From Pocket to Preservation: Mobile Phone Scanning for Historic Preservation

Digital documentation has become a cornerstone of historic preservation. However, traditional methods, such as laser scanning and drone photogrammetry, often require costly equipment and technical expertise. This presentation explores the emerging potential of mobile phone–based scanning as an accessible alternative for documenting and monitoring historic buildings and elements. By leveraging LiDAR and image-based apps, smartphones can now capture cultural heritage details with promising results, allowing more users to actively participate in preservation practice and better comprehend the principles of reality capture. Through examples from ongoing fieldwork and research, this session will demonstrate how mobile phone scanning complements high-end workflows, fosters educational hands-on learning, and strengthens community engagement with historic preservation. Please bring an architectural fragment or object to test as live demo.