3D Point Cloud Dataset Integration for Built Cultural Heritage Structural Assessment

The paper aims to delineate a workflow that demonstrates how the application of a digital process can facilitate a comprehensive comprehension of the current crisis state of overturning masonries applied to a case study. By delving into interoperability challenges and details in scan-to-hBIM processes, the approach clarifies how hBIM models can nonetheless underpin operations aimed at maintaining and preserving existing historic assets, even from a structural standpoint, albeit with persistent challenges. This illustrative exploration highlights the efficacy of leveraging digital technologies in advancing the conservation and management practices of built cultural heritage, particularly in addressing structural concerns associated with historic masonries. As dataset accuracy becomes crucial when it comes to architectural heritage, where surveyed objects exhibit complex shapes and significant damage, thus the information should involve meticulous knowledge, anamnesis, visual inspection, and instrumental measures. It is a deliberate, synthetic operation that leads to the formation of an assessment structural model. A key finding of the present paper is that the precision and detail of the model determine the accuracy of structural analysis results, emphasizing the importance of accuracy consideration in order to achieve meaningful and reliable results. As a consequence, the building assessment demonstrated which parts of the building's facades were overturning, while identifying the thorough kinematic phenomena progressively acting. The related considerations lead to a structural project shaped on the unique characteristics of the complex supported by data as accurately as possible, which also positively influenced the entire architectural design process.