3D mapping begins of concrete mural that could be lost in Winnipeg’s underground concourse

A University of Manitoba team has created a digital replica of a concrete mural in Winnipeg.

Work is underway to immortalize an iconic piece of Winnipeg art in cyber space amid concerns it could disappear forever.

A team from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture has begun work to create a digital copy of Bruce Head’s “The Wall”—the 400-foot concrete mural housed in the underground concourse below Portage and Main.

Project lead Jason Shields, an assistant professor in the department of interior design, said a six-person team took 25 separate scans of the mural Tuesday night when it was closed to the public.

They are creating a digital replica with LiDAR - a mapping technology that uses laser light to measure distance.

“Once we have those 25 scans, what we’re able to do is then stitch each one of those together into a larger scan,” Shields said.

The mural originally took Head two years to complete. It has been nestled below the iconic intersection since 1978.

Today, crews are in the process of removing the concrete barriers at Portage and Main to reopen it to pedestrians. Below street level, the fate of the concourse and “The Wall” remain up in the air.

That’s why Head’s widow Judy Waytiuk decided to partner with Shields and his team to create a digital copy of the mural.

READ MORE: ‘This was his legacy’ : The work to preserve this massive piece of art with virtual reality

“This digital version will preserve the work for art historians, students, and art researchers all over the country, and internationally if requested,” Waytiuk said in a statement to CTV News Winnipeg.

Head said the technology isn’t perfect; there are certain characteristics it has trouble capturing, be it areas with bright light, reflections, or dark blacks.

“Luckily in our instance, there wasn’t a ton of those occurring. That being said – we only did the scan about 12 hours ago, so we haven’t had time to parse through a ton of the data,” he said.

“But what we saw is it was looking quite good.”

He hopes the final product will be accessible to the public online and in virtual reality. They’re also exploring the idea of recreating the piece in a physical model using a 3D printer.

“So that it comes almost full circle, no pun intended,” he said.

Waytiuk said she and the university are undertaking the project independently from the city, although it has granted the team after-hours access to the concourse.

While she’s happy the project will preserve the piece, Waytiuk is worried it will give city planners one more reason to close the concourse, burying her husband’s work forever.

“Nonetheless, I am immeasurably happy to see this project being done. It will save an important piece of Canadian cultural history, one way or the other,” she said.

In a statement to CTV News Winnipeg, the city said the long-term future of the concourse has not been determined.

“The city has hired a consultant to assess any requirements of potentially decommissioning the underground concourse,” a spokesperson said.

- With files from CTV’s Danton Unger