도시 골목의 공간 경험 재현을 위한 포인트 클라우드 데이터와 가상현실 (PCD-VR) 환경 구축 방법론 연구

초록

(Background and Purpose) Urban alleyways are disappearing or being transformed through redevelopment, yet their spatial experience is difficult to preserve through conventional media such as photographs or roadview. Although these media retain visual information, they have limitations in conveying the bodily perception of depth, scale, enclosure, and sequential movement that emerge while actually walking through narrow and winding urban spaces. Meanwhile, Point Cloud Data (PCD), usually treated as incomplete data to be converted into mesh models, contains visual qualities such as voids, translucency, and density variation that may communicate spatial relationships in a different way. This study aims to propose a methodology for recording and representing the spatial experience of urban alleyways by combining PCD with Virtual Reality (VR). (Method) The research focuses on the alley network of Singil District 2 in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, selected as a site where diverse alley widths, frequent turns, and irregular plots remain before redevelopment. Based on a pedestrian perspective, 360-degree photogrammetry was conducted using an Insta360 X4 at approximate eye level and walking speed. The captured data were processed through Metashape and MeshLab for PCD generation, noise removal, object cleaning, and optimization. The point clouds were then scale calibrated using measured dimensions, aligned into a continuous alley sequence, and implemented in a Unity based VR environment. To support real time exploration, the environment was designed with continuous controller based movement, invisible colliders, interactive scanned objects, and selective scene loading. (Results) The constructed PCD-VR environment preserved the visual characteristics of point clouds while enabling bodily exploration of the alley sequence. As users moved through the VR environment, changes in point density and translucency revealed shifting relationships between near and far space, allowing depth, wall proximity, and turning points to be perceived experientially rather than inferred only visually. Compared with 360-degree photos and roadview, PCD-VR more effectively conveyed the continuity of alley sequences, the bodily perception of scale and depth, and the user＇s ability to choose routes and expand exploration through interaction. (Conclusions) The study suggests that PCD-VR can function not merely as a visualization technique but as an experiential medium for recording and re-presenting disappearing urban spaces. By reinterpreting point clouds as a representational resource rather than incomplete data for mesh conversion, the proposed methodology offers a way to analyze and communicate spatial experience in architectural and urban contexts. The research is meaningful in that it systematizes a practical workflow for constructing a PCD-VR environment and demonstrates its potential as a tool for documenting, understanding, and re-examining existing urban fabric before transformation.

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