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Intelligent information systems for the representation of the city - Urban survey and design for resilience

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Recent emergencies have triggered a series of proposals, revisions, and regulatory updates. In Italy, as part of the Italian Decreto Rilancio, a proposal to introduce a compulsory building file seems to have been accepted. If this proposal is followed up, we could soon see the collection of a series of data and information on the building stock of our cities. This contribution defines a proposal for the organization of this systematic collection, suitably supported by advanced IT tools, to make possible the start of a renewed season of monitoring, management, planning, and development of more resilient buildings and cities. The proposed idea is to channel the information and data on individual buildings into a single database that can provide a comprehensive, unambiguous, and multi-scalar picture of the urban system.
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open access Publishing Series in
ProJECT | Essays and researches
5
Possible and Preferable
scenarios of a
sustainable future
TowardS 2030 and BEyond
Edited by
Cesare Sposito
Open Access Publishing Series in
PROJECT | Essays and Researches
Editor in Chief
Cesare Sposito (University of Palermo)
International Scientific Committee
Carlo Atzeni (University of Cagliari), Jose Ballesteros (Polytechnic University of Madrid),
Mario Bisson (Polytechnic of Milano), Tiziana Campisi (University of Palermo), Maurizio
Carta (University of Palermo), Xavier Casanovas (Polytechnic of Catalunya), Giuseppe De
Giovanni (University of Palermo), Clice de Toledo Sanjar Mazzilli (University of São Paulo),
Giuseppe Di Benedetto (University of Palermo), Manuel Gausa (University of Genova),
Pedro António Janeiro (University of Lisbon), Massimo Lauria (University of Reggio
Calabria), Francesco Maggio (University of Palermo), Antonino Margagliotta (University of
Palermo), Renato Teofilo Giuseppe Morganti (University of L’Aquila), Elodie Nourrigat
(Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Montpellier), Frida Pashako (Epoka University
of Tirana), Monica Rossi-Schwarzenbeck (Leipzig University of Applied Sciences), Rubén
García Rubio (Tulane University, New Orleans), Dario Russo (University of Palermo),
Francesca Scalisi (DEMETRA Ce.Ri.Med.), Andrea Sciascia (University of Palermo), Marco
Sosa (Zayed University, Abu Dhabi), Paolo Tamborrini (Polytechnic of Torino), Marco
Trisciuoglio (Polytechnic of Torino)
Each book in the publishing series is subject to a double-blind peer review process
In the case of an edited collection, only the papers of the Editors can be not subject to the
aforementioned process if they are experts in their field of study
Volume 5
Edited by Cesare Sposito
POSSIBLE AND PREFERABLE SCENARIOS OF A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE:
TOWARDS 2030 AND BEYOND
Palermo University Press | Palermo (Italy)
ISBN (print): 978-88-5509-209-8 ISBN (online): 978-88-5509-232-6
ISSN (print): 2704-6087 ISSN (online): 2704-615X
Printed in January 2021 by Fotograph srl | Palermo
Editing and typesetting by DEMETRA CE.RI.MED. on behalf of NDF
Book cover and graphic design by Cesare Sposito
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(Euro-Mediterranean Documentation and Research Center)
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© Copyright 2021 Palermo University Press | New Digital Frontiers srl
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On the Book Cover: Clean city logo template vector green town icon design (credit: M_Creative).
3
Voices from lockdown on future cities in leading magazines
and online resources | Simona Talenti, Annarita Teodosio
Hybrid communities and resilient places. Sustainability
in a post-pandemic perspective | Lidia Errante
Resilience, built environment, built heritage, culture and
design in the Italian context | Federico Puggioni
The role of the architectural project
in the urban regeneration programs | Veronica Strippoli
Adaptation, mitigation, and smart urban metabolism towards
the ecological transition | Riccardo Pollo, Matteo Trane
Intelligent information systems for the representation and
management of the city. Urban survey and design for resilience
Maurizio Marco Bocconcino, Massimiliano Lo Turco,
Mariapaola Vozzola, Anna Rabbia
The sustainable project. Requirements and design strategies
Cristiana Cellucci
Vision and project of the social space. Reconfiguration
of the Tiberius Bridge basin in Rimini | Giacomo Corda
12
32
46
62
74
90
108
124
Contents
ARCHITECTURE
ESSAYS &VIEWPOINT
Project into the Future. Introductory essay on the topic
Cesare Sposito (Editor)
5
The robustness of cities. 2030 contended visions
Caterina Tiazzoldi
Experimentation of a new adaptive model
for envelope systems | Evelyn Grillo, Sara Sansotta
136
166
RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTATION
4
FutureDesign. Reflections at the limit of impossible
Dario Russo
Designing the future. Open discussion on design ethics
Tiziano Manna
Territorial design and networking. Blended strategies
to redesign future connections | Irene Fiesoli
194
204
218
DESIGN
ESSAYS &VIEWPOINT
Urban points of rest. An emerging digitally fabricated
modular system | Lina Ahmad, Marco Sosa
232
RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTATION
The contribution of energy poverty alleviation to sustainable
future. Eastern European Urban Context | Georgi Georgiev
178
5
This volume entitled ‘Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future –
Towards 2030 and Beyond’ is a collection of essays and researches dealing with a
subject of sustained interest for the Academy and the craft and industry worlds. In-
vestigating the future is an established practice for the academy and the world of
crafts and industry. From the Chicago Columbian Exhibition of 1893 to the two
Worlds Fairs of New York City (1939 and 1965) and so on, the future has been fore-
seen as filled with technology and amazing architecture. Not every vision of the fu-
ture has described promising scenarios: the dystopian novel by George Orwell enti-
tled Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, looked 35 years ahead, painting an
anything but reassuring picture of the future. We have entered the third decade of
the new millennium, and we must certainly reflect on the objectives we had set for
2020 and on the results we have achieved.
However, project into the future (pro-jàcere, from Latin, jump forward), explore
and imagine how your life will change, boosted by human ingenuity and with the
support of science, is in the human nature. The four visions of the future proposed
by Norman Henchey (1978) conceptualized in classes – ‘possible’ (any future),
‘plausible’ (future that makes sense), ‘probable’ (highly likely to happen), ‘prefer-
able’ (the best that could happen) – have been brilliantly described in the ‘Futures
Cone’ reinterpreted by Joseph Voros (2003). As we move away from the present, the
‘possible’ tends to ‘preferable’ due to the lack of elements and data on which to base
the programming and the planning: in fact, the certainty on the type of technologies
and production methods that will be available, on the social structure and user uses,
and so on decreases.
By 2030, the world will already be different: Thomas L. Friedman (2016) high-
lights that the three main forces of our Planet – Moore’s Law (technology), the Mar-
ket (globalization) and Mother Nature (climate change and biodiversity loss) – are all
pressing at the same time, with inevitable consequences for the territory, cities, archi-
tecture, products and services that will be designed, developed and used in the future.
The 17 2030 Sustainable Development Goals presented by the United Nations pro-
vide an answer for this time horizon, tracing the path towards a model to achieve a
better and more sustainable future for everyone. But will these Goals be able to ac-
celerate sustainable innovation? However, it is clear that how the future of our planet,
Publishing Series in ProJECT | Essays and researches
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
Towards 2030 and Beyond
vol. 05 | 2021 | introductory essay on the topic | pp. 5-11
ISSn (print): 2704-6087
ISSn (online): 2704-615X
ISBn (print): 978-88-5509-209-8
ISBn (online): 978-88-5509-232-6
PROJECT INTO THE FUTURE
Introductory essay on the topic
DOI
doi.org/10.19229/978-88-5509-232-6/502021
6
its landscapes, cities, architecture and consumer products will mostly depend on the
decisions we make today, on our level of ‘vision’ and on how we will deal with the
subject of sustainability with respect to the aforementioned Goals. Going beyond
2030, imagining 2050, we will certainly have to deal with a population growth that
will reach ten billion people, of which 75% will be living in cities and urban areas
(United Nations, 2019); therefore, the cities of the future will become crucial
metropolises for the sustainability of the whole Planet. In the meantime, the academ-
ic, crafts and industry worlds are raising a series of questions.
Will we be able to promote the sustainable use of Earth ecosystems in the territo-
ries, to sustainably manage forests, fight desertification and stop biodiversity loss?
