Beirut Port Explosion — Full Timeline Reconstruction

Background

A comprehensive timeline and spatial reconstruction of the Beirut harbor explosion (2020). Integration of a city-scale architectural model with volumetric smoke representations and temporally synchronized camera-matching, aligning multiple data sources to establish a defensible sequence of events.

• Official investigation: forensic-architecture.org
• ArcGIS 3D scene: experience.arcgis.com
• Source repo: github.com/forensic-architecture/models

Key raw assets

• Point cloud: BeirutPort_Aug5_2020.ply — post-blast scan.
• Environment & cameras: Site.blend (port, city portion, camera locations; .c4d also available).
• Interior geometry: Warehouse.blend (tyres, fireworks, ammonium nitrate bags).
• Volumetrics & timelines: Clouds.blend (fire/explosion envelope at different times).
• Media mapping: Media_inventory.xlsx.

How it was likely made

• Integrating legacy architectural models: original city model built in Rhinoceros 5.0 (.3dm); imported into Blender (community import_3dm addon, or via .obj/.fbx preserving scale).
• Custom warehouse modeling: not native to the city base; modeled from open-source photo/video, matched against satellite baselines, nested into the Rhino blockout.
• Point cloud registration: high-density post-blast .ply overlay on the pre-blast mesh to confirm structural displacement and destruction radius.
• Smoke plume: likely sculpted to match footage — not necessarily a simulation (fire sim used to locate blast origin).

Related resources

To be filled in during the #45/#47 restructure — link to camera-matching, geolocation, photogrammetry, point cloud tools.