The BIM process for the architectural heritage: New communication tools based on AR/VR Case study: Palazzo di Città

The present study aims at presenting the application of the Building Information Modeling methodology to the case study of Palazzo di Città, the Turin City Hall, investigating the possibilities of integration of new technologies in Cultural Heritage preservation and valorization. From the survey phase to the communication of the CH to end-users, BIM methodology, combined with the latest digital innovations (AR, VR, 3d Laser Scanner and much more), allows a fast and highly communicative representation of buildings to both professionals and common visitors who interact with the building life-cycle. An important objective of this work is moreover to demonstrate the advantages of adopting and integrating this technologies in Real Estate Management at a national scale, fully testing the adaptability of parametric software and Virtual Reality modeling to complex and highly decorated buildings, confirming the potentiality of BIM software upon an uncommon field: the historic buildings. The case study is in fact Palazzo di Città, the baroque, seventieth century City Hall of Turin. The research fully meets the latest directives of European Union and other International Organizations in the field of digitization of archives and Public Property management, participating to the international community effort to overcome the contemporary deep Construction Field crisis. In particular, the methodology has been focused and adapted to the protection and management of our huge Heritage, founding its objectives on the quest of cost-saving processes and instruments, applied to the management of a CH. Through BIM it is in fact possible to increase the communication and cooperation among all the actors involved in the building life-cycle behaving as a common working platform. Draws, 3D model and database are shared by all the actors and integrated in the same digital structure, where control tools and cooperation can prevent the designers from errors, saving time and money in the construction phase. The particularity of the case study, Palazzo di Città, being contemporarily a CH, a public asset and a working space, allows a deep study of the possibilities of BIM applied to a complex building, touching very important aspects of a historic building management: digitization of the historic information, publication of modeling techniques of complex architectonical elements, transformations reconstruction, energy consumption control, Facility Management, dissemination, virtual reconstructions of the lost appearance and accessibility for people with sensory and motor impairments. Moreover, the last chapters of the study focus on the fruition of this paramount Turin CH, making available for all kind of people interesting and not well known aspects of the history of the building and of the city itself. This part of the research suggests a methodology to translate static 2d images and written descriptions of a CH into living and immersive VR environment, presenting in an interactive way the transformation of the Marble Hall, once called Aula Maior: the room where the Mayor meets his citizens. Besides the aspects related to the valorization and preservation of the CH, the study reserves considerable space to the deepening of technical aspects involving advanced parametric modeling techniques, use of BIM software and all the vital procedures necessary to the generation of an efficient management informative platform. The whole work is intended as a guide for future works, structuring a replicable protocol to achieve an efficient digitization of papery resources into a 3d virtual model

Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice

22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3

Proceedings of the 9th Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD) international conference 2021 (ASCAAD 2021): architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: transformation and challenges.

The ASCAAD 2021 conference theme is Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: transformation and challenges. The theme addresses the gradual shift in computational design from prototypical morphogenetic-centered associations in the architectural discourse. This imminent shift of focus is increasingly stirring a debate in the architectural community and is provoking a much needed critical questioning of the role of computation in architecture as a sole embodiment and enactment of technical dimensions, into one that rather deliberately pursues and embraces the humanities as an ultimate aspiration

The challenges of public ownership in urban public spaces. The confrontation of interests in the urban development process. The case of Tirana, Albania

The present work uses Jane Jacobs' approach and methodology to observe and study the city, recognizing the idea that residents are crucial to its development and that their vision should be considered during urban planning and reconstruction of the city. . The methodological paradigm of this investigation is interpretative tending towards pragmatism with application contexts and theoretical purposes. The research tools are mixed, so the methodological approach is qualitative, while quantitative data are used to interpret the results. Given the complexity of the city's development, the researcher chose a bottom-up approach, using a multitude of methods and sources starting from narrative and historical ones, to field investigations and case studies. The global, interdisciplinary and open approach has allowed simultaneous sensory and perceptive reflections on the contents of these spaces to understand the dynamics of change. The research methodology is structured around three main dimensions: the urban dimension for which the method of field observation, photography and cartographic analysis was used; the cultural dimension for which field observation and analysis of legal packages and decisions were used; the human dimension for which field observation and community interviews were used. The causes of the transformation of the urban environment of the historic center of Tirana are found in the centralized approach of the institutions to the cultural common goods, where the only decision-making actor is the State, regardless of the knowledge and cultural heritage of the reference community. Despite the updates of the regulatory framework in accordance with the European directives, the decision-making framework has changed little or nothing in terms of involvement of other actors, thus maintaining an 'orthodox' approach that has been observed unchanged since 1948. The research highlights two periods in which heritage protection tools were used inappropriately, eliminating it from the territory: in the years 1967-70 and in the years 2015-2020. These two periods have in common the decision-making process imposed from above: the first during the communist regime, when the application of political ideology aimed at strengthening the communist power by fighting religion; the second refers to the use of power in the narrow interest of private economic capital, focusing decisions on the basis of cadastral parcels and not in the interest of the development of the city as a whole.Il presente lavoro utilizza l’approccio e la metodologia di Jane Jacobs per osservare e studiare la città, riconoscendo l'idea che i residenti sono cruciali per il suo sviluppo e che la loro visione dovrebbe essere considerata durante la pianificazione urbana e la ricostruzione della città. Il paradigma metodologico di questa indagine è interpretativo tendente al pragmatismo con contesti applicativi e finalità teoriche. Gli strumenti di ricerca sono misti, per cui l'approccio metodologico è qualitativo, mentre i dati quantitativi vengono utilizzati per interpretare i risultati. Data la complessità dello sviluppo della città, il ricercatore ha scelto un approccio bottom-up, utilizzando una moltitudine di metodi e fonti a partire da quelli narrativi e storici, a indagini sul campo e studi di casi. L'approccio globale, interdisciplinare e aperto ha permesso riflessioni sensoriali e percettive simultanee sui contenuti di questi spazi per comprenderne le dinamiche del cambiamento. La metodologia di ricerca si struttura attorno a tre dimensioni principali: la dimensione urbana per la quale è stato utilizzato il metodo dell'osservazione sul campo, della fotografia e dell'analisi cartografica; la dimensione culturale per la quale sono state utilizzate l'osservazione sul campo e l'analisi di pacchetti giuridici e decisioni; la dimensione umana per la quale sono state utilizzate l'osservazione sul campo e le interviste alla comunità. Le cause della trasformazione dell'ambiente urbano del centro storico di Tirana si trovano nell'approccio accentrato delle istituzioni ai beni comuni culturali, dove l'unico attore decisionale è lo Stato, prescindendo dalla conoscenza e dal patrimonio culturale della comunità di riferimento. Nonostante gli aggiornamenti del quadro normativo in accordo con le direttive europee, il quadro decisionale è cambiato poco o niente in termini di coinvolgimento di altri attori, mantenendo così un approccio 'ortodosso' che si osserva immutato dal 1948. La ricerca evidenzia due periodi in cui gli strumenti di tutela del patrimonio sono stati utilizzati in maniera inappropriata, eliminandolo dal territorio: negli anni 1967-70 e negli anni 2015-2020. Questi due periodi hanno in comune il processo decisionale imposto dall'alto: il primo durante il regime comunista, quando l’applicazione dell'ideologia politica mirava a rafforzare il potere comunista combattendo la religione; il secondo fa riferimento all'uso del potere nell'interesse ristretto del capitale economico privato, focalizzando le decisioni sulla base di particelle catastali e non nell'interesse dello sviluppo della città nel suo insieme

