Allen Peter K. author Columbia University. Computer Science Stamos Ioannis author Troccoli Alejandro author Columbia University. Computer Science Smith Benjamin author Leordeanu Marius author Hsu Y. C. author Columbia University. Computer Science Columbia University. Computer Science originator text Articles 2003 English Preserving cultural heritage and historic sites is an important problem. These sites are subject to erosion, vandalism, and as long-lived artifacts, they have gone through many phases of construction, damage and repair. It is important to keep an accurate record of these sites using 3-D model building technology as they currently are, so preservationists can track changes, foresee structural problems, and allow a wider audience to "virtually" see and tour these sites Due to the complexity of these sites, building 3-D models is time consuming and difficult, usually involving much manual effort. This paper discusses new methods that can reduce the time to build a model using automatic methods. Examples of these methods are shown in reconstructing a model of the Cathedral of Ste. Pierre in Beauvais, France. Computer science Architecture Piscataway, N.J. IEEE 2003 145 150 http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.2003.1241587