Digitalization of cultural heritage’s tangible & intangible dimensions

The paper aims at discussing the advantages and challenges of the digitalization of the Cultural Heritage. Within the application field, historical and cultural sites are recognized as keepers of traditions and values, which run the risk of extinction due to the fast growing phenomenon of globalization. This essay presents an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the Building Information Model (BIM) as a dynamic, graphic, and multidimensional platform for the management of the tangible and intangible attributes of the Cultural Heritage and for the generation and dissemination of culturally nuanced information related to materials, the state of conservation and the methods of construction. This paper analyses BIM’s potencial when it is applied to new fields such as the Cultural Heritage, its documentation, conservation and management. In addition, it disusses the connection of BIM with the Geographic Information System (GIS) in a multi-scaled approach. The integrated use of these Spatial Information Systems allows us to disclose and explore, new dimensions at an architectural and territorial scale, such as the dimension of time (4D) and of the intangibility of the Cultural Heritage. The integration of these Spatial Information Systems - GIS and BIM - would support the documentation and conservation process. In addition, it would be able to communicate historical, religious and cultural values to current and future generations. These values are intrinsically connected to the Built Heritage. GIS and BIM can provide a platform for the creation of new meanings stemming from the interaction of different users and stakeholders engaged in its preservation and enhancement

Protecting trees through an inventory and typology: Heritage trees in the Karavanke Mountains, Slovenia

Both research and policy require a transparent approach to monitoring and managing natural and cultural heritage because landscape quality has become a key concept in landscape planning. This paper introduces an advanced approach to natural and cultural heritage inventory for the study of heritage trees. Because trees play different roles in society, different regulations apply to their preservation, which can lead to inconsistencies in records for heritages trees. The inventory of heritage trees and their types in the study area identified within the Karavanke Natura 2000 project, which is presented in this paper, is based on existing lists of heritage trees, fieldwork, and interviews. A new database of heritage trees has been established in which the advantage of geographical information systems unifying various data sources is emphasized

Scan to BIM for 3D reconstruction of the papal basilica of saint Francis in Assisi In Italy

The historical building heritage, present in the most of Italian cities centres, is, as part of the construction sector, a working potential, but unfortunately it requires planning of more complex and problematic interventions. However, policies to support on the existing interventions, together with a growing sensitivity for the recovery of assets, determine the need to implement specific studies and to analyse the specific problems of each site. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the methodology and the results obtained from integrated laser scanning activity in order to have precious architectural information useful not only from the cultural heritage point of view but also to construct more operative and powerful tools, such as BIM (Building Information Modelling) aimed to the management of this cultural heritage. The Papal Basilica and the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi in Italy are, in fact, characterized by unique and complex peculiarities, which require a detailed knowledge of the sites themselves to ensure visitor’s security and safety. For such a project, we have to take in account all the people and personnel normally present in the site, visitors with disabilities and finally the needs for cultural heritage preservation and protection. This aim can be reached using integrated systems and new technologies, such as Internet of Everything (IoE), capable of connecting people, things (smart sensors, devices and actuators; mobile terminals; wearable devices; etc.), data/information/knowledge and processes to reach the desired goals. The IoE system must implement and support an Integrated Multidisciplinary Model for Security and Safety Management (IMMSSM) for the specific context, using a multidisciplinary approach

The Development of a 2D/3D BIM-GIS Web Platform for Planned Maintenance of Built and Cultural Heritage: the Main10ance Project

The integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM), or Historic BIM (HBIM), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has assumed a crucial role not only in the management of smart cities or urban districts, as well as in the construction sector or infrastructures but also in the management, conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage. This integration opens up new opportunities for decision-makers to assess the impact of interventions on heritage sites, evaluate preservation strategies, and facilitate informed decision-making processes. This contribution presents and describes the open-source web platform developed within the Interreg MAIN10ANCE project. The project aims to promote a common methodology for the cooperation and collaboration of the various stakeholders involved in the restoration, management and maintenance activities of built and cultural heritage sites. This objective has been pursued by creating a BIM-GIS database, focused on the definition of planned maintenance activities, whose data has been made available to professionals and management bodies by means of a shared web platform, usable directly in situ on a tablet or portable devices. The paper highlights the key components of the web platform, including the BIM, GIS, and artifact Viewers, the Planner, and the overall Dashboard. The platform's multiscale and multi-source approach makes it extensible to various cultural assets, whether environmental, architectural, or movable. By integrating historical and geometric information and planning maintenance activities, the web platform thus supports public administrations and professionals, amending existing state-of-the-art solutions

