Transforming the urban environment into knowledge: surveying, mapping and digital navigation of the Ex OGM-site in Turin

This paper investigates urban surveying as a process of translation through which the experience of space is progressively converted into structured knowledge. Moving beyond the conventional conception of surveying as a simple data acquisition activity, this research interprets it as a cognitive practice capable of mediating between perception, representation and understanding of the built environment. From this perspective, the transition from physical reality to digital representation involves a continuous transformation of information aimed at making the characteristics, relationships and persistent features of urban space legible. Using a case study of the Ex OGM-site in Turin, this paper examines the contribution of digital technologies in the construction and organization of knowledge. The results highlight how interactive maps and immersive digital navigation systems are not only tools for heritage communication and dissemination, but also effective cognitive devices capable of supporting new approaches of exploration, interpretation and comprehension of historic urban environments.