From simple traces to extended hypothesis, the case of the Cadì Gate at the Alhambra, Granada

The ruins have always a special fascination over their visitors, moreover, behind the romantic aspects and their poetic “resonance”, often they are a meaningful witness of past choices and readable traces of the previous asset of a town. Grananda is well known all over the world for the beauty of its downtown and the presence of the Alhambra monument. The specific combination of European and Islamic Architecture all over the town make it an awesome place testifying a nodal moment in the European story through its buildings. In the town a lot of these elements are clearly readable, but there are also some interesting traces still in need to be investigated. One of these is the so called “Cadi Gate”, a large ruin along the Darro river, just at the feet of the hill where the buildings of the Alhambra rise. The research presented here has been established on the analysis and investigation of the actual state of this ruin, basing the whole approach on digital survey to document the state of the area, passing across a complete digital reconstructive hypothesis based on the geometric analysis using 2D and 3D digital modeling solution. In the presentation the ruins of the “Cadì” will be analyzed and it will be showed the specific approach where the investigation is based on digital tools: starting from the photographic and SFM survey, passing from a complete reconstructive hypothesis based on the geometric analysis of the remains and on a set of architectural references and completing a digital 3D reconstruction of a possible original asset of the ancient urban asset. Starting from the actual “not so clear” condition of this urban element, a better understanding of the ancient Granada will be enriched with a meaningful benefit coming from the digital tools involved in this research.