Filenews 28 September 2021
The possibility of a virtual walk in the erstwhile cosmopolitan Nicosia airport is offered by the research program "NIC" of the Cyprus Institute, which gives life back to a place, directly connected with the events of modern Cypriot history, while awakening beautiful memories from the past.
Specifically, a team of researchers from the Research Centre for Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture (STARC) and the Centre of Excellence for Climate and Atmospheric Research (CARE-C) of the Cyprus Institute, with the support of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP), completed the full digitization of Nicosia International Airport, which is abandoned and forgotten in time on the "Green Line".
The research project "NIC" (named after the airport's IATA code) focuses on an interdisciplinary three-dimensional modelling and visualization process developed to create interactive applications for virtual tours. Today, access to the airport building is considered precarious, due to the many years of abandonment and lack of maintenance.
The initial phase of the research project included a ground-based laser scanning campaign, combined with a mobile mapping system, completed by the Art Characterization Workshops "Andreas Pittas" (APAC Labs) of the Cyprus Institute, for the digitization of the internal and external structures of the main building.
Due to the particular environmental conditions, special protective equipment was used, which fully complies with health and safety regulations regarding the identification and identification of local hazards.
For the digitization of the road and the two intersecting runways of the airport, the research team of the Laboratory of Unmanned Systems (USRL) of the Cyprus Institute, under the supervision of UNIFICYP staff, conducted a special photogrammetric campaign with drones, which allows the creation of three-dimensional models from two-dimensional images.
The aerial campaign was carried out using the laboratory's new Unmanned Fixed Wing Aerial System (UAS), which is built for optimal aerial imagery capture in large areas. At the same time, a panoramic imaging campaign was carried out in all accessible areas of the main airport building, the control tower, the hangar of the planes, and the three planes that remain grounded in the airport grounds.
This photographic material is expected to be used to create a digital tour, which will be freely accessible to the general public through a website. All the data collected will be processed by the Visualization-Visualization Laboratory of the Cyprus Institute to create an exciting, virtual experience of visiting the abandoned areas of the airport.
Call to former employees of Nicosia Airport to contribute
The main objective of this research project goes beyond the mere "conception" of the physical structure of the building, as it primarily seeks to bring the airport to life, even if virtually. Therefore, the research team of the Cyprus Institute invites people who worked at Nicosia airport to contact via email at: d.abate@cyi.ac.cy, to help record audio and video material, which will be included in the narrative platform that will be created.
The research team of the Cyprus Institute was led by STARC researcher Dante Abate, in collaboration with technical support researcher Marina Faka, researcher technical support of aerial photographs using unmanned vehicles (UAVs) Andriani Papageorgiou, CARE-C researcher Christos Kelesis, programmer of the Laboratory of Unmanned Aerial Systems Andreas Leontiou, trainee Konstantinos Fotiadis, software developer for Unmanned Aerial Systems Systems (UAS) of Christos Konstantinidis, starc's architectural visualization researcher, Marissa Delligiorgis, assistant vice president of internal affairs of the Cyprus Institute Nicolas Jarraud, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF STARC Georgios Artopoulos, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF STARC Nikolaos Bakirtzis, programmer Kyriakos Toumbas, digital media/library researcher Andriana Nikolaidou, and digital archaeology researcher Antonia Agapiou.
Nicosia International Airport (IATA: NIC, ICAO: LCNC) was formerly the main airport of Cyprus. When the new building, of Cypriot construction, opened its gates in 1968, it became known for the elegant modernity of its design. The design of the German architects Dorsch und Gehrmann was irregular, with the rays of light penetrating through the large circular windows of the roof. In fact, in June 1974, plans for the expansion of the airport had been announced due to the increased number of visitors. However, after the tragic events of 1974, the airport was permanently shut down, with its surrounding facilities hosting the headquarters of UNFICYP, and the building remaining in time.
