ABSTRACT:An architectural heritage object carries heterogeneous and multi-layered information beyond physical characteristics. It requires an integrated representation of various types of information for understanding and management prior to the decision-making process of conservation. This requirement is a twofold manner consisting of representation and management processes. There exists a variety of approaches for representation of heritage objects in digital three-dimensional (3D) environment, but the selection of the appropriate one according to the needs is crucial. On one hand, there have been recently great attempts to adopt Building Information Modeling (BIM) for historical buildings. Nevertheless, the related works in the topic focus mainly on pre-processing of data, such as the integration of born-digital material into a BIM environment and the creation of parametric objects according to historical building characteristics. As the information management of a historical building requires enhanced attribute management and integration of different datasets, further investigation on the BIM capabilities in management terms is crucial. On the other hand, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have great potentials in exploring spatial relationships, but their potential in 3D representation is still somehow limited. The paper reviews and evaluates the roles of BIM and GIS, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages for integration, retrieval and management of heterogeneous data in the context of historical buildings.

Abstract:Historic buildings are representations of cultural systems throughout time. Thus, it is important to shed light on any given historic building's chronological information by means of restitution, that is, the descriptions of different (re)compositions of a building for different historical states. However, the representation of information beyond the geometric, spatial, and physical characteristics of a historic building carries a crucial importance in the holistic understanding of historical changes. This requirement consists of representation, archival, assessment, and management aspects. Nevertheless, covering all these aspects is still quite challenging. Thus, three-dimensional (3D) visualization in digital platforms is considered, which indeed seems to be the most desirable way today. This article proposes a methodology through adopting an approach based on the Geographical Information System (GIS) and further develops a digital "container" as a 3D digital model for the archiving of a building's chronological information. This does not only cover the geometric and spatial aspects, but also the historical resources and their reliability. The paper concludes that the developed prototype may lessen the future investigation effort of heritage specialists by making the chronological information of a historical building more integrated and coherent, through increased readability, accessibility, and visibility. This, in turn, supports the planning of restoration projects, as well as provides a static and comprehensive archive.

First, I would like to express my special gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof.Dr. Mine Hamamcıoğlu Turan for her scientific support, guidance and incredible patience throughout my thesis. Special thanks go to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Engin Aktaş for his scientific support and guidance during my thesis. He supported the thesis like a supervisor. This thesis could not be completed without moral and technical support of my supervisor;

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Since ancient times, different techniques have been favoured to provide the integrity of masonry buildings at risk from earthquakes. Earthquake consciousness and determination of related effective techniques have always been a challenging subject. In this study, morphologic characteristics affecting structural resistance of dry-joint masonry towers, and their impact on each other are examined with the help of the statistical analysis. The effectiveness of each characteristic is discussed in relation to the earthquake risk level of the regions to decipher awareness of precautions necessary for structural resistance of dry-joint masonry under earthquake risk in ancient periods.The methodology includes gathering morphologic data with the conventional site survey techniques of architectural restoration; visual analysis of the dataset; design of hypothetical towers by combining possible characteristics of real towers; quasi-static tilt analysis of hypothetical towers with MsPhysics 1.0.3 software; regression analysis of the collapse limits for different morphologic configurations with EViews 4 software, and the proposition of a vulnerability framework and application of the framework to case studies.The parameters affecting structural resistance are listed in the order of high to low impact as a staggering ratio, stone depth, ratio between block length and height, proportional relationship between height and length, opening area, number and position and the distribution of header stones. The application of the framework to case studies indicated consciousness awareness of the risk and the taking of precautions against lateral loading of dry-joint masonry in ancient periods.