How will the principles of circular economy have an impact on the design concept of
the city, the architecture and consumer products? How will our cities change? Will
they be more inclusive, smart, ecological, sustainable? Will they correspond to Carlo
Ratti’s vision of ‘senseable cities’, namely, will they be more human, sensitive, capa-
ble of ‘sensing’ through digital sensors and of meeting citizens’ needs? Will they
have a higher density and a vertical development to reduce land use? Will they be hy-
per-connected, efficient and less chaotic? Will we ever be able to handle the use of
the resources in the cities with the regenerative ability of the ecosystem? Will we be
able to significantly shift, at all levels, from urban to architectural, towards an eco-
logical and smart management of water resources, in a circular and systemic perspec-
tive aimed at reducing consumption, introducing advanced and integrated ways of
collection and purification, to reuse gray and rainwater in buildings and outdoor
spaces? Will infrastructures, means of transport, roads, parking lots and green areas
be influenced and deeply changed by the evolution of sustainable and/or autonomous
mobility? Will green and blue infrastructure networks be implemented in our cities
and territories? Will the use of green in cities be enhanced in its multifunctional value
and in its ecosystem services supply? Will the outdoor areas be greener, public and
‘people-friendly’, safe and characterized by nature-based solutions?
The mixité of functions and uses will condition the creation and design of archi-
tecture, building types, outdoor spaces, urban design, with vertical ‘neighbourhoods’
of dwellings, offices, various services, commerces and entertainment to reduce mo-
bility and travel times? Will the new buildings be, throughout their life cycle, zero-
energy and zero-impact, green, smart, connected, resilient, adaptive, capable of opti-
mizing the resource consumption and self-producing with renewable sources the en-
ergy necessary for their functions? Will we be able to deeply mark in the design, con-
struction, maintenance and management of the built environment the awareness of
the need to shift towards the reuse, recovery and recycling at different levels? Will
we be able to make a deep renovation, also from an energy and ecological point of
view, the existing building and to project it into the future? Will the implementation
of ‘enabling technologies’ of Industry 4.0 (artificial intelligence, machine learning,
virtual and augmented reality, robotics, etc.) have a significant impact on the innova-
Project into the future. Introductory essay on the topic
by Sposito C. | pp. 5-11
tion of sustainable Living and consumer products, stimulating a new intelligence on
‘common responsibilities’? Will the contamination of knowledge, creativity, startups,
open source and future crafts speed up the change of the artificial world to build a
more sustainable future for our planet? Will the digital and parametric manufacturing
be able to improve the quality of the built environment, cutting down costs and time
of production, for example, allowing the self-production and customization of a sus-
tainable house and consumer products affordable for everyone? Will we be able to
create our buildings and consumer products with (fully) recycled and recyclable ma-
terials? How will the innovation of smart, bio and nano-structured materials influ-
ence our life? Will the digital devices be increasingly integrated up to become ‘wear-
able’? Will they favour a better quality of life? Will resilient societies and inclusive
communities allow everyone access to services and economic opportunities? Will the
services be more customizable, efficient, flexible and decentralized?
Paraphrasing Luciano Floridi, philosopher of Information and Technology at the
University of Oxford, we ask ourselves if ‘green’ (of natural and artificial environ-
ments) and ‘blue’ (of science, technology and therefore the digital world) will suc-
ceed to guide a vision of the future capable of replacing ‘things’ (objects) with ‘rela-
tionships’, ‘individual planning’ with ‘common planning’, the ‘experience economy’
(and not consumption) with a ‘policy of care and relationships’ (and not production).
Moreover, will we be able to anticipate the impact that these technologies will have
on us and the environment around us, guiding the ‘fourth revolution’ – deeply linked
to the role of digital technology in our lives, having the ‘infosphere’ at its core (the
space of information of the digital era that concerns every aspect of our lives) – to
overcome the distinction between real and virtual, always connected to the network,
in a word ‘onlife’, while significantly improve our quality of life and ecosystem?
How will customs and traditions, our way of living, working, producing, studying,
consuming and socializing change? How will public and private health change, also
in relation to the lesson we are still learning from Covid-19 pandemic emergency?
How will the forms of living change with respect to emerging ‘remote’ modes, work-
places with smart working and co-working, learning environments with smart teach-
ing and e-learning, business venues with e-commerce, etc.? How and with what tools
and methods will we be able to safeguard, enhance and enjoy our landscape, cultural,
architectural, and archaeological heritage? Will we be able to promote a territory
through the virtualization of its cultural heritage and local traditions by uploading
them online as a common asset for citizens and visitors?
The 15 published papers deal with only some points of this broad subject, open to
many variations. They are food for thought and give good practices capable of con-
tributing to the international research and debate. The volume opens with a critique
analysis of the most renown scholars and architects that lately have written for, main-
ly Italian, press and websites on the relationship between architecture, cities and the
pandemic emergency, highlighting critical issues and solutions for the future from
7
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
Towards 2030 and Beyond
8
different perspectives. Sometimes these opposite concepts converge on the necessity
of transforming the crisis into opportunities for urban renewal at every scale (from
domestic to public spaces, workplaces, health facilities, technological networks or
transport systems). By using strategies – different in nature and goals – in a renewed
relationship between rural and urban, this might be the perfect opportunity to balance
spaces and relationships, smooth out social and economic inequalities and ensure a
more sustainable life.
In the Architecture section, Resilience seems the key to project toward a sustain-
able future. Through new community forms – generated by the current pandemic cri-
sis – stimulating the creation of new innovative social and planning strategies and
practices. These include the Hybrid Communities of Place, ‘cultivated in the digital
space’, capable of building enabling ecosystems, whose resilience is due to innova-
tive forms of urban and architectural transformation. They include public residential
districts where there are multiple levels of flexible sociocultural, typological-spatial
and technical-environmental complexity, not only with respect to the reversibility or
transformability of the proposed design solution, but in relation to the ability to inter-
pret the different opportunities and potentials offered by each context, its values and
reasons in relation to the moment of its creation. Through new interpretations of the
concept of resilience applied to cultural heritage, detectable in Italy through the
transformations occurred in historical urban areas and the role acquired by artisan
and manufacturing activities in the applied arts, two specific and different events
contribute to new economic paradigms. With the opportunities given by the digitiza-
tion and dematerialization of processes, these paradigms can, on the one hand, boost
economy and corporate assets of small and medium-sized companies, and on the oth-
er, promote unexpected scenarios capable of making the cultural characteristics of
heritage more accessible and resilient.
Through new possible paradigms of urban regeneration – scalable processes, adapt-
able to realities with different (small) sizes and qualitative characteristics in which
the project loses its self-referentiality and, by assuming the role of coordinator with a
‘sociological’ mark, it can promote a cross-disciplinary process aimed at determining
a model for the re-appropriation of smaller towns and villages, having a strong de-
clared identity often not enhanced, and (in some cases) of the suburbs – often charac-
terized by marginalization and deterioration. This has a double objective: the up-cy-
cling/refunctionalization of the building heritage and the requalification/regeneration
of open/public spaces for social sharing. Furthermore, through a proposal for the inte-
gration of digital tools (such as BIM and GIS), having an adequately structured data
collection and processing methodology, the integration would allow, on the one hand,
both the monitoring and management of the building heritage and the urban planning
according to principles of sustainability, and on the other, to return to the man-made
environment as dynamic inter-scalar model with in-depth information and with ele-
ments currently difficult to compare.
Project into the future. Introductory essay on the topic
by Sposito C. | pp. 5-11
A study focuses on the relationship between adaptation and mitigation in the differ-
ent dimensions (temporal, spatial, economic, political, psychological, social and de-
sign) aiming to highlight its existing or potential connections, in the perspective of a
systemic, cross-disciplinary and multi-scalar design approach, capable of integrating
the benefits in the imperative issues of global warming, measuring and evaluating the
effectiveness of the two strategies by using concepts and enabling technologies con-
solidated in ‘smart urban metabolism’ to provide a relevant contribution to the ecolog-
ical transition project and to favour a more effective reduction of material and energy
flows in urban areas. Robust Design and Combinatorial Architecture are proposed as
approaches to mitigate and modulate the contrast between visions and objectives of
the 2030 Agenda for Smart Cities. They are developed through a decision tool and
heuristic device, assisting the decision-makers in fixing the priorities related to urban
morphology, architectural design, functional, technological, or engineering problem;
the proposal is a method in which quantitative – predictable – and uncertain qualita-
tive intangible and variable parameters (i.e., social, physical, sensorial, cultural, and
economic) lead to a structural adaptation, emphasising the concept of formal adapta-
tion to include the intangible aspects to mediate between the desires of the community
in a specific moment and a long-term planning.
