La modellazione informativa (HBIM) e il percorso di conoscenza degli edifici storici ed esistenti: applicazione e problemi in una villa veneta

Conservation projects on architectural heritage (AH) must rely on a wide range of data from various sources and disciplines, necessitating collaboration among experts and yielding multiple outputs. Building information modelling (BIM) was initially designed to address the complexities of the construction sector, but unique characteristics of architectural heritage (HBIM), including traditional construction techniques, material decay, and damage, pose challenges to its application. Nevertheless, HBIM holds promise as a valuable tool for documenting and managing architectural heritage. The preliminary study of AH involves a series of steps, encompassing archival research and onsite material testing, with the goal of creating a model for assessing structural safety. This paper employs a similar approach to develop a BIM model of a Palladian villa in Vicenza, fully utilizing parametric modelling and the information embedded within 3D elements to convey the knowledge acquired during the study. As a result, the model is somewhat simplified; for example, the walls are represented as perfectly vertical. However, the lack of finer detail is compensated for by including corresponding information in the parameters of BIM objects (e.g., utilizing an ‘out-of-plumb’ parameter in this case). The stratigraphy of attributes elements was adapted to match that observed on site and therefore the walls were subdivided according to changes into materials, building phases and thickness, to display them correctly and allow further analysis. The mapping of the decay of materials required some redundancy, as decay information must be attributed also to the supporting elements. Overall, the BIM database proved flexible enough to gather all necessary information. However, the distribution of the model is hindered by user-defined attributes, which are still absent from shared libraries in the architectural heritage field.