Search

The architectural engineering and construction sector accounts for about 30-40% of global energy consumption. The European goal of reducing this consumption and the linked greenhouse gas emissions calls for an increased capacity to implement building renovations. Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Building Performance Simulations (BPS) are among the most promising tools for fostering interdisciplinary, efficient processes and feasible analysis and design solutions to support this goal. Of the whole building stock, heritage buildings represent the most challenging part, although their potential as a driver for mitigating climate change and supporting sustainable development is being increasingly recognized. This paper presents a Heritage BIM and BPS-based workflow to support the energy and environmental improvement of publicly-owned historical buildings, that was applied to 9 case studies of 7 different Mediterranean countries. The overall aim of this research is to enhance the capacity of public local administrations and professionals to upgrade the historical building stock and demonstrate the scalability of the proposed workflow to the entire building stock of the Mediterranean area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process to Built Heritage (HBIM) is a growing practice in processes and activities aimed at the investigation, documentation, and conservation of architectural heritage. However, it still raises some questions, such as the compatibility between the formalisation of information in the BIM model; and what limitations are inherent in current software implementations to establish a connection with external resources. On this basis, this paper aims at reviewing which methods are currently experimented to improve the level of semantic enrichment and to extend the knowledge representation domain offered today by the most common BIM authoring tools in an HBIM process. The analysis distinguishes two approaches that differ in the role played by external databases and the objectives pursued. Conclusions were drawn highlighting common needs for overcoming technical and conceptual limitations imposed by the use of proprietary BIM authoring tools, and differences in application perspectives and effectiveness. [Display omitted] • The application of the BIM process to built heritage (HBIM) is still an open challenge. • It is necessary to overcome both technical and conceptual limitations imposed by BIM tools. • Semantic enrichment of BIM makes use of external databases to link external resources. • It is possible to identify two approaches used for semantic enrichment in HBIM. • Approaches differ in the role played by external databases and the objectives pursued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]