“Designs of such a complexity can only be done with BIM”
BIM, short for Building Information Modeling, gives architects, engineers, contractors, and owners/operators (AECO) precise information about a building model’s physical and functional components. Which, in turn, makes it easier to plan, design, and construct in a smarter, faster, and more sustainable way.
But how functional is BIM in projects that focus on recovering or restoring historical structures? Tommasi responds:
“BIM facilitates the integrated design and an evaluation of the project that accounts for all its facets and complexities. The capacity to conduct a more detailed upstream analysis during the operational and management phases in restoration work, which are inherently those in which unexpected events most frequently arise, is an enormous advantage. However, even if the necessary geological tests have been performed, we can never be fully aware of what we might find during the excavations; historical relics and pavements are some examples.”
He continues:
“BIM makes it possible to create a digital archive of information and track what you have found so that historical information is integrated into the project and can be evaluated. At the same time, you leave a legacy behind for the future. In a historical or listed building, as opposed to a new building, you often encounter structural changes that have occurred over time. We are now beginning a restoration project on the Torre degli Anziani in Padua; each floor of the building has a different cross-section. Designs of that level of complexity can only be done and managed with BIM.”