Abstract. Current heritage analysis applications and documentation techniques for timber roof structures rely on manual measurements to provide the spatial data. Major simplifications are made to document these structures efficiently. However, these simplified geometric models provide less reliable results. Therefore, the need exists for more realistic models. Additionally, the exchangeability of information between varying parties is paramount. Hence, the construction elements should be defined in a Building Information Model (BIM). This allows users to reuse the model, allowing the distribution of information throughout the project. The goal of our research is to create a realistic BIM model of a complex heritage roof structure employing dense point clouds. The comparison of our complex geometric model to a traditional wire-frame model proves that our approach provides more reliable results in terms of geometry and structural behaviour. Our work covers the acquisition, the modelling and the structural analysis of timber roof structures.

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The evaluation of the initial quality and long-term durability of an intervention on a historic building proves to be complex. On the one hand, technical and functional requirements can be defined which will lead to recipes and intervention methods. On the other hand, the heritage repair principles such as reversibility, compatibility and retreatability, should be respected. How are these aspects taken into account when defining an intervention in current practice? And how are they translated by the craftsmen into an actual intervention that meets their skills?The quality management approach presented in this paper was developed specifically for the cultural heritage sector and is based on a literature study and a study of current practice within Europe. Both literature and practice demonstrate that preservation of cultural heritage can be obtained by applying a planned preventive conservation approach and through a positive collaboration of all stakeholders.The proposed scheme will be confronted with the restoration of the fifteenth century enclosure of the Abbey of Tongerlo in order to understand its applicability in practice as a means for measuring the initial quality and long-term durability of interventions.

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In heritage conservation, a gap is often observed between the theory of conservation as a durable process that aims at the preservation of a historic building and the practice of restoration as a single intervention that aims at a fast and convincing result. This paper describes the proposed approach for the conservation of the main façade of the Shoemakers Chapel (in Dutch: Schoenmakerskapel) in Antwerp (Belgium), a listed monument since 1976. It serves as an example of how to develop a durable and realistic approach for the conservation of a sixteenth century façade. The basis for the conservation approach is the understanding that each intervention should take the stratified significance of the historic façade into account. In this paper, it will be shown how to combine a study of the façade from a technical point of view with an analysis of the façade as a carrier of cultural significance.