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

Structural calculations by horizontal and vertical interoperability for the redevelopment of existing buildings

By considering the importance of Italy which is cradle of civilization and has a rich architectural and cultural heritage, unfortunately, current attention of community is not paid as much as should be; at the same time the Italian real estate challenges contemporary designers in the field of heritage buildings care more than in the new constructions. Moreover, increasing awareness of problems related to seismic safety is also an important issue, especially as a result of dramatic seismic events of recent years. The aim of this research is the integration of Structural analysis into Building Information Modeling (BIM) quickly using a methodology by which get data flows and information exchanges, with no data losses, between architectural software (as Revit Architecture and Archicad) and structural analysis software (as Axis VM) both static and seismic calculation. For the process of exchanging data from Revit to other software was considered as an “intelligent interoperability” with good results passing through Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) format, analyzing problems and possible solutions by using Solibri Model Checker. In this way, investigation of the possibilities of maintenance and structural stability analysis, in support to the comprehension of the behavior of elements within the whole building organism will be easier in achieving the connection between BIM and structural analysis for existing/historical buildings. The paper also elaborates risks and barriers to BIM implementation and future trends

La centralità della Rappresentazione con il BIM

La transizione digitale del settore delle costruzioni è un’esigenza per tutte le figure professionali coinvolte durante l’intero ciclo di vita dell’edificio. In questo contesto il tema della rappresentazione rafforza la centralità del proprio ruolo in relazione ai diversi ambiti coinvolti, grazie all’interoperabilità dei dati. Il disegno è da sempre considerato la forma di sintesi e di comunicazione visiva che si occupa di condividere gli elementi utili alla conoscenza e/o alla realizzazione di oggetti complessi, grazie ai metodi della rappresentazione. Il Building Information Modelling (BIM) è la metodologia che consente ai diversi professionisti di fornire informazioni grafiche e alfanumeriche di diverso tipo in maniera integrata tra loro. In questo senso la modellazione parametrica, oltre che permettere la rappresentazione tridimensionale dell’elemento complesso, assolvendo al dovere del disegno, dà vita ad un ambiente capace di contenere tutte le informazioni di natura eterogenea derivanti dalle molteplici discipline interessate durante il processo di progettazione, costruzione, gestione e manutenzione di un’opera. L’ambiente BIM deve essere inteso non solo come strumento di rappresentazione e visualizzazione, ma piuttosto come una banca dati le cui informazioni possono essere condivise e utilizzate agevolmente in diversi ambiti seguendo un flusso metodologico interoperabile. Quanto affermato è stato approfondito e analizzato su diversi casi studio reali, con l’obiettivo di definire il migliore processo di interoperabilità in funzione delle finalità richieste al modello. Verrà descritta la metodologia messa a punto nel corso degli anni sulle attività svolte relativamente: 1) al BIM per il patrimonio architettonico con il progetto di ricerca Building Heritage Information Modelling and Management (BHIMM-PRIN) relativo alla modellazione di edifici storici, con un approfondimento del tema della gestione delle nuvole di punti; 2) al Facility Management (FM) applicato ai casi studio della Nuova Sede per Uffici di Reale Mutua e alla Torre per la Sede Unica della Regione Piemonte, per la realizzazione di modelli as-built strutturati per il collegamento ad un software di Computer Aided FM (CAFM) rispettivamente sulle attività di gestione dell’edificio e sulle attività di manutenzione impiantistica; 3) all’analisi energetica nell’ambito del Progetto di Digitalizzazione del Patrimonio Pubblico della Città di Torino e a livello distrettuale con il progetto District Information Modelling and Management for Energy Reduction (DIMMER-FP7); 4) all’InfraBIM per la sperimentazione della metodologia BIM per la progettazione, costruzione e manutenzione dell’ingegneria infrastrutturale. La metodologia adottata nei diversi lavori prevede sempre tre fasi successive: rilievo e ricerca documentale; modellazione digitale con interpretazione critica dei dati da inserire nel modello con il livello di dettaglio e di sviluppo (LoD) volta per volta più adatto; utilizzo dei dati del modello grazie all’interoperabilità e alla interrogazione del data base del modello stesso. Attraverso i vari casi studio si sono raggiunti risultati diversi in relazione alle specifiche finalità dei vari progetti: la modellazione architettonica/strutturale/impiantistica di oggetti complessi (edifici e infrastrutture), la gestione degli spazi, il risparmio energetico e le attività di gestione e manutenzione. Il processo BIM ad oggi non ha ancora raggiunto un grado di interoperabilità che permetta di condividere i dati senza perdita di informazioni determinando di fatto la necessità di replicazione/reinserimento del dato. In questo senso è chiaro quanto sia fondamentale l’attività di ricerca in questo ambito. L’interoperabilità è il valore aggiunto dell’innovazione tecnologica per l’industria delle costruzioni che valorizza la rappresentazione come strumento fondamentale nel processo edilizio per la condivisione dell’informazione tra i vari utenti coinvolti

