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The author has designed an OpenBIM historic preservation system framework that allows historic preservationists to benefit from advanced technologies currently utilised by Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Facilities Management (AEC/FM) disciplines. Historic preservation of heritage monuments and buildings is deeply rooted in the AEC/FM and has become a huge area of interest. Therefore, it makes sense that both can benefit from the same technologies.
OpenBIM refers to an open way of 3D information modelling and exchanging project information/data utilising open standards and schemas, e.g. the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) when implementing Building Information Modelling (BIM), in the AEC/FM. The system framework herein encourages remote multi-actor collaboration on a global scale. Collaboration among actors is at the heart of the BIM process and should be able to be conducted by multiple actors from anywhere in the world. The framework demonstrated in this paper utilises the open standard IFC for seamless bi-directional BIM data interoperability between a BimServer database and virtual environment, i.e. a web-based centralised repository and the Common Data Environment (CDE). Also, a novel method for converting Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) data into a semantic rich IFC BIM for a preservation system is revealed.
TLS reality data capture is a common survey methodology widely used in the AEC/FM and it is becoming a surveying tool of choice for many historic preservationists in surveying topography, monuments, and buildings. Scan-to-BIM methods are utilised to convert captured reality data into semantic rich data models, which is a key component to initiate the system framework in practice. Scan-to-BIM is a common term in use for the converting of reality data capture point clouds, i.e. in this case terrestrial laser scan data versus unmanned aerial vehicles (UVA) or ground-penetrating radar (GPR), into 3D semantic rich IFC BIMs. The next step in the framework employs an open source web-based BimServer for collaboration among actors using the IFC models. The BimServer is the central repository for all data exchange/sharing and offers an infrastructure on which a CDE can live.