Integration of HBIM and 3D GIS for Digital Heritage Modelling

This paper outlines a new approach for digitally recording cultural heritage sites from laser scan data or photogrammetric data. This approach involves 3D modelling stage and the integration of the 3D model into a 3D GIS for further management and analysis. The modelling stage is carried out using a new concept; Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM). HBIM uses Building Information Modelling (BIM) software with parametric and procedural modelling techniques to automate the modelling stage. The HBIM process involves a reverse engineering solution whereby parametric objects representing architectural elements are mapped onto laser scan or photogrammetric survey data. A library of parametric architectural objects has been designed from historic manuscripts and architectural pattern books. These parametric objects were built using an embedded scripting language within the BIM software called Geometric Descriptive Language (GDL). Using this embedded scripting language, elements of procedural modelling have also been replicated to automatically combine library objects based on architectural rules and proportions. If required the position of elements can be manually refined while overlaying the automatically generated model with the original survey data. After the 3D model has been generated the next stage involves integrating the 3D model into a 3D GIS for further analysis. The international framework for 3D city modelling, CityGML has been adopted for this purpose. CityGML provides an interoperable framework for modelling 3D geometries, semantics, topology and appearance properties. CityGML enables further historical information to be added to the model and allows for efficient management and analysis of all data relating to a heritage site. The aim of this research is to bridge the gap between parametric CAD modelling and 3D GIS while using benefits from both systems to help document and analyse cultural heritage sites

3D imaging techniques in documentation of cultural assets in Malaysia

Despite worldwide rapid development in 3D imaging technologies, documentation of 3D cultural assets in Malaysia is still very much reliant upon conventional techniques. There is very little progress towards exploring new methods or advanced technologies to convert 3D cultural assets into 3D visual representation and visualization models that are easily accessible for information sharing. Shortage of expertise in many levels of digital practice and general perception that 3D digital documentation is costly and requiring high investments further hampers digitization efforts. In recent years, however, advent of computer vision (CV) algorithms make it possible to reconstruct 3D geometry of objects by using image sequences from digital cameras, which are then processed by web services and freeware applications. This paper presents an initial stage in an exploratory study that investigates the potentials of using CV automated image-based open- source software and web services to reconstruct and replicate cultural assets. By selecting an intricate wooden boat, Petalaindera, this study attempts to evaluate the efficiency of CV systems and their suitability to be adopted in digital heritage practice in Malaysia. By presenting a brief overview of previous 3D digital documentation efforts undertaken in the field of cultural heritage (CH) in Malaysia, the final aim of this study is to compare the visual accuracy of 3D models generated by CV system, and 3D models produced by terrestrial long-range scanner and structured white light systems. The final objective is to explore cost-effective methods that could provide fundamental guidelines on the best practice approach for digital heritage in Malaysia

Infrastructuring for cultural commons

In this doctoral dissertation, I inquire into the ways in which Participatory Design (PD) and digital design endeavors can contribute to wider public access to, and use of, digital cultural heritage. I advocate for an approach according to which digital cultural heritage is arranged and understood as cultural commons, and for more collaborative modes of social care for and governance of the commons. In addition to the empirically grounded findings and proposals contained in six individual research articles, I develop a theoretical framework that combines scholarship on Information Infrastructures, Commons and PD. Against this framework I interrogate how the information infrastructures and conditions that surround digital cultural heritage can be active in constructing and contributing to cultural commons. While doing this, I draw attention to the gap that exists between on the one hand official institutional digital cultural heritage collections, systems and practices, and on the other hand the digital platforms and practices through which everyday people create, curate and share digital cultural works. In order to understand how to critically and productively bridge this gap, I present insights gained from conducting three design research cases that engage both cultural heritage institutions and everyday media users. Building upon this empirical work, and latching on to scholarship on the notion of infrastructuring, I propose four infrastructuring strategies for cultural commons: probing and building upon the installed base, stimulating and simulating design and use through gateways, producing and pooling shared resources, and, lastly, fostering and shaping a commons culture that supports commoning. In exploring these strategies, I map the territory between commons and infrastructuring, and connect these notions to the PD tradition. I do so to sketch the design principles for a design orientation, commons design. I assert that these principles can be useful for advancing PD, and can inform future initiatives, aid in identifying infrastructural challenges, and in finding and confirming an orientation to participatory design activities. Drawing on my practical design work, I discuss requirements for professional designers operating on commons frameworks and with collective action. By doing this, my dissertation not only breaks new theoretical ground through advancing theoretical considerations relevant to contemporary design research, especially the field of PD, but also contributes practical implications useful for professional digital media design practice, especially for designers working in the fields of digital culture and cultural heritage