Changing Priorities. 3rd VIBRArch

In order to warrant a good present and future for people around the planet and to safe the care of the planet itself, research in architecture has to release all its potential. Therefore, the aims of the 3rd Valencia International Biennial of Research in Architecture are: - To focus on the most relevant needs of humanity and the planet and what architectural research can do for solving them. - To assess the evolution of architectural research in traditionally matters of interest and the current state of these popular and widespread topics. - To deepen in the current state and findings of architectural research on subjects akin to post-capitalism and frequently related to equal opportunities and the universal right to personal development and happiness. - To showcase all kinds of research related to the new and holistic concept of sustainability and to climate emergency. - To place in the spotlight those ongoing works or available proposals developed by architectural researchers in order to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. - To underline the capacity of architectural research to develop resiliency and abilities to adapt itself to changing priorities. - To highlight architecture's multidisciplinarity as a melting pot of multiple approaches, points of view and expertise. - To open new perspectives for architectural research by promoting the development of multidisciplinary and inter-university networks and research groups. For all that, the 3rd Valencia International Biennial of Research in Architecture is open not only to architects, but also for any academic, practitioner, professional or student with a determination to develop research in architecture or neighboring fields.Cabrera Fausto, I. (2023). Changing Priorities. 3rd VIBRArch. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/VIBRArch2022.2022.1686

Digital Transformation of the Design, Construction and Management Processes of the Built Environment

This open access book focuses on the development of methods, interoperable and integrated ICT tools, and survey techniques for optimal management of the building process. The construction sector is facing an increasing demand for major innovations in terms of digital dematerialization and technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, advanced manufacturing, robotics, 3D printing, blockchain technologies and artificial intelligence. The demand for simplification and transparency in information management and for the rationalization and optimization of very fragmented and splintered processes is a key driver for digitization. The book describes the contribution of the ABC Department of the Polytechnic University of Milan (Politecnico di Milano) to R&D activities regarding methods and ICT tools for the interoperable management of the different phases of the building process, including design, construction, and management. Informative case studies complement the theoretical discussion. The book will be of interest to all stakeholders in the building process – owners, designers, constructors, and faculty managers – as well as the research sector

Extending BIM for air quality monitoring

As we spend more than 90% of our time inside buildings, indoor environmental quality is a major concern for healthy living. Recent studies show that almost 80% of people in European countries and the United States suffer from SBS (Sick Building Syndrome), which affects physical health, productivity and psychological well-being. In this context, environmental quality monitoring provides stakeholders with crucial information about indoor living conditions, thus facilitating building management along its lifecycle, from design, construction and commissioning to usage, maintenance and end-of-life. However, currently available modelling tools for building management remain limited to static models and lack integration capacities to efficiently exploit environmental quality monitoring data. In order to overcome these limitations, we designed and implemented a generic software architecture that relies on accessible Building Information Model (BIM) attributes to add a dynamic layer that integrates environmental quality data coming from deployed sensors. Merging sensor data with BIM allows creation of a digital twin for the monitored building where live information about environmental quality enables evaluation through numerical simulation. Our solution allows accessing and displaying live sensor data, thus providing advanced functionality to the end-user and other systems in the building. In order to preserve genericity and separation of concerns, our solution stores sensor data in a separate database available through an application programming interface (API), which decouples BIM models from sensor data. Our proof-of-concept experiments were conducted with a cultural heritage building located in Bled, Slovenia. We demonstrated that it is possible to display live information regarding environmental quality (temperature, relative humidity, CO2, particle matter, light) using Revit as an example, thus enabling end-users to follow the conditions of their living environment and take appropriate measures to improve its quality.Pages 244-250