Legolization of Monuments in the Arab World

Computational Modelling

Architectural heritage across the Arab world embodies centuries of cultural identity and artistic mastery, yet many of these irreplaceable sites face physical decay. At the same time, efforts to digitise cultural heritage have rarely explored how people can actively engage with it in a hands-on, educational ways. This project addresses both challenges by developing a computational framework that translates images of iconic architectural monuments in the Arab world into buildable brick-based models, thereby merging heritage preservation with algorithmic creativity.

Building on established expertise in geometric modelling and simulation as well as 3D reconstruction, this project introduces a ‘Legolization’ framework: a system that algorithmically translates complex Arab architectural geometries into standardised modular units while preserving proportional harmony and characteristic ornamentation. Unlike optimised approaches solely for visual compression, this framework incorporates physical realities – brick dimensions, material tolerances, and mechanical stability – to ensure constructible fidelity.

The system automatically converts 2D imagery, e.g. from photographs, into geometrically faithful, constructible representations. The exemplary sites include the coral-stone façades of Al-Balad in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the monumental façade of Abu Simbel, the temples of Luxor, and Cairo’s historic Ibn Tulun mosques in Egypt. For each site, the pipeline extracts structural and ornamental features, reconstructs 3D volumes, and reduces them into modular forms. To faithfully capture the ornamental richness unique to Arab architecture, the project also explores custom brick extensions.

This fusion of computer vision, architectural history, and fabrication science will create a reproducible method for encoding cultural forms into modular, educationally accessible representations. Beyond digital modelling, the framework will foster cultural outreach, STEAM education, and heritage visualisation through accessible, buildable representations that link tangible craftsmanship with computational design.