Another essay deals with a critical interpretation of the sustainability concept and
the evolution of flexibility through different approaches created over time. They have
defined, at a methodological level, the connection between the requirements for the
sustainable project and, at an operational level, the actions taking place at the building
and the public open space scales. The requirements are applied in design projects aim-
ing to reach a comparison, on different scales, among physical elements and users, by
acting not only in a spatial-three-dimensional sense but also in a metabolic and physi-
ological sense, by enhancing and improving the psychophysical relationships between
the environment – lit, with noises, spatial, biological, social – and people. A contribu-
tion on open spaces – mentioning the case study on the area surrounding Tiberius
Bridge in Rimini – selects the project as a tool to transfer a structured knowledge ca-
pable of working with the social fabric, interpreting intangible demands and respond-
ing to the needs of the community that lives there. The space, ‘open’ to the different
interpretations of its uses, can stimulate the sense of belonging to a community and
expressing the values of an ever-evolving society. Moreover, it collaborates to create a
truly lived-in place, therefore safe and active in the improvement of the quality of life
of the community. According to this vision, it is not attractive because of scenic ele-
ments or devices added in it, but because of interventions aimed at making the place
welcoming, respecting the local environmental values and restoring the relationship
between park and city, showing possible freedoms where the functional aspect is over-
shadowed by the awareness of what the place can offer.
With respect to the development of technical solutions to increase the performance
of building envelopes, in response to the stresses due to climate change, an experi-
9
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
Towards 2030 and Beyond
mental research (currently developed at the Building Future Lab of the ‘Mediterranea’
University of Reggio Calabria) identifies a design methodology based on adaptive de-
sign techniques. These can dynamically answer reference contextual conditions, imag-
ining working methods based on building dynamic simulation scenarios. Their goal is
to create a highly adaptable model that can be used as a component for evolved en-
velopes to smartly and systemically manage the effects of climate variables and, at the
same time, satisfy a wide range of needs. Energy accessibility, determined by low
family incomes, high energy costs and low energy efficiency of housing, is the subject
of a research investigating strategies that can favour it, in the long term and in the ur-
ban context of Eastern Europe, by adopting measures for the energy efficiency of mul-
ti-storey residential apartments, with the emphasis on achieving the optimal ratio be-
tween energy savings and financial resources used for the renovated houses.
The Design section includes essays and research on New Anthropocene, ethics,
territorial design and networking, and digital manufacturing. In particular, the first
essay proposes a new vision on design, compared to the one that has characterized it
in recent decades, which has become a sort of magical glaze to make goods attrac-
tive rather than project size useful for facing the challenges of our time. The author
recognizes the need to shift from the Paleo-Anthropocene in which we live – preda-
tory and truly unsustainable – to a Neo-Anthropocene – socially and ecologically
sustainable – where design, urban planning and all project disciplines should con-
verge to create a Future City, an Augmented City, open, intelligent, sensitive, cre-
ative and fluid, characterized by empathy, the ability to design for and with people,
for a better world. In relation to the liability system that revolves around man to al-
ter and modify the landscape that surrounds them, a second contribution highlights
the relationships between ethics and design, raising new issues that, untied from the
rigid logic of the academic world, contribute to outlining a generative matrix of
thought useful to provide elements for an interpretative exploration of the transver-
sal aspects related to the taxonomy of design.
Overcoming the physical and digital distance – which has characterized this last year
because of the pandemic – is the subject of the essay presenting considerations on a new
innovative society (Society 5.0). In this society the companies are part of a complex re-
lation system that can boost the creation of new sustainable and interconnected produc-
tion chains (territorial design and networking), based on relational paradigms where the
IoT, new methods and tools (the result of cross-fertilization and a cross-disciplinary or
transdisciplinary approach) combine different, sometimes distant, scientific sectors and
harmonize cultural, social, economic and political elements. The volume ends with a
case study on digital manufacturing of street furniture elements marked by a participato-
ry and interactive process, capable of satisfying social needs and preferences of a specif-
ic group of users in a context where this production method is little known and used.
Modularity and stratification become the unifying element of the building language that
does not follow a specific predetermined pattern but that is defined by the suggestive ac-
10
Project into the future. Introductory essay on the topic
by Sposito C. | pp. 5-11
tivity that must be carried out. The modularity of the components is not guided by a pre-
determined aesthetic but is moderately free to flow, expand, aggregate and generate.
In conclusion, we agree with Fabrizio Tucci (2020) who, in the editorial of vol-
ume 8 (2020) of Agathón journal, argues that a vision of the sustainable future of liv-
ing, by looking at the two time horizons of 2030 and 2050, will be played on an in-
creasingly synergistic work aimed at providing answers to the ten main macro-ques-
tions: 1) ecological transition and increase in environmental quality; 2) transition to
the green economy and effectiveness and circularity in the use of resources; 3) miti-
gation and adaptation to climate change, towards total carbon neutrality; 4) biocli-
matic, energy efficiency and renewable sources, towards the model of positive ener-
gy cities; 5) progressive reduction of land use, towards the ‘zero land use’ model; 6)
dialectic between globalization and glocalization; 7) digital transition, enabling tech-
nologies and opportunities linked to Data Science systems and to Industry 4.0; 8) in-
teraction of the most advanced and diversified expertizes with increasingly smart
communities, to share and include; 9) ‘polychrysis’ challenges originating from the
pandemic and the threat of future pandemic forms; 10) innovation of ways and
spaces of living, working, studying, producing, consuming and socializing, in a syn-
ergic and transversal interface ‘with’ and ‘between’ all the previous macro-issues.
These ten subjects, approaches and visions must be considered as actions of a strate-
gic ever-evolving project that concur in synergically and systemically defining the
scenarios that can allow us to create a built environment and a more desirable and
sustainable future for ourselves and for future generations.
Prof. Arch. Cesare Sposito
Department of Architecture | University of Palermo
11
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
Towards 2030 and Beyond
90
INTELLIGENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR THE
REPRESENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE CITY
Urban survey and design for resilience
Maurizio M. Bocconcino, Massimiliano Lo Turco, Mariapaola Vozzola, Anna Rabbia
section
ARCHITECTURE ESSAYS & VIEWPOINT
typology DOI
doi.org/10.19229/978-88-5509-232-6/562021
ABSTRACT
Recent emergencies have triggered a series of proposals, revisions and regulatory updates. In Italy, as
part of the Italian Decreto Rilancio, a proposal to introduce a compulsory building file seems to have
been accepted. If this proposal is followed up, we could soon see the collection of a series of data and
information on the building stock of our cities. This contribution defines a proposal for the organisation
of this systematic collection, suitably supported by advanced IT tools, to make possible the start of a re-
newed season of monitoring, management, planning and development of more resilient buildings and
cities. The proposed idea is to channel the information and data on individual buildings into a single
database that can provide a comprehensive, unambiguous and multi-scalar picture of the urban system.
KEYWORDS
integration of GIS and building models, representation and analysis at the urban scale, integrated
planning, BIM, CIM
Maurizio Marco Bocconcino, Engineer and PhD, is an Associate Professor of Drawing and Survey
at the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale, Edile e Geotecnica of the Politecnico di Torino (Italy).
Member of the Urban and Social Regeneration Group of Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT, he
deals with information systems for the study and representation of the territory and the city.
Massimiliano Lo Turco, Engineer, Architect and PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Dipartimento
di Architettura e Design of the Politecnico di Torino (Italy). He researches in the field of survey and
digital modelling. He has worked for years to analyze the BIM capabilities applied to the design pro-
cess, with particular regard to the Cultural Heritage. E-mail: massimiliano.loturco@polito.it
Anna Rabbia, graduated in Architecture at the Politecnico di Torino (Italy), is a Member of the Ur-
ban and Social Regeneration Group of Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT. She analyzes issues re-
lated to urban regeneration and quality, through indicators for the social and economic impact of in-
vestments, all with the support of GIS. E-mail: anna.rabbia@sviluppoecrescitacrt.it
Mariapaola Vozzola, Engineer and PhD, is a Fellow at the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale,
Edile e Geotecnica of the Politecnico di Torino (Italy). She researches in the field of surveying and
BIM modelling with a focus on urban resilience design and graphic analysis and design representa-
tion codes. E-mail: mariapaola.vozzola@polito.it
Publishing Series in PROJECT | Essays and Researches
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
Towards 2030 and Beyond
vol. 05 | 2021 | paper 6 | pp. 90-107
ISSN (print): 2704-6087
ISSN (online): 2704-615X
ISBN (print): 978-88-5509-209-8
ISBN (online): 978-88-5509-232-6
Looking at the development and the changes that the urban environment is going to ex-
perience soon, it is clear that Italian cities need to be equipped with the technological
and digital tools to face the management processes of the emerging model called ‘smart
city’. Modern cities will have to be able to plan new policies of expansion, conversion,
requalification and improvement of the urban environment – starting from principles
aimed at environmental, social and economic sustainability – and support the dynamic
character of the socio-economic model that distinguishes our era. In this regard, mod-
ern ‘smart cities’ will not be able to do without management tools that provide integra-
tion between different methodologies, different technological tools and specific proce-
dures that can provide digital models based on real data, on which to build develop-
ment scenarios. The proposed idea is to convey the information and data related to indi-
vidual buildings in a single database that can provide a comprehensive, unambiguous
and multi-scalar picture of the urban system: from the individual building, the individu-
al criticalities/opportunities, up to understand the entire urban organism in its entirety.
