Integrating timber stability analysis for building life cycle management and HBIM framework support

The digital documentation of heritage architecture, particularly historic wooden roof structures, has gained significant importance in recent years. Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) has emerged as a crucial field that focuses on the digital representation and management of historic buildings. However, modelling heritage structures in accordance with BIM standards poses challenges due to the complex geometries and specialized information inherent with heritage timber structure. This article presents a workflow that illustrates the integration of an automated, AI-supported analysis of wood knottiness to assess unknown strength values of aged heritage timbers within building life cycle management and supporting the BIM framework. For this purpose, an algorithm for automatic wood knottiness estimation has been developed and implemented as a smartphone-based app-prototype, which facilitates efficient data collection, automatic analysis, and seamless integration into the BIM modelling process, while minimizing potential data loss during exchange.