# How to Participate in the INFORTREAT Project

**INFORTREAT** is building an open, growing database of interactive 3D BIM models of Early Modern fortifications from historical treatises (16th–18th century). We welcome contributions from researchers, architects, heritage professionals, and students worldwide.

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## What does contributing mean?

You can use the tools in this package to document **any treatise on fortification architecture** — whether it's one already in our database or one that hasn't been modelled yet — and share your result with the project.
You may consider analyzing treatises already documented in the treatises antology of the INFORTREAT project.

A contribution consists of:
1. A **3D model** of a fortification from a historical treatise (Rhino/Blender/other)
2. An **Excel metadata sheet** with object properties referenced to the original text
3. The **generated output files** (`.ifc`, `.xkt`, `_metadata.json`)
4. A short documentation of your contribution including your name, affiliation, and a short description of the contribution

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## Who can contribute?

Anyone with:
- Access to a historical treatise on fortification (many are freely available as digitized manuscripts)
- Basic 3D modelling skills (Rhino, Blender, SketchUp, or similar)
- Willingness to follow our naming conventions (see `WORKFLOW_GUIDE.md`)

No programming experience is required — the enrichment tool has a graphical interface.

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## What treatises can I document?

We focus on printed treatises from the **16th to 18th century** dealing with bastioned fortification. Examples already in the database include:
- Pietro Sardi, *Corno Dogale dell'Architettura Militare* (1638)
- Francesco de Marchi, *Della architettura militare* (1599)
- Lorini, Tensini, Guarini, Freitag, De Ville...

If you are unsure whether a treatise qualifies, contact us before starting.

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## Step-by-step: how to contribute

### 1. Follow the complete workflow
Read `WORKFLOW_GUIDE.md` and produce:
- `yourtreatise.gltf` (input model)
- `yourtreatise_input.xlsx` (metadata sheet)
- `yourtreatise.ifc`, `yourtreatise.xkt`, `yourtreatise_metadata.json` (outputs)

### 2. Prepare documentation
Write a short description including:
- Full bibliographic reference to the treatise (author, title, year, edition)
- Link to a digitized version of the source (e.g., from Google Books, BnF Gallica, Internet Archive)
- Notes on modeling choices (which chapter/plate you referenced, scale used, units)

### 3. Send us your files
Email your files and documentation to:

**[infortreat@ing.unipi.it](mailto:infortreat@ing.unipi.it)**

Subject line: `Contribution — [Treatise Author, Year]`

Attach or provide a download link to:
- Your `.gltf` model file
- Your Excel metadata sheet
- Your generated `.ifc`, `.xkt`, and `_metadata.json` files
- Your written documentation

### 4. Review process
The INFORTREAT team will:
- Review the model and metadata for consistency
- Contact you if clarifications are needed
- Publish the model on the INFORTREAT website with your attribution

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## Attribution policy

Contributors are acknowledged on the INFORTREAT website on the model's dedicated page.

Provide the name(s) you wish to be credited with (full name or institutional affiliation).

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## License of contributions

By submitting a contribution, you agree that your 3D model and metadata files will be published under the **AGPLv3** open-source license, consistent with the rest of the INFORTREAT toolkit.

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## Questions?

Email: [infortreat@ing.unipi.it](mailto:infortreat@ing.unipi.it)
Website: [infortreat.unipi.it](https://www.infortreat.unipi.it)

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*Thank you for helping make Early Modern fortification knowledge open and accessible.*