This would allow the promotion of future targeted interventions, but well inserted in a
systemic way in the urban and territorial context. Specifically, the discussion will ana-
lyze the possibility of managing the existing Italian building stock through the integra-
tion of geographic information systems (GIS) and building models (BIM).
With the so-called BIM Decree, Italian Ministerial Decree 01/12/2017 n. 560, in
the short term we will gradually come into contact more and more with numerous dig-
ital building information models (Building Information Model), models that can mon-
itor and hold together all in the phases of the life cycle of buildings (Fig. 1). As is of-
ten the case following traumatic events, the pandemic spread of Covid-19 has trig-
gered a series of proposals, revisions and regulatory updates. In particular, in Italy, as
part of the Italian Decreto Rilancio, it seems that a proposal to introduce a mandatory
building file has been accepted. If this proposal is followed, soon we could see the col-
lection of a series of data and information on the consistency of the building stock of
our cities. This data collection, if combined with the use of BIM integrated with a geo-
graphic information system, would make possible the start of a season of monitoring,
management, planning and computerized development of more resilient cities. From
this point of view, the outline of the building file should contain a description of the
building from a technical and administrative point of view, with information relating
to the state of fitness, safety, plant equipment, maintenance actions, types of construc-
tion and energy efficiency parameters. A mass of data that, if put into a system, can
provide, appropriately treated, a solid basis for decision-making.
The reflections towards an increasingly integrated management, and aimed more
at the digitization of information relating to the urban environment, would marry the
smart city philosophy, also aligned to the regulatory updates mentioned. Consider-
ing then that the mandatory BIM will allow to implement and complete the 3D
database of the city, it would be appropriate to update and/or create integrated carto-
graphic databases geo-referencing parametric digital models, ensuring a global vi-
91
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
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sion and monitoring of the city. In this scenario, the spatial context would be man-
aged technically and technologically with GIS tools, a powerful set of tools capable
of acquiring, storing, retrieving, transforming, analyzing and reproducing spatial da-
ta related to the territory (Burrough and McDonnell, 1986). The difficulty in retriev-
ing data, to date, remains one of the most expensive obstacles in terms of energy and
time, making the planning, programming and control of interventions cumbersome.
The building file linked to the BIM model, inserted in a GIS environment, available
and queryable in the different scales of representation, could instead be a real and
new key to solve the problem of ‘as-built’ documentation (Vacca et alii, 2018), as
well as to make the same processes of planning, programming and control of inter-
ventions more efficient. An interesting example of urban environment analysis is the
Sun Solar City project in Bolzano (Comune di Bolzano, 2013). A WebGIS mapping
in which the potential exploitation of building roofs is represented if photovoltaic
panels for electricity production were installed there, to reduce per capita annual
CO2 emissions by 80% by 2030.
Intelligent information systems for the representation and management of the city. Urban survey and design for resilience
by Bocconcino M. M., Lo Turco M., Vozzola M., Rabbia A. | pp. 90-117
Fig. 1 | Diagram of the BIM model during the design, construction, and maintenance phases of the building artefact.
93
The case of asset management1 | The implementation of the asset management pro-
cess requires a significant amount of continuously updated information and data relat-
ed to the different phases of the artefact’s life cycle: data related to the design and re-
view phases, correspondence between the actors involved in the decision-making pro-
cess, maintenance records, information about modifications, and information on main-
tenance works are necessary to provide asset managers with a complete picture of the
extent of the existing data archive for each architectural artefact (Kyle, 2001). This
means that building asset managers should use a comprehensive and up-to-date sys-
tem consisting of a digital data set that reflects the history and current state that has
characterized and characterizes their building assets. Data collection is critical to the
implementation of an asset management system, and the ability to collect detailed data
enables effective asset management (Woodward, 1997; Vanier, 2001).
Building life cycle management needs to be supported by a precise and detailed set
of information that differs from that contained within the traditional construction pro-
cess (Häkkinen, 2007). To be able to analyze and interrogate data and information that
characterize buildings within a single environment, it is possible to use work environ-
ments that process and make available all the information that characterizes the building
in the different temporal phases of the life cycle, from the design, material procurement
and construction phases of the building, acting as a collector of all the information
needed for operations and maintenance (Howell and Batcheler, 2005; Campell, 2007). A
BIM2 model addresses these needs by allowing different hierarchies of information to
be captured and managed depending on the time phase of the building (Fig. 2).
When dealing with the theme of management as a crucial moment for the mainte-
nance and conservation of an artefact, the problem of the organization and diffusion of
knowledge represents one of the fundamental methodological and conceptual aspects
(Calabrese, 2020; De Pasquale, 2020). The analysis of the traditional procedures leads
to an understanding of how the problem has been faced until now considering sepa-
rately the two fundamental factors: the representation on one side and the description
on the other side. Currently, it is no longer conceivable to analyze and manage a build-
ing heritage without a series of descriptive data and other data related to representa-
tion. In this regard, the BIM represents an immediate and continuous biunivocal con-
tribution between descriptive data and graphic data related to the geometry of the
buildings under analysis. It also allows to modify the collected data and to insert them
in the database both in the alphanumeric and in the graphic field. On the contrary, the
two descriptive frameworks are directly related to each other and therefore, regardless
of whether the modelling or the changes occur in one framework or the other, they are
updated automatically and simultaneously in both.
The tools to support the management of the built heritage | When you need to man-
age an existing building, or better still with an asset composed of several buildings, often
fragmented, you have to face a series of problems quite different from those that must be
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
Towards 2030 and Beyond
94
faced during the design and construction phases. Among the main difficulties, the man-
agement of information to be historicized and the plurality of technical and non-technical
users involved in management and maintenance operations play a fundamental role. The
two problems exposed can be solved by linking the BIM model of one or more buildings
to a database or building management systems, such as BMS (Building Management
System) and CAFM systems – Computer-Aided Facility Management (Dejaco, Re Cec-
coni and Maltese, 2017), or by linking the BIM model to the CIM3 (City Information
Modeling) model of the city in which it is inserted. The City Information Modeling repre-
sents the 3D model at the urban scale of the city, which within it collects the BIM models
of individual buildings, the open-source information made available by the Municipality,
related for example to public spaces, such as green and infrastructure networks, data relat-
ed to roads, and also integrates within it all the information generated and implement-
ed by the IoT through the sensors installed within the city territory (Fig. 3).
Fig. 2 | The project information within the BIM model (graphics by A. Alberti, 2014).
Intelligent information systems for the representation and management of the city. Urban survey and design for resilience
by Bocconcino M. M., Lo Turco M., Vozzola M., Rabbia A. | pp. 90-117
95
By linking BIM to CIM, users are provided with an interactive environment, rich
in information and data, which can be communicated through ad hoc elaborated repre-
sentations, such as 3D city models, alphanumeric graphs, thematic tables, etc., where
the information in addition to being accessible to all, can be analyzed, queried and
shared in real-time (Hisham, 2018). Internationally, some cities, such as the city of
Singapore, are implementing CIM models of the city’s urban fabric to improve land
management and planning. The Virtual Singapore4 project aims to collect in a single
environment all the information related to the buildings and the context in which they
are inserted: a dynamic three-dimensional model of the city area is being created, con-
nected to a collaborative data platform, where all users, can enter data and BIM mod-
els of the buildings, to obtain a single working environment for public agencies, pri-
vate citizens and researchers (Fig. 4).
The implementation of a CIM realized through the contamination of public and
private information, as in the case of the city of Singapore, has great potential to ad-
dress problems related to city planning and management both at the urban scale and at
the architectural scale, related to the individual building. From a first analysis, de-
pending on the type of user, the following advantages can be highlighted: a) profes-
sionals and Public Administration operators have the opportunity to collaborate in the
decision-making process on urban planning, through the use of the data that populate
the platform, which are dynamic, since they are constantly updated, returning a reli-
able snapshot of the urban and building fabric investigated; b) citizens have the oppor-
tunity to check in real-time the updates related to their real estate assets and receive
timely feedback from the agencies and competent bodies in case of need; In addition,
Fig. 3 | Example of visualization of a CIM model (source: geospatialmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/up-
loads/2018/05/CIM1.png).
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
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96
Fig. 4 | Some visualizations of the Virtual Singapore project: from the analysis of roofs with solar panels to the
identification of routes without architectural barriers (source: www.nrf.gov.sg).
