Preventive strategies for the conservation of heritage sites have gradually been preferred to curative approaches because of their ability to maintain their significance. Furthermore, most experts now agree that conservation management of heritage places based on a common understanding of their cultural values is essential to address all the particularities of their contexts. Recently, significant research has demonstrated the potential of Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) for the collaborative data management in conjunction with conservation projects. The recent development of HBIM web platforms illustrates the value of strengthening the link between the digital model and the physical realm of heritage assets. This paper advocates the application of Digital Twin’s (DT) principles, using HBIM models as a digital replica, to support the preventive conservation of heritage places. Based on an extensive literature review, a comprehensive framework that integrates the DT into the management plan process for the preventive conservation of built heritage is proposed. Several recommendations for its implementation are finally discussed, such as the identification of tangible features of significance, the threats associated with their integrity and the corresponding mitigation strategies, with particular emphasis on the value assessment process. The result is a data model for structuring information on preventive conservation strategies. This framework provides the basis for future implementation and demonstrates the need for a DT approach in this context.

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> During preliminary phases of conservation projects, a considerable amount of heterogeneous datasets are produced, gathered, analysed and interpreted. Abundant researches have gradually proven that Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) is a relevant alternative for the collaborative management of information related to existing structures. Apart from the obvious benefits of HBIM for information exchange among stakeholders during conservation project, the potential of such processes to support preservation strategies should not be neglected. Moreover, the recent developments of HBIM web-interfaces illustrate the need for additional investigation in strengthening the relationships between the digital model and the real-world to better support preventive conservation of heritage places. Besides, values-based approaches for the elaboration of conservation strategies have been gradually adopted in the last decades, both in academic and professional sector. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive methodology to structure and integrate the cultural significance of tangible and intangible elements into HBIM models to be further taken into account in the analysis and simulation of data. This article suggests the application of Digital Twin (DT) principles to support site managers in the preventive conservation of their assets. Based on the analysis and simulations of data captured by onsite sensors, threats to the site integrity and corresponding preventive solution can be predicted in the DT environment. The integration and structuration of Heritage Values in HBIM models allow further evaluation process to estimate the impact of each suggested interventions on the conservation of features of significance.</p>

Abstract. In recent years, technological advances in game engines allowed researchers to propose methodological frameworks for integrating digital models of the built heritage in Virtual (VR), Augmented (AR) and Mixed Reality environments. Among other benefits, specific applications have demonstrated the potential of such immersive environments to raise awareness about the significance of historical objects, share associated knowledge and facilitate its collaborative management. Based on the necessity to retrieve information about users' experience, this research considers the potential of such environments to include a broader range of stakeholders in the value assessment process for historical sites and objects and provide more comprehensive representations of their significance for society. This paper proposes implementing a collaborative framework for value assessment in a virtual environment that combines multiple heritage representations to explore this issue. A prototype is further implemented on a practical case study, namely the Collegiate Church of Saint-Jean, located in Liège, Belgium.

Abstract. This article deals with the communication of inaccessible heritage. Based on a classification of different mediation tools, we propose a framework for selecting the most appropriate tools to communicate about heritage sites under restoration and, therefore, inaccessible. Furthermore, from the data already collected, we show how it is possible to use the constraints of building sites as opportunities for mediation. Finally, we apply this scheme to the case of the collegiate church of Sainte Croix in Liège, for which we end up proposing three mediation tools: the creation of a virtual visit website, the realization of 3D printed scale models, and the design and printing of a cover sheet showing the interior of the building at 1/1 scale.

Abstract. The digital documentation of heritage places produces accurate 3D restitution of their geometry in a virtual environment and can be related to multiple semantic layers to archive, represent, preserve and transmit the knowledge gathered along their lifecycle. The combination of high-density point clouds with other sources of information advises virtual reconstitutions of historical states of a place’s physical realm. The cultural significance of the built heritage lies in the values associated with its tangible and intangible dimensions. Apart from aspects of values related to historical sites’ physical attributes, 3D models can support the representation of intangible elements influencing visitors’ perception of their Genius Loci and supporting new interpretations about their cultural significance. In this framework, 3D animation, rendering, and simulation technologies allow recreating aspects of a place’s atmosphere, like the simulation of lighting conditions and the user’s immersive experience of a heritage site into a virtual environment. This paper focuses on the light perception recreated in a funeral chapel of the Theban Tomb environment by considering the strong spiritual dimension in the conception of funeral sites in ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom period (1550–1069 BC). We investigate the potential of 3D simulation and animation technologies to represent hypotheses about original lighting conditions in such sites. The proposed research is based on the case study of Sennefer’s tomb chapel, also referred to as TT96A, located on the western bank of the Nile, opposite modern Luxor.