(Re-)Creating the past: digital historical reconstructions using BIM

摘要

Building Information Modelling is a tool oriented towards the implementation process, designed to handle high levels of accuracy and efficiency. However, when using BIM for historical reconstructions (HBIM), we are forced to use less reliable information. Source material can range from archeological excavations (with a decent level of accuracy) to drawings or paintings, where no real measurements are included. This leads to methodological challenges originating from the discrepancies between current building practice and (lost) historical architecture. The reconstruction of the garden pavilion of the Rubens House,1 for instance, reveals several discrepancies between the different 2D survey drawings, which have been manually drafted during the reconstruction and restoration works.The last few years there is a growing systematic approach in digital reconstructions at the Department of Architecture of the KU Leuven. We are convinced that modelling a (partially) lost building forces to make a coherent construction, exposing possible flaws in the argumentation. Moreover, a reconstruction is more than a visualization of lost architecture, it can serve as a carrier of data concerning the sources of the model.The real methodological turning point in the context of digital heritage has come with the implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the field.The difference when using BIM software – rather than CAD software – lies in the overall configuration of the model. Rather than separately making 3D models and 2D plans for different floors, sections and facades, BIM represents a holistic approach: the model and all its related documents are inherently connected.