
Do not engage the host in private conversations and recollections while everyone else is milling around.
Before taking interior photographs, check with the outing leader that this is okay.
Do not post photographs of the interior on Facebook – this is deemed a security risk.
Do not touch anything – do not pick up porcelain to check maker’s mark, do not take books out of bookcases, etc.
Do not open closed doors.
Do not sit on the furniture.
Do not use the toilet without asking the host’s permission.
Do not take plant slips from the garden.
Do not use the privilege of an outing to organise private business arrangements or return visits with the host.
Do not voice negative – or personal – comments while on site.
LIMITING NUMBERS
Vassa outings are usually open for all members to attend. However, certain outings may not be able to accommodate a large group of people, in which case numbers are limited to a first come first served basis, and a contact email address is always provided to secure your spot.
If you cannot attend, let the organiser know so that someone else on the waiting list can.
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