Heritage Bim, Numerical Simulation and Decision Support Systems: an Integrated Approach for Historical Buildings Retrofit

Abstract

The article describes an integrated, holistic and multi-scalar methodology to address the theme of energy efficiency of historic fabrics, supported by the use of technologies in the field of Heritage BIM, numerical simulations and decision support systems, carried out in the old town of Frigento in Italy. Both at the urban and the building scale, a combination of traditional and innovative analyses were integrated into a Heritage-BIM platform of the historic centre. The use of ICT technologies helped to improve interoperability between Heritage-BIM and numerical simulations to streamline the operational workflow by avoiding redundant steps through the use of computational design and graphical algorithmic modelling as an intermediate step between the two software environments. The Analytical Hierarchy Process, a Multicriteria analysis application tool, based on four key criteria (compatibility with restoration principles, economic affordability, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability), was used to select the best retrofit solution for a pilot historical building among a set of alternatives proposed by the research and design team, including all the stakeholders involved in the process.