Fig. 5 | Some images related to the City Model of the city of Zurich: the project developed by ETH scientists
was realized through the combination of millions of images and videos (source: ethz.ch).
97
within the model at urban scale it is possible to evaluate the accessibility to public
spaces, through the visualization of geometric data of the land, you will then have the
identification and visualization in real-time of barrier-free paths for the disabled and
the elderly; c) researchers and scholars will have the opportunity to query the system
and create ad hoc thematic tables, in order to display information related to specific
analysis, such as the analysis of the potential production of solar energy. The imple-
mentation of a CIM model today is, therefore, an instrumental prerequisite for the re-
alization of sustainable city development, as has been widely documented by many
scholars (Fig. 5).5
The realization of the file of the building: an example of case applied to the public
heritage | Models are built to better understand and communicate complex realities:
the organization and processing of data and information of the studied system need to
build models capable of understanding and correlating document types, defining a se-
ries of attributes and qualities useful to the knowledge of the investigated area. During
the design process, many models are built, for example, the architectural, structural
and energy model, each of which represents, from a precise point of view, a semanti-
cally complete view of the system. In addition to being a fundamental aid to under-
standing, modelling is also a communication mechanism that allows different exper-
tise to interact using a common language and to break down complex problems into
smaller, manageable portions. The project modelling process provides an infrastruc-
ture and a set of methodological tools for understanding basic concepts and determin-
ing how and when a specific model, a precise view of the system, should be imple-
mented and with what level of detail.
The application of the theoretical principles of the research to a significant case
study, such as the social housing building designed and managed by ATC – Agenzia
Territoriale per la Casa del Piemonte Centrale, consisting of 78 dwellings, built along
the axis of Spina 4, in Via Fossata in Turin (Alberti, 2014; Fig. 6) was fundamental for
the applied experimentation from which the problems to be solved and the proposals
for innovation emerged (Fig. 7). This methodological approach will allow the subse-
quent export of the innovative results obtained to other public or private realities that
daily manage huge real estate assets (Pesce, 2019). Today, BIM systems make it possi-
ble to draw great benefits from a wide-ranging evaluation of the interventions that can
be programmed on public and private building stock, and therefore to analyze the ef-
fects that these interventions have in terms not only of architecture but also of urban
planning. Through this tool, it will be possible to monitor the building resources and
the prefiguration of architectural and/or urban planning solutions, to allow preventive
evaluations of management and construction hypotheses.
From BIM to the Digital Building File | The Building File was introduced at the end
of the ’90s with the Draft Law n. 4339-bis 30/11/1999 entitled Provisions on the Reg-
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
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98
ulation of the Construction Market and the Establishment of the File of the Building.
Within article 1 are collected the definition and contents of the file6. In February 2019,
the Government introduced several new features on its contents: starting from the as-
sessment of vulnerabilities from natural hazards to get to the reconstruction of the his-
tory of each building, analyzing the interventions of seismic and energy adaptation, to
collect within a single document all the information to date in possession of different
entities. The new demands have pushed the scientific community to look for possible
solutions to draw up the document with the help of virtual work environments that
contained within them all the data of the building during its entire life cycle. The BIM,
in its meaning of AIM model, represents a possible answer to the new needs: the elab-
oration of the digital building file, in BIM environment, requires the definition, struc-
turing and hierarchy of the data that characterize the artefact to translate them into in-
formative attributes associated with the elements that make up the model. The same
possibility of communicating information and data with different representations, such
as two-dimensional, three-dimensional and abacus graphic representations (Fig. 8),
will allow to dynamically manage information and data useful for the realization of
parts of the file. The possibility of managing information related to spaces, with the
automatic mapping of areas and destinations of use, finds multiple functions within
the building file: from the management of areas for leases to the mapping of destina-
tions of use up to the analysis of the exploitation of spaces (Fig. 9).
However, although the use of BIM for the realization of the digital building file turns
out to be very easy and immediate, the BIM environment still turns out to be too rigid
for the temporal management of the building process, and the realization of the project
phases, turns out to be insufficient for the daily management of the building7: to meet
this need it would be necessary to create a temporal phase for each day. It is possible to
overcome this system rigidity by connecting the BIM model to a database or to a build-
ing management tool, such as BMS or CAFM, working environments in which the time
attribute can be easily managed. The BIM model can be connected to the database
through API8, Application Programming Interface, creating a bidirectional link between
the two working environments, which will allow for up-to-date and aligned working en-
vironments. If you connect model and database to a web service created ad hoc, i.e. a
software able to share data between different systems that allow the exchange of data
between the BIM model and web pages, you can create an interface for consulting data
that is more immediate in updating and reading by various users (Fig. 10).
Conclusions | The contribution is intended as a brief overview of integrated tools ca-
pable of combining, integrating and exploiting the full potential of existing representa-
tion and monitoring systems. The conventional approach foresees the application of
information systems – BIM and GIS – mainly in a sectoral way, addressing specific
areas and departing from the principle of globality of the ‘smart city’ model. Promot-
ing a combined use of these approaches, and thus outlining the features of the method-
Intelligent information systems for the representation and management of the city. Urban survey and design for resilience
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99
ology, would open the door to new design and planning methods capable of integrat-
ing interventions on a building and urban scale in a systemic way, favouring the inter-
operability of information (Avena, 2020; Mangon, 2020).
The coordinated use of information technologies for data and information manage-
ment guarantees the restitution and monitoring of the human environment in the form
Fig. 6 | Two images related to the building site of the residential building in Via Fossata in Turin (source:
www.atc.torino.it).
Fig. 7 | The complete architectural model of the building for residential use of the ATC, located in Via Fossata in
Turin (graphics by A. Alberti, 2014).
Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
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100
of a dynamic inter-scalar model. These representations would provide a concrete op-
portunity to serve the programming, planning, design and control of urban develop-
ment interventions. By aligning with European directives, which promote the use of
BIM methodology as a single tool for design, it demonstrates by extension the possi-
bility of using privately produced models, not only to manage and monitor the build-
ing stock but also to plan future urban development according to the principles of sus-
tainability. In fact, it would provide a tool that is consistent with the Smart City model,
capable of reducing the timescales of the various processes, guaranteeing a more de-
tailed level of information and ensuring the possibility of putting together elements
that are difficult to compare. The parametric information model simultaneously ‘records,
archives, preserves’ and ‘represents, simulates, prefigures’. It does so at the same time
as we operate, reflecting changes and variations in real-time. For this reason, a sub-
stantial part of the time dedicated to setting up the model is devoted to the study and
preparation of the graphic codes and the sensitivity of the representation.
But the model also has limitations. One has to think about the boundaries of the
model and keep them in mind. It does not operate in the round on the building process.
An example: the first boundary is related to the use and implementation of the model
in its geometric aspect, these are only open to a certain kind of skills; if I have to inter-
vene in a designed way on the form, attributes and relations of the model, I have to
have a certain skill. The first boundary is therefore related to ‘competence’, ‘I must
know how to do’. How can this first boundary be overcome? The preparation of the
process must involve skills that do not necessarily have to operate directly on the geo-
metric component of the model. I have to make the system ‘more democratic’, i.e.
open up the BIM model to skills that might otherwise benefit from it.
A second edge of the boundary concerns this next aspect: from the moment in
which I face a great cost for the production of the model (in terms of resources, tools
and procedural apparatuses that govern the information flows), this must reverberate its
effects, it must be reflected, in its use as widespread as possible (in the project, in the
construction site, in the life of the work, in the file precisely); it is necessary to amortize
the investment, and we do this at the moment in which we make the model accessible,
appropriately approximated and reduced to only the aspects of interest) to the activities
of maintenance and management of the built environment: we dilute the cost of build-
ing the model, we amplify its benefits. Finally, the digital information model presents,
in this rapid and non-exhaustive treatment, another important margin of its boundary,
connected to the risk of proliferating the number of parameters that must be associated
with it, with a consequent reduction in the overall efficiency of the process.
Therefore, the need to overcome these limits becomes imperative, by associating
another paradigm to the object-oriented one, the relational one, linked to the manage-
ment of databases (Zhang et alii, 2009). This is the meeting point between model and
database, this is the challenge that the setting up of a shared system of knowledge
must face: the virtual exploration of the artefact within shared environments, such as
Intelligent information systems for the representation and management of the city. Urban survey and design for resilience
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the ‘network’, requires the identification of representation techniques dedicated to the
interaction between professional and artefact: the possibility of exploring the model in
spatial-perceptual terms (central projection) does not necessarily translate into speed
and ease of access to the individual parts and therefore to the documents related to
them. The information apparatus, in particular, that relating to the internal spaces of
the artefact, is often more simply accessible by using parallel projections and planes
that cut through the object (sections) or appropriate methods that allow parts to be
made transparent for others. These aspects, which can be defined as navigation and
data access within information systems, must also respond to standardised methods
and procedures, and this is a frontier for future development.
