Zayed Sports City
Modern Heritage
Zayed Sports City is a modern heritage site located within the heart of Abu Dhabi and has become the leading destination for sports and entertainment in the United Arab Emirates. It hosts several facilities including: a football stadium, sport fields, an ice rink, a bowling centre, a fitness club and a sports clinic. It originally opened in 1980, was renovated in 2009 and expanded further in 2017. The centre holds significant cultural significance stemming from its historical association with the United Arab Emirates’ Founding Father and first President, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and its architectural significance, as well as with its social value as a communal sports facility.
HEDI Group meetings.
3-D point cloud of the Bowling Centre in FARO SCENE.
3-D photogrammetric model of the boundary wall in Agisoft Metashape.
Orthophoto of the boundary wall showing the level of detail that can be attained.
Bowling Centre Plan (Level of Detail 1).
Bowling Centre Plan (Level of Detail 2).
Bowling Centre Plan (Level of Detail 3).
Bowling Centre Photo Key Plan.
Bowling Centre Plan Photographic portfolio.
The team members met to discuss the methodology for documentation. This included determining the desired outcomes for the case study and the survey techniques to be used. It was concluded that the entire site could not be documented due to time constraints.
The survey was limited to the spatial level 2, of the following buildings and structures: Bowling Centre, Ice Rink and General Service Plant, along with a section of the boundary wall.
The three buildings were processed representing the three levels of detail.
Measurements of nine control points using metric survey techniques were obtained throughout the site with a Leica total station. This data was used to orient the 3-D scan data.
A high-quality digital camera was used to produce a photographic portfolio for the site — and for use in the photogrammetric applications. Careful consideration was given to the lighting and quality of the captured photos.
3-D scanning was conducted with a FARO laser scanner to capture the geometry of the three sites’ interiors, exteriors and the urban landscape between them. A total of 85 scans were taken in approximately 18.5 hours. Although time constraints resulted in gaps in the data, time was prioritised to ensure all character-defining elements were captured.
Metrically accurate photogrammetric models were created for the desired elements using point cloud registration and FARO SCENE, and Agisoft Metashape (former Agisoft Photoscan) photogrammetry software.
The recording of the boundary wall also illustrates the high level of detail that can be achieved with simple terrestrial photogrammetry.
Even though the scanning took only two days, it produced a high quality, metrically accurate point cloud that was used for the creation of the detailed drawings.
Orthophotos for the Bowling Centre mural, a section of the boundary wall and the façades of the Bowling Centre and Ice Rink were derived from terrestrial photogrammetry.
The 3-D point cloud was imported into AutoDesk’s ReCap software for further processing, and then imported into AutoCAD to create the 2-D drawings. Building plans such as that of the Bowling Centre, Ice Rink and General Service Plant were derived from 3-D scan data showcasing the relevant three levels of detail. The drawings were created following the standardised AutoCAD template. Photo key plan for the Bowling Centre was developed.