HBIM and Digital Technologies-Based Conservation Practices in Cultural Heritage Sites

Dear Colleagues,

Cultural heritage sites are all man-made, or are the result of a combination of human and nature, having outstanding historical and artistic value. These can include archaeological sites, urban areas, and historic centres, as well as assets of various types, such as monuments, architectural and archaeological evidence, religious artefacts, and minor constructions that are still in use. Such assets represent a testimony to our past and, as such, need to be protected to foster the transmission of culture and history to future generations. Furthermore, these sites are also a key resource for promoting the communities' cultural and social development and, therefore, require specific practices and strategies for their conservation.

A comprehensive understanding of the historical–constructive characteristics and the current condition of each single artefact is crucial to the conservation of cultural heritage sites. Achieving this knowledge requires a multidisciplinary approach that involves collaboration between humanities and technical experts to gather heterogeneous information. Therefore, it is necessary to estabilish an operational and methodological workflow that integrates the results of inspections, thematic analyses, and diagnostic investigations to support conservation practices. The use of digital technologies and established processes within scientific research in recent years can bring several benefits to conservation practices and processes. In this context, integrated surveying techniques have reached a high level of maturity and enable the collection of accurate data on the morphological and dimensional characteristics of artefacts. Similarly, digital technologies, including historic building information modelling (HBIM), semantic models, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) applications, improve access to the information collected and facilitate the identification of suitable conservation strategies.

A challenge for international research is the development of digitization processes aimed at fostering conservation through the planning and design of effective and efficient conservation interventions. The use of digital products and services facilitates the management of these heritage sites by enhancing e-government services to support the public administrations and entities that are responsible for managing cultural heritage sites.

We are pleased to invite you to submit your innovative contributions, both theoretically and with practical applications, on the use of digital technologies and information systems, such as HBIM, in the context of knowledge, analysis, and management processes of cultural heritage sites for developing practices that can facilitate their conservation.

This Special Issue aims to explore innovative workflows and technologies in this field with a focus on BIM methodologies and processes; operational protocols for analysis and management in a digital environment; extended reality techniques, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) systems, for data sharing and inspection operations; HBIM for cultural heritage conservation and management; systems for multi-spatial and multi-temporal data management (GIS-BIM integration); or the implementation of digital twins.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• 3D modeling processes;
• HBIM process;
• Scan-to-BIM methods;
• Scan-to-performance analysis methods;
• Point cloud segmentation for semantic modeling;
• GIS-HBIM integration and practical application;
• Innovative methodologies and workflows for the management of cultural heritage sites;
• Digital tools for cultural heritage diagnosis, inspections, and conservation;
• Multidisciplinary approaches applied to cultural heritage site knowledge;
• VR, AR, and MR applications for data validation and management;
• Monitoring techniques and data exploitation;
• Digital twins for cultural heritage conservation.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Adriana Marra
Dr. Francesca Savini
Dr. Ilaria Trizio
Prof. Dr. Giovanni Fabbrocino
Guest Editors

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