Mapping the Unknown: Using Incomplete Evidence to Craft Digital Three-Dimensional Models of St Stephen’s

Crafting a digital reconstruction of a lost space is a process of rediscovery and exploration. The nature of the evidence determines the form of the reconstruction, providing a sketch of what is known about the space. The process of reconstruction itself, however, reveals a map of what is unknown about the space. How the known and the unknown are negotiated by reconstruction yields insights and new questions about even wellinvestigated lost spaces such as the Chapel of St Stephen, Palace of Westminster, and its subsequent reincarnation as the Chamber of the House of Commons. This article presents a primer of techniques for computer-based reconstructions and, through case studies from the St Stephen's project, details how evidence and gaps in that evidence work together to create a vision of the past.