Digitalization of culturally significant buildings: ensuring high-quality data exchanges in the heritage domain using OpenBIM

Laurens Jozef Nicolaas Oostwegel,Sergej Muhič,Katja Malovrh Rebec,Štefan Jaud

doi:10.1186/s40494-021-00640-y

Laurens Jozef Nicolaas Oostwegel, Sergej Muhič + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00640-y

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Abstract

Cultural heritage building information models (HBIMs) incorporate specific geometric and semantic data that are mandatory for supporting the workflows and decision making during a heritage study. The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) open data exchange standard can be used to migrate these data between different software solutions as an openBIM approach, and has the potential to mitigate data loss. Specific data-exchange scenarios can be supported by firstly developing an Information Delivery Manual (IDM) and subsequently filtering portions of the IFC schema and producing a specialized Model View Definition (MVD). This paper showcases the creation of a specialized IDM for the heritage domain in consultation with experts in the restoration and preservation of built heritage. The IDM was then translated into a pilot MVD for heritage. We tested our developments on an HBIM case study, where a historic building was semantically enriched with information about the case study’s conservation plan and then checked against the specified IDM requirements using the developed MVD. We concluded that the creation of an IDM and then the MVD for the heritage domain are achievable and will bring us one step closer to BIM standardisation in the field of digitised cultural buildings.

Highlights

Benefits of heritage building information modelling The Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodology applied to building heritage has generated a significant catalogue of experiences classified under the title Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) [1]
We had access to a conservation plan and supplementary documentation for Mrakova domačija (Mrak’s homestead, Fig. 1), a residential building built in the seventeenth century that is in the north-west of Slovenia near Bled and protected as cultural heritage of local significance
A few key area where HBIM could enhance the renovation/conservation process were defined by various actors: (1) capturing the current state of heritage in BIM using scan-to-BIM; (2) renovation proposal; (3) guidelines of the conservation plan; (4) automatic checking of guidelines using Model View Definition (MVD); (5) plans of the

Summary

Introduction

Benefits of heritage building information modelling The Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodology applied to building heritage has generated a significant catalogue of experiences classified under the title Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) [1]. Some researchers have already highlighted the fact that parametric modelling, database formulation and structured information management through BIM could offer many benefits to managing a built historic environment in the operation and maintenance phases, and in Conservation, Repair and Maintenance (CRM) programming [2,3,4]. The creation of a HBIM model for conservation projects requires the collection of available information, interpretation, and the final modelling of the different structural elements [7]. The HBIM can include the following BIM dimensions: (1)

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