Unmissable monument of the heritage of Rouen (Seine-Maritime), but currently closed, the Saint-Ouen abbey will go through three years of a vast renovation project which began in the spring.
If the monumental building must reopen to the public once the securing phase is completed, most of the work will remain hidden from the eyes of curious people and lovers of beautiful stones.
Or almost…
"The City wanted to allow the general public to follow the progress of the site almost in real time, and in particular in places where they do not have access", explains Benoit Eliot, manager and founder of the company Octopus who concocted a 3D virtual tour of the entire building.
A technology that is not new - it is used in particular in real estate to make people discover goods from a distance - but this time, the artistic aspect is associated with the architectural dimension.
"The illusion of moving forward by walking in the photo"
“It works a bit like a sonar but in volume, with nine camera optics coupled with dedicated software to form a point cloud thanks to which we will be able to give the illusion of moving forward while walking in the photograph.
It is both very precise and very easy to use ”, continues the photographer who will spend the next three years following step by step the progress of the work in contact with the teams of craftsmen and companions with whom he shares. the same emotion.
“Some pieces have been there since the Middle Ages.
A young journeyman-carpenter told me by removing an ankle that the last one who had touched him was in the 14th century!
"
To discover the Saint-Ouen abbey construction site, the Octopus company has concocted a virtual tour of the entire building and in particular of the places closed to the public Octopus
As Marie-Andrée Malleville, the Rouen deputy in charge of heritage, underlines, “we were immediately amazed by the first results of Octopus' work.
This corresponded exactly to what we wanted to do: allow the people of Rouen to take ownership of this project, which nevertheless represents nearly 25 million euros of public money.
"
Restore the stained glass windows of the Tree of Jesse rose
And this is only the beginning since the City wishes to launch, on the occasion of the next Heritage Days, a crowdfunding campaign to restore the stained glass windows of the superb rose of the Tree of Jesse dating from the 15th century, on the south transept.
Another way to involve those who would like to put their hands in their pockets by showing them directly where their money is going.
"It's another way of playing the card of transparency", continues the elected official who intends to make the youngest of this interactive tool benefit, from the start of the school year, by making schools in the municipality aware of its use.
"If we talk about the construction of cathedrals and churches in class, with this virtual visit, suddenly it becomes more concrete", estimates Marie-Andrée Malleville, who wishes to set up workshops on this theme with the teachers. who wish.
https://my.treedis.com/tour/abbatiale-saint-ouen