Developing affordable workflow for digital preservation of Islamic architectural heritage through photogrammetry and 3D Gaussian Splatting

Asif, Nayeem and Ismail, Mohd Noorizhar and Mohamad Suhaimi, Mohamad Saifulnizam (2026) Developing affordable workflow for digital preservation of Islamic architectural heritage through photogrammetry and 3D Gaussian Splatting. PLANNING MALAYSIA, 24 (3). pp. 832-847. ISSN 1675-6215 E-ISSN 0128-0945

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Abstract

The rapid dilapidation of Malaysia's Islamic architectural heritage outpaces physical conservation, necessitating an affordable 3D digital documentation workflow requiring minimal manpower. This paper develops a cost-effective workflow through a comparative study of conventional photogrammetry and 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS). The methodology utilizes low-specification hardware - a consumer-grade UAV and smartphone, CPU-only processing, and open-source software. Between 150 and 200 video frames of a Masjid Sg. Chinchin roof crown replica were extracted for 3D reconstruction. Quantitative findings reveal that conventional photogrammetry effectively generates editable mesh models but yields low visual accuracy. Conversely, 3DGS produces highly accurate visual models—generating up to 723,566 splats for the UAV input, and is approximately 22% less time-consuming, although it lacks mesh editability. Furthermore, the UAV consistently outperformed the smartphone: while it produced a photogrammetry mesh with approximately 85% fewer vertices, it effectively eliminated visual noise. In the 3DGS workflow, the UAV generated 13% more splats, yielding sharper, more precise visuals. To address individual limitations, it is recommended to adopt a mixed workflow of 3D photogrammetry and 3DGS. By combining photogrammetry’s structural editability with the time-efficient, high-fidelity visual accuracy of UAV-driven 3DGS, this integrated approach ensures comprehensive, fast, affordable, and replicable 3D documentation. Future research should integrate CUDA processing for accuracy and develop an interactive 3DGS web database for Malaysia's Islamic architectural heritage

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Islamic Heritage, 3D Gaussian Splatting, Photogrammetry, Colmap, Structure from Motion (SfM), SkySplat
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NA Architecture > NA1 General
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design > Department of Architecture Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design > Department of Quantity Surveying
Depositing User:	Dr Nayeem Asif
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2026 17:24
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2026 17:24
Queue Number:	2026-06-Q3648
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/129262

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