Smart technological tools for rising damp on monumental buildings for cultural heritage conservation. A proposal for smart villages implementation in the Madonie montains (Sicily)

The Madonie district, in the inner Sicily, is composed of 21 villages, custodians of heritage, traditions, and values that constitute the identity of this area, now exclusively entrusted to the collective memory of an increasingly elderly and inactive population. In the study area, full of tangible and intangible heritage, technological tools, can revitalize and reuse examples of architecture, especially monumental, whose main problem is a deep rising damp affecting the masonry. That is particularly critical for the historic/traditional architectures. This research implements, in one of the villages of the enclave, a new technology system, namely Information and Commu- nication Technology (ICT) tool, like Charge neutralisation Technology (CNT), in contrast to the usual application of the classic and well-known resolution systems. This kind of methodology has been already applied in many monumental buildings in Italy with brilliant results and supporting the protection, enhancement, and promotion of cultural heritage. In Sicily it was never used and represents, in line with the smart village approach, a viable technology to be applied. The smart village model is one of the increasingly popular research topics globally and provides technologies aimed at preserving the identity of the territory and the historical buildings. Culture, if usable and accessible to all, results as an economic resource, a tourist attraction, and a factor of identity. The goal is to develop these inner areas through the smart villages approach by implementing smart technologies and establishing a synergic union of centers to be more competitive in the Sicilian hinterland, but also at the national level, with respect to the wise use of administrative, political, and governmental strategies. Cultural heritage and innovation, together, retrace the past with a view to modernity. The country’s cultural heritage recovered and enhanced is a virtuous strategy to safeguard the identity and value of historic places such as that one of ancient villages and a way to find smart resilient strategies and a sustainability assessment for future communities

From survey to semantic representation for Cultural Heritage: the 3D modeling of recurring architectural elements

The digitization of Cultural Heritage paves the way for new approaches to surveying and restitution of historical sites. With a view to the management of integrated programs of documentation and conservation, the research is now focusing on the creation of information systems where to link the digital representation of a building to semantic knowledge. With reference to the emblematic case study of the Calci Charterhouse, also known as Pisa Charterhouse, this contribution illustrates an approach to be followed in the transition from 3D survey information, derived from laser scanner and photogrammetric techniques, to the creation of semantically enriched 3D models. The proposed approach is based on the recognition -segmentation and classification- of elements on the original raw point cloud, and on the manual mapping of NURBS elements on it. For this shape recognition process, reference to architectural treatises and vocabularies of classical architecture is a key step. The created building components are finally imported in a H-BIM environment, where they are enriched with semantic information related to historical knowledge, documentary sources and restoration activities

Digital transformation in the visual inspection of heritage railways tunnels: Technology, artificial intelligence and methodology

The knowledge, the preservation and the maintenance of heritage infrastructures is one of the most challenging matters facing modern civilization. It involves, in inextricable patterns, factors belonging to different fields (cultural, humanistic, social, technical, economical, administrative) coupled with the requirements of safety that can be in conflict with the integrity of part of the infrastructure. For these reasons, it is fundamental to carry out investigations and new planning strategies to know and predict the conditions of very old structures. The paper focused on heritage railway tunnels, one of the most crucial elements of the railway infrastructures in Europe. ETS Srl introduced a new method for diagnostic of existing tunnels through multi-dimensional mobile mapping systems, and a new approach for the Management and Identification of the Risk for Existing Tunnels. The approach belongs to the digital strategies for infrastructure maintenance that are very fast and minimally invasive. The integrated instrumentation allows to have almost all the information necessary for the diagnostics of a structure with non-destructive tests, preserving the integrity of very old structures in a phase of preliminary assessment. In such a way, the process of visual inspection is automatized and back-officed. The results, in terms of defects on the structures, are digitalized and manipulated in different IT environments. The results can be incorporated in the information modelling and virtual reality inspections. The use of artificial intelligence will be necessary to speed-up the back-office phase and introduce the technologies as a new inspection standard. A case study for the application is presented through the methodologies, including some preliminary applications of AI algorithms for the detection of water defects