SIAM IMR26 Meshing Contest — Brandenburg Gate. Watertight reconstruction of a zero-thickness scan
For the 2026 International Meshing Roundtable, SIAM challenged participants to mesh the Brandenburg Gate from a zero-thickness scanned STL. This case presents the resulting reconstruction: a watertight surface mesh that preserves the monument's sculptural detail while consolidating its overlapping scanned surfaces.
www.internationalmeshingroundtable.com/imr34/meshing-contest/
Section views through the original STL expose its open, zero-thickness construction before reconstruction. The scan is a shell of infinitely thin triangles — open at every cut, with overlapping surfaces where the scan passes over itself.
Columns
Repeated curved surfaces are recovered as a continuous, watertight structure.
Chariot
The sculptural details and narrow gaps make the chariot the most intricate part of the scan.
Side entrance
Thin columns, deep openings, and intersecting scanned surfaces are resolved into one mesh.
Rear columns
Overlapping scanned features are consolidated behind the colonnade.
The full reconstruction preserves the monument's large-scale form and fine architectural detail.