Evaluation of vernacular architecture of Uzundere District (architectural typology and physical form of building) in relation to ecological sustainable development

Since 1990, Uzundere district has attracted the attention of national and international organizations due to its rich ecological values, where different projects have been launched in various fields, such as agriculture, environment, tourism, urbanism and architectural heritage. Uzundere region has strong vernacular heritage shaped by the climate, topographic conditions, local materials, culture and social lifestyle. In this study, various types of rural houses are surveyed in villages in the region. The plan and section of the houses are prepared through the author’s field survey, measurements, sketches, observation and interviews with local people. Then, the architectural response of houses to the climate is evaluated in terms of physical form and architectural typology of buildings. The outcome of optimized usage of materials, construction techniques and climatic considerations occurred in the region during centuries can be utilized in today’s architectural practice, while the modern architecture needs environment-friendly buildings

‘Translation' and fruition of an ancient book through virtual reality in the case of lost cultural heritage case study: "inscriptiones" by emmanuel thesaurus

This article presents a methodology for historical information fruition, such as ancient books texts, in the tourism field. The case study highlights the great possibility that virtual reality (VR) offers to Cultural Heritage professionals in terms of communication and awareness raising of end users. This methodology, applied to the rare 17th century book by Emmanuel Thesaurus "Inscriptiones quotquot reperiri potuerunt Opera ed diligentia Emmanuelis Philiberti Panealbi", allows us to show the lost seventeenth-century traits of the Marble Hall in Palazzo di Città (Turin). Tourists can be immersed in a virtual space based on the words of the ancient book within the real space of the Hall, which let him relive the early baroque project atmosphere. Through this work, it is possible to show how the use of cutting-edge ICT, such as BIM, can impact both on research and society, by arousing the public interest for Cultural Heritage and shared understanding

Information interoperability and interdisciplinarity: the BIM approach from SEEMPubS project to DIMMER project

Design, implementation and management constitute the cornerstones of the building process and the current trend, albeit still at an embryonic state in Italy, is represented by the application of a problem-solving approach combining integrated analysis and research between interdisciplinary professionals able to integrate their know-how and experience. The project SEEMPubS (Smart Energy Efficient Middleware for Public Spaces), which ended in August 2013, investigated the theoretical and operational possibility of using a network of sensors to monitor energy consumption and raise awareness of this issue among end-users in academic and working places. The project DIMMER (District Information Modeling and Management for Energy Reduction), that kicked off on October 01st, 2013, represents its evolution, as the research extends from buildings (building scale) to the neighborhood (urban scale), simultaneously expanding the areas of study. Data and information to be processed and analyzed call, in this case, for a reconsideration of the activities to be carried out, through the use of innovative instruments and procedures to ensure correct information flow and optimal data management. For this purpose, we adopted the BIM methodology (Building Information Modeling) for digital representation and modeling of our case studies, facility management and analysis of interoperability between different software applications, investigating how the tools currently available on the market and the interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals from different areas may constitute the standard for tomorrow’s communicatio

Calcoli strutturali ed energetici per la riqualificazione degli edifici esistenti. Structural and energy calculations for the redevelopment of existing buildings

Negli ultimi anni i temi dell'efficienza energetica e della sicurezza strutturale degli edifici esistenti sono stati oggetto di molteplici ricerche in ambito nazionale ed internazionale in modo estremamente specialistico e settoriale. Il presente contributo rappresenta i primi risultati di un' attività interdisciplinare che si pone l'obiettivo di definire una modalità di intervento facilmente replicabile a livello locale e nazionale, in grado di definire con chiarezza metodologica quali devono essere gli interventi da effettuare, il loro costo e quali sono i benefici che se ne possono trarr