Hbim Structural Model to Evaluate Building Evolution and Construction Hypotheses: Preliminary Results

Abstract. Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) is a technology that has proven to be very effective for the management, preservation, and maintenance of heritage buildings. HBIM allows a digital replica of the building, in which information can be stored, designs can be made, and future actions can be planned. To do this, it is obviously necessary to have a thorough knowledge of the building and its historical evolution. The HBIM model can therefore become the ideal place in which to develop and model construction hypotheses of building portions that no longer exist, or even record its development over time using different phases of work. Based on this context, the aim of this article is to use the HBIM approach for modelling different construction hypotheses and use the model to study the behaviour of different configurations with structural analysis. To do this, the case study of the church of San Michele Maggiore in Pavia was chosen, which in the 15th century underwent major restorations due to structural failures of the vaults of the central nave, which were replaced with the current cross vaults. In the literature there are different constructive hypotheses of the ancient vaults, which have been modelled in HBIM precisely to evaluate the different structural behaviours following the method presented. This article presents the historical analyses and geometric surveys that led to the HBIM modelling and the model itself. In the future, after careful selection of the most appropriate software, structural calculations will be made to study the structural behaviour of the building.