Digitally conserving an endangered built heritage in kashgar, an oasis city of the taklimakan

Abstract

The ancient oasis city of Kashgar sits at the intersection of caravan routes that once made up the Silk Road. Located west of the Taklimakan Desert in western China, Kashgar has been able to survive due to efficient management of water reserves and maintenance of canals that irrigate crop fields and provide subsistence for local inhabitants. Water has a central role both in the organization of inhabited spaces (urban or rural) and in the distribution of domestic spaces. Indeed, the vernacular architecture of the city is particularly well adapted to the area's hyperarid environment. Over the last 20 years, however, the city has undergone major urban development and reconstruction, a phenomenon that has threatened its architectural heritage. A digital method has been designed that makes it possible to record images of an architectural ensemble and thereby conserve a particular "culture of construction" that is endangered in Kashgar. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.