Soft Boundaries. Techniques and methodologies to represent hypothesis abut the cultural heritage.

The concept of digitalization is nowadays a foundation in historical, architectural, and engineering research aimed at enhancing and preserving the Cultural Heritage. The digital approach serves as a tool for both scholars and the public, promoting knowledge and facilitating public participation through cutting-edge tools, effective working methods, multidisciplinary teamwork, and an efficient management of large data amounts. The graphic-expressive power of the final product is critical to the success of this approach, requiring high quality images and static multimedia outputs, as well as complex spatial structures that allow to represent tangible and intangible aspects of the heritage. In studying historical transformations of built assets, it is essential to define techniques and methodologies capable of communicating what “no longer exists”, while establishing a correct degree of hypothesis based on documented research. Classification of Soft Boundaries in multimedia information outputs clarifies and simplifies the understanding of boundaries and hypotheses related to the built heritage. The ultimate goal is to establish shared knowledge of architectural and engineering assets through a digital workflow based on Building Information Modeling that includes: the survey (on-site testing and digital survey laser-scanner, photogrammetric), BIM modelling, data storage and interoperable information management. The IT tools allow for immediate visualization and interaction with virtual representations of the existing forms and structures, making the academic experience accessible to the public.