Acknowledgements
The Authors would like to thank architect Alessio Alberti for the elaboration of the informative
digital model of the case study. The work is the result of the constant collaboration between the Au-
thors. In particular, the introductory paragraph was edited by A. Rabbia and M. M. Bocconcino, the
paragraphs ‘The case of asset management’, ‘The tools to support the management of the built her-
Fig. 8 | Example of the possible representations of the elements in the BIM environment: abacus of the external
doors and windows, visualization of the elements within axonometric cutaways of the building levels and bi-di-
mensional and tri-dimensional representation of the doors and windows (graphics by A. Alberti, 2014).
102
Fig. 9 | Abacus of rooms and abacus of accommodations in the BIM environment (graphics by A. Alberti, 2014).
Intelligent information systems for the representation and management of the city. Urban survey and design for resilience
by Bocconcino M. M., Lo Turco M., Vozzola M., Rabbia A. | pp. 90-117
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Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
Towards 2030 and Beyond
itage’, ‘From BIM to the Digital Building File’ by M. Vozzola, the paragraph ‘The realization of the
file of the building: an example of case applied to the public heritage’ by M. Lo Turco and M. Vozzo-
la, and finally the ‘Conclusions’ by M. M. Bocconcino.
Notes
1) Asset Management is a term that refers to the management of assets, whether this is understood
as asset management, resource management or administration of assets. The meaning we refer to in
our text is the management of real estate assets.
2) At least 30 definitions and interpretations can be associated with the term BIM (Building Infor-
mation Model) in the literature (Matějka and Tomek, 2017). As presented within the study conducted
by P. Matějka it is possible to define three categories to classify the meaning of BIM. The first cate-
gory corresponds to the basic understanding of BIM as a ‘product’, understood as a virtual building
model, and the acronym BIM is interpreted as both Building Information Modeling and Building In-
formation Modelling. The second category associates the definition of BIM with the introduction of
a new ‘method’ of working, understood as a set of tools and processes for workflow management.
The third category defines BIM as a ‘methodology’ for managing a building throughout its life cycle.
3) The term CIM was first introduced by Khemlani (2016) envisioning a digital representation of the
city that would effectively support decision-making and analysis during natural disasters. It was later
taken up first by Xu et alii (2014), who define CIM as a system for efficient city management to achieve
real-time, centralized, and accessible sharing of information about various urban systems to improve the
overall efficiency of urban management; and then by Amorim (2016) introduces City Information Mod-
eling (CIM) as a system focused on city management, building design, planning, and monitoring, and is
addressed as supporting the management of smart city infrastructure (de Souza and Bueno, 2019).
104
Fig. 10 | The artefact file: from BIM to CIM, with database and GIS support.
Intelligent information systems for the representation and management of the city. Urban survey and design for resilience
by Bocconcino M. M., Lo Turco M., Vozzola M., Rabbia A. | pp. 90-117
4) The Virtual Singapore project is available at: nrf.gov.sg/programmes/virtual-singapore [Ac-
cessed 25 November 2020]. Virtual Singapore includes 3D semantic modelling of buildings and in-
frastructure, including detailed information such as material representation; geometric attributes of
terrain, water bodies, vegetation, transportation infrastructure, etc.
5) For example, in addition to the case of the city of Singapore, we cite the study by Dantas, Sosa
and Melo, 2019.
6) The Italian Draft Law n. 4339 bis, of 30/11/1999, ‘Disposizioni in materia di regolazione del
mercato edilizio e istituzione del fascicolo di fabbricato’ (Provisions on the regulation of the construc-
tion market and the establishment of the file of the building), in Article 1 states: 1) It is established,
concerning each building, the file of the building. This file is prepared, updated no more than ten
years and kept by the owner or administrator of the condominium. On the file are noted the informa-
tion relating to the building of identification, design, structural, plant, to achieve a suitable framework
of knowledge from, where possible, the construction phases of the same, and are recorded changes
made compared to the original configuration, with particular reference to the static components, func-
tional and plant. 2) The production of the file of the building, duly updated, is a prerequisite for the is-
suance of permits or certifications of municipal jurisdiction relating to the entire building or individu-
al parts thereof. At the time of the conclusion or renewal of lease agreements, as well as in case of
alienation of the building or individual building units is made, by the owner and the administrator of
the condominium, a declaration about the fulfilment of the obligations under this law. 3) The compila-
tion of the file of the building provides a qualified technician based on technical-administrative docu-
mentation provided by the owner or administrator of the condominium or, if necessary, after the ac-
quisition of additional knowledge, surveys and measurements. 4) The acquisition at public offices, at
the central and local level, of the technical-administrative documentation necessary for the prepara-
tion of the file of the building, takes place without charge for the party concerned. For more informa-
tion, see: senato.it/leg/13/BGT/Testi/Ddlpres/00004628.htm [Accessed 25 November 2020].
7) BIM technology is based on the 3D modelling of the building and the possibility of expanding the
representation of the building to 4D, 5D, 6D and 7D, as also defined within the UNI 11337 standard. In
particular, the dimensions added to the 3D model can be summarized as: 4D – Temporal Management
– the introduction of the time factor, allows to plan the phases of life that characterize the artifact; 5D –
Economic Management – the quantification of costs: through the 3D model and 4D it is possible to
have control over the costs in the different phases of life of the building; 6D – Life Cycle and Mainte-
nance – the management of the artifact during the phases of the life cycle, useful for the evaluation of
the components that constitute the artifact: from systems to finishes; 7D – Sustainability – Sustainable
Development – with this dimension there is the possibility to introduce the analysis of energy con-
sumption of the building; analyzing from the earliest stages of design the energy performance that al-
lows to adopt more efficient and effective technical solutions in order to obtain a manufactured product
with the lowest energy consumption and ensuring the sustainability of the project (Barbagallo, 2018).
8) To link the BIM model to the database, it will also be possible to use plugins made ad hoc by
the different software houses – for example for BIM models processed in Revit Architecture, it will
be possible to use Revit DB Link, which allows managing a relationship between a Revit project and
a Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel or ODBC database.
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Possible and Preferable Scenarios of a Sustainable Future
Towards 2030 and Beyond
... Conventional representation of historical aggregates prevalently distinguished by multiplane building" [19] or the Naples one in axonometry 13 , Figures 2 and 3). This expedient made it possible for the knowledge levels of the city to be materialised into superimposed layers on the same planimetric base and the design indications were synthesised and graphically represented with plan markings [22,23]. This mode of representation has accompanied the drawing of the city for decades and has persisted to the present day, maintaining intact its communicative value of analytical synthesis. ...
... This mode of representation has accompanied the drawing of the city for decades and has persisted to the present day, maintaining intact its communicative value of analytical synthesis. The undeniable ability of axonometric and perspective views to convey information related to the spatial perception of the city has been recovered using 3D models [23]. The transition from analogue to digital, both in the acquisition and restitution phases, makes it possible to create, in a short time and with millimetric precision, a three-dimensional model of the existing artefact (digital twin) 14 on a 1:1 scale on which, a posteriori, it is possible to link databases containing information on different areas. ...
... In the first case, the focus is on the digital twins and their possible implications and uses, for purposes that have so far only been partially experimented 23 . From this point of view, the reality-based digital model becomes the plausible scenario within which the actions take place and the social relations established are entrusted to avatars 24 (Figure 8). ...
Article
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The documentation of urban morphology is linked to the complex operation of representing the city, which over the centuries has been undertaken using different methodologies, instruments, and purposes. The “IT revolution” has expanded the possibility of overlapping and relating multiple pieces of information in connection to the urban organism on the same support and, on the other hand, has opened up new scenarios linked to the use of urban digital twins to support the analysis and urban planning. The 21st century has marked a momentous turning point compared to the recent past: the advent of artificial intelligence has in fact allowed the introduction, alongside Urban Information Systems, of ‘Predictive’ Systems, capable of formulating new scenarios on the basis of the elements available and pictured on 3D models. At the same time, the technical and technological acquisitions of the last century have contributed to evident experimentation on the metaverse, which, although it still exists in a de-emphasised form, is currently a whole universe under construction and expansion. Its rules are written with every passing day, in which the individual can recreate a reality similar to, or absolutely antithetical to, the one they experience on a daily basis, populating virtual cities that elude the established urban dynamics of physical structures.
... Nowadays, digital tools give precious support to the investigation on complex urban contexts and processes, generally characterized by articulate relationships between multiple aspects Galizia, Santagati, 2012). Moreover, the fragility of historical city centers requires specific methodologies that respond to the need to have a rapid mapping of the investigated site (Predari et al, 2019) and/or models for the simulation or the management of critical scenarios (Bocconcino et al, 2021;La Russa, Santagati 2020). ...
