Achieving Universal Accessibility through Remote Virtualization and Digitization of Complex Archaeological Features: A Graphic and Constructive Study of the Columbarios of Merida

Abstract

Currently, there are heritage assets that have been extensively studied and documented, but sometimes this information is not fully accessible to users. The aim of this research was to establish protocols and methodologies to promote collaborative work between the disciplines of architecture, restoration, and archaeology, through the results offered by Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools, and to use them for Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM). The methodology applied employed data collection with fast and low-cost tools (UAV) to subsequently generate a photogrammetric survey to serves as the basis for three-dimensional modelling. In this parametric model we implement all the information obtained by professionals from different disciplines, which also serves as a means to publicise and disseminate the heritage asset. The case study was the archaeological site of Columbarios, located in Mérida, a UNESCO World Heritage City. We obtained an effective interdisciplinary work methodology for heritage management under a collaborative BIM environment. The study has allowed us to make the archaeological remains available to visit from anywhere in the world through Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) Driven Sustainable Cultural Heritage Tourism

“…Since the tourism industry is typically closely associated with multistakeholders [113], who are