Thesis
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The aim of the thesis is the definition of a parametric modelling methodology that allows, in a short time and at a sustainable cost, the digital acquisition, modelling and analysis of urban aggregates with the aim of facilitating seismic vulnerability mapping actions in historic centres. The research involves the use of direct data (site surveys) and derived data (available geodata) for the realisation of a parametric City Information Model (CIM). Grasshopper, a Visual Programming Language (VPL) within Rhinoceros, already widely used in the scientific community, was chosen as the working environment for the parametric computational design. The methodology consists of several progressive steps that can be pursued through two innovative methods (Survey-to-CIM and Scan-to-CIM) defined and developed in this thesis. The choice of which method to adopt depends on the availability of project resources and the type of urban centre being studied. The first method, Survey-to-CIM, is intended to be a low-cost solution that integrates different data and acquisition techniques (direct survey, photo-rectification, expeditious 360 photogrammetry, Street-Level imagery, etc.) within a parametric and responsive flow useful for smaller urban centres and without the need for special professional skills. The second method, Scan-to- CIM, is developed to automate the cognitive operations of interpretation and input of survey data performed by the surveyor. This task is carried out by an Artificial Intelligence system that uses Machine Learning techniques (in particular Random Forest) to identify remarkable geometric-architectural features (openings, walls, stringcourses) within point clouds obtained through digital surveying. Both methods lead to the definition of a parametric CIM system developed in VPL. The generated CIM model is equivalent to the definition of a semantic 3D City Model since all generated geometries, from the envelope to the interior, adhere to a semantic structure that defines relationships and dependencies. Since there are no guidelines in literature regarding the semantic structuring of city models in a parametric environment, an innovative format defined CityGH is proposed in this thesis. Based on the CityJSON standard, it proposes the same semantic structure of CityJSON but adapting it to the Data Structure of Grasshopper (Data Trees). This format is therefore proposed as an interchange format within parametric models to facilitate their dissemination and application. Thanks to its semantic structure, the parametric CIM model is capable of storing attributes and metadata that are fundamental steps in facilitating the beginning of the FEM analysis activities. The parametric CIM model defined so far also allows the extraction of structural geometric models, both NURBS and MESH, necessary for the execution of FEM analyses. In particular, a workflow was developed in the thesis that allows FEM analysis both within the VPL environment (Karamba3D, Alpaca4D - OpenSees plugins) and in external software dedicated to structural analysis (SAP2000, FEM-Design).
Chapter
The contribution concerns the development of methods and protocols for the monitoring of historical built Cultural Heritage with an integrated multidisciplinary approach consisting of documentation activities and analysis procedures. In particular, the latter concern the state of the art, morphology, construction technologies, and the conservation state of materials and construction packages, to structure the corpus of knowledge of the asset under examination. The analysis procedures aim to understand the spatial components of the structure in relation to construction, technological, and material aspects, and to define the digitization actions to be activated on the artifact based on the observed condition. Understanding and monitoring of the cultural asset is achieved through the construction of synthesis frameworks, functional for describing its complexity, which culminate in the use of semi-automated and automated censusing systems of Information Systems for the formulation of monitoring protocols and programmatic frameworks for management. Keywords: Urban Management · Building Census · Digital Twin · Object Detection · Information Systems
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Il contributo presenta l’esperienza di un gruppo di lavoro che ha avviato e costituito la scuola torinese per il rilievo urbano e ambientale, fondata da Augusto Cavallari Murat al Politecnico di Torino nella prima metà degli anni Sessanta del secolo scorso. L’allora Istituto di Architettura Tecnica del Politecnico di Torino (già Dipartimento di Ingegneria dei Sistemi Edilizi e Territoriali, ora Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale, Edile e Geotecnica) mise allo studio alcuni piani di ricerca accettati e finanziati dal Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche negli anni 1962-1966. Il pretesto era individuare le leggi generative e alternative dei tessuti urbanistici metropolitani, ossia di grandi città europee, e ricondurre tali leggi a schematizzazioni e significazioni più generalizzabili di quanto presente nella letteratura tecnica e storica in quel momento esistente. Cavallari Murat è uno studioso che si applica a diverse discipline. Cresciuto nella scienza e nella tecnica delle costruzioni, i suoi interessi sono stati ampliati all’architettura, alla composizione e alla documentazione architettonica, all’urbanistica, alla sociologia e alla statistica, all’arte. Compendia quindi conoscenze e interpretazioni date da un bagaglio di conoscenze vasto attraverso il linguaggio grafico e la diagrammazione con un approccio sistemico al rilievo urbano, che si rafforza nella interdisciplinarità; la cartografia urbana è uno degli strumenti che sceglie per condividere la ricerca.
Chapter
This research proposes a parametric modelling methodology based on Visual Programming Language (VPL) for creating City Information Models (CIM) to facilitate seismic vulnerability mapping in historic centres. The methodology consists of two innovative methods (Survey-to-CIM and Scan-to-CIM) developed for integrating direct and derived data, using Grasshopper as the VPL parametric computational design environment. The Survey-to-CIM method is a low-cost solution for small urban centres that integrates different data acquisition techniques within a parametric and responsive flow. The Scan-to-CIM method automates the input of survey data using an Artificial Intelligence system that identifies geometric-architectural features within point clouds. The generated CIM adheres to a specific semantic structure defined as CityGH, an innovative format based on CityJSON 3D city model standards but adapted to the data structure of Grasshopper. The semantic structure of the CIM model allows the storage of attributes and metadata that facilitate the information enrichment and management. The CIM model also allows the extraction of structural geometric models (city block scale) necessary for FEM analysis. Specifically, a workflow was developed to enable FEM analysis in the same VPL environment. Overall, this methodology offers an efficient and sustainable approach for creating CIMs that can support seismic vulnerability mapping and analysis actions in historic centres. This research demonstrated the benefits of adopting an explicit parametric modelling approach for City Information Modelling, enabling to manage digital urban survey data, semantic enrichment and management and FEM analyses. The proposed methods can be pursued based on the availability of project resources and the type of urban centre being studied. The outcome of this research contributes to the debate about parametric urbanism and the role of computational design with CIM methodology. Specifically, the case studies developed offer a practical alternative for seismic vulnerability mapping in historic centres.
Chapter
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Let us imagine a large sports facility and an integrated system to control its maintenance (structures, facilities, furnishings, communication systems), pre-configure temporary set-ups, procurement of goods and materials, check compliance with technical regulations concerning the safety and regularity of sports and recreational events, contracts with sponsors and suppliers, and the work of technical staff. Then, let’s imagine that this mass of data is supplemented by tracking the flows of people attending events, recording their behaviour through the looks they make, the stops they make, the actions they take. This is the theme of the contribution proposed, an experimental application involving a sports facility of international importance and integrating BIM processes for design and maintenance, social and commercial information systems open to the public, marketing and usage analyses based on sensors and big data, and artificial intelligence capable of prefiguring the safest and most comfortable solutions.
Chapter
Management and control of urban growth for the development of heritage and improvement of life in the city of Bethlehem a cura di / edited by Sandro Parrinello 3D BETHLEHEM Gestione e controllo della crescita urbana per lo sviluppo del patrimonio ed il miglioramento della vita nella città di Betlemme
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Questo volume raccoglie le attività di ricerca e cooperazione allo sviluppo condotte durante il terzo e ultimo anno del progetto “3D Bethlehem”. Si tratta di un periodo che ha subito delle variazioni a causa della pandemia e che ha previsto azioni di sviluppo del sistema informativo per la conoscenza e la gestione della città storica. Docenti e ricercatori dell’Università di Pavia, congiuntamente con gli altri partner del progetto, hanno lavorato assieme alla municipalità di Betlemme per costruire un sistema GIS sul centro storico della città. This volume collects the research and development cooperation activities carried out during the third and last year of the “3D Bethlehem” project. This is a period that has undergone changes due to the pandemic and which has provided for actions to develop the information system for the knowledge and management of the historic city. Lecturers and researchers from the University of Pavia, jointly with the other project partners, worked together with the municipality of Bethlehem to build a GIS system on the historic city center.
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This paper presents and discusses the relationship between the concepts of Smart Cities and City Information Modeling (CIM). It conveys the notion that these are complementary and not competing concepts, as one might think at first glance. On the other hand, the paper demonstrates the importance of these concepts to overcome the challenges to the cities of the 21 st century, from findings contained in official documents published by the United Nations (UN), to analyze the growth of world population and the emergence of new cities to house population groups. Finally, this paper argues that the CIM with an inducing factor for the Smart City is an important resource to help improve the quality of life in cities. Os desafios das cidades do século XXI Este trabalho apresenta e discute a relação entre os conceitos de Cidades Inteligentes e City Information Modeling (CIM), mostrando que estes são conceitos complementares e não concorrentes, como se poderia pensar à primeira vista. Por outro lado, o artigo busca mostrar a importância desses conceitos frente aos desafios colocados para as cidades do século XXI, a partir de constatações contidas em documentos oficiais publicados pela Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), que analisam o crescimento da população mundial e o surgimento de novas cidades para abrigar os contingentes populacionais. Segundo dados do Fundo de População das Nações Unidas (FNUAP), a população mundial atingiu 7,2 bilhões de habitantes em 2013. Embora a taxa de crescimento populacional venha apresentado redução ano a ano, a estimativa é que em 2050 a população do planeta seja 9 bilhões de habitantes, crescendo à taxa de 0,33% ao ano, bem inferior à taxa atual de crescimento que é 2,02% (ONU, 2014), mas ainda assim projeta-se uma população da ordem de 11 bilhões de pessoas para o final do século XXI. Ainda segundo a ONU (2014), estima-se que a população das regiões desenvolvidas permanecerá praticamente inalterada em torno de 1,3 bilhão de pessoas até 2050. Entretanto, nos 49 países menos desenvolvidos a população deverá passar dos atuais 900 milhões de habitantes para 1,8 bilhões, no mesmo período. No caso brasileiro as perspectivas não são mais animadoras. A população atual da ordem de 207 milhões de habitantes cairá para 200 milhões no ano de 2100, mas ainda atingirá o pico de 238 milhões de habitantes em 2050, quando a população deverá começar a decrescer em função das taxas de natalidade mais baixas. Esses números indicam que no prazo de 35 anos precisarão ser construídas moradias para 31 milhões de pessoas, e nos 50 anos seguintes as moradias usadas por 38 milhões de brasileiros ficarão ociosas. Confirmados esses números, e considerando o déficit quantitativo e qualitativo de habitações atualmente existente no Brasil, o quadro que se apresenta é preocupante, pois além dos problemas habitacionais somam-se as questões da deficiência da infraestrutura nacional como um todo. Assim, a superação dessas condições francamente desfavoráveis constitui um grande desafio a ser superado pelos brasileiros até o final do século XXI. Ainda segundo o relatório (ONU, 2014), em 1990 as chamadas megacidades, ou seja, aquelas com a população acima de 10 milhões de habitantes eram apenas 10, distribuídas por todo o mundo. Em 2014, apenas 24 anos depois, estas cidades já eram 21, e projeta-se que no ano de 2030 elas serão 41 cidades. Em relação às cidades entre 5 e 10 milhões de habitantes, elas passarão de 43 em 2014 para 63 em 2030. E, finalmente, as cidades entre 1 e 5 milhões de habitantes, que eram 417 em 2014, são estimadas em 558 para o horizonte de 2030. Partindo-se de um raciocínio simplista e conservador dentro das projeções apontadas, num período de 16 anos (2014 – 2030) deverão ser construídas em escala mundial, 20 cidades para 10 milhões de habitantes, 20 cidades para 5 milhões de habitantes, e 171 cidades para mais de 1 milhão de habitantes, sem contar com a necessidade de milhares de pequenas e médias cidades. Não bastasse as demandas para a construção do novo visando o atendimento do crescimento populacional, concomitantemente se observa que a maior parte das cidades brasileiras e do mundo não possuem a infraestrutura necessária para alcançar os padrões de desenvolvimento
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This paper describes and summarises the recent results from studies carried out at VTT concerning the contents of construction product information and its use in different stages of building project and building maintenance from two specific points of view: 1) product model based building, 2) life cycle management of buildings. The objective of the work was to describe and define the contents of building product information needed from the view point of service life and life cycle design and maintenance of buildings considering the latest developments in building product standardisation especially from the European point of view. The paper also drafts alternative information management solutions for the use of this information considering the challenges of product model based building. The paper discusses the contents, transfer and use of construction product information in different stages of building project and building maintenance. The subject is discussed and dealt with based on the premise that sustainable building will significantly increase the needs of product specific information both in building processes as well as during the maintenance of buildings. Design for service life and sustainability requires new information including for example service life information, LCA data and information on harmful chemicals and emissions. Design for service life and sustainability may also require detailed information about technical performance of products. Because of the abundance of the needed information, and the different needs in different stages of building projects, efficient information technological solutions are needed.
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Building asset managers have the formidable task of fulfilling client and tenant accommodation needs as well as striving to retain building integrity while meeting specific financial goals. This undertaking must not be at the expense of various environmental and policy driven requirements. This paper addresses the data, information and knowledge requirements for effective management of a portfolio of buildings as well as discussing available techniques and tools to meet these needs. It provides an overview of tools that are currently available.
Article
Especially in the last two decades of an increasingly-competitive business environment, dwindling resources and an ever-increasing need to obtain value for money in all areas of corporate activity, it has become essential that all available resources be used optimally (Griffith, J. W. and Keely, B. J., Cost Engineering, 1978, September/October, 165–168). Physical assets form the basic infrastructure of all businesses and their effective management is essential to overall success. It has thus become essential to plan and monitor assets throughout their entire life cycle, from the development/procurement stage through to eventual disposal. Life cycle costing∗ is concerned with optimising value for money in the ownership of physical assets by taking into consideration all the cost factors relating to the asset during its operational life. Optimising the trade-off between those cost factors will give the minimum life cycle cost of the asset. This process involves estimation of costs on a whole life basis before making a choice to purchase an asset from the various alternatives available. Life cycle cost of an asset can, very often, be many times the initial purchase or investment cost (Hart, J. M. S., Tetrotechnology Handbook, p. 22, HMSO, London, 1978; Hysom, J. L., Journal of Property Management, 1979, 44, 332–337). It is important that management should realise the source and magnitude of lifetime costs so that effective action can subsequently be taken to control them. This approach to decision making encourages a long-term outlook to the investment decision-making process rather than attempting to save money in the short term by buying assets simply with lower initial acquisition cost. It is suggested project managers should familiarise themselves with what the approach involves, to better appreciate how they might then contribute to the enhanced quality decision making which it makes possible.
Conference Paper
There is currently a dramatic shift in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry to embrace Building Information Modeling (BIM) as a tool that can assist in integrating the fragmented industry by eliminating inefficiencies and redundancies, improving collaboration and communication, and enhancing overall productivity. In the context of this revolution, the intent of this paper is three-fold: 1) To introduce and define BIM to the Web3D community as an application of Web3D to the AEC industry. 2) To describe and illustrate the various ways innovative designers and contractors are applying BIM and Web3D tools in the AEC industry. 3) To challenge the Web3D community to collaborate with BIM and AEC-specific open standards organizations like the International Alliance for Interoperability and to discover ways to integrate X3D with the IFC file formats.
L'evoluzione infografica del processo edilizio -Dalla progettazione integrata in ambiente BIM alla gestione del cantiere 4D e 5D -Caso studio -Realizzazione di 78 alloggi residenziali ATC su Spina 4 in Torino
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Alberti, A. (2014), L'evoluzione infografica del processo edilizio -Dalla progettazione integrata in ambiente BIM alla gestione del cantiere 4D e 5D -Caso studio -Realizzazione di 78 alloggi residenziali ATC su Spina 4 in Torino, Tutor Prof. Ing. Arch. M. Lo Turco, Prof. Ing. M. Rebaudengo -Politecnico di Torino, Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Architettura Costruzione Città, A.A. 2013/2014.
Dalla nuvola di punti all'Urban BIM -Tecniche integrate di rilievo 3D per la generazione di un modello multiscala di città in scenario post sismico, Tutor Prof. N. Spanò -Politecnico di Torino, Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Architettura per il Restauro e Valorizzazione del Patrimonio
  • M Avena
Avena, M. (2020), Dalla nuvola di punti all'Urban BIM -Tecniche integrate di rilievo 3D per la generazione di un modello multiscala di città in scenario post sismico, Tutor Prof. N. Spanò -Politecnico di Torino, Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Architettura per il Restauro e Valorizzazione del Patrimonio, A.A. 2019/2020. [Online] Available at: webthesis.biblio.polito.it/13589/1/tesi.pdf [Accessed 25 November 2020].
Il BIM e le sue Dimensioni -Secondo le UNI 11337
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Barbagallo, V. (2018), "Il BIM e le sue Dimensioni -Secondo le UNI 11337", in Progettiamo BIM. [Online] Available at: progettiamobim.com/blog/approfondimenti/il-bim-e-le-sue-dimensionisecondo-le-uni-11337/ [Accessed 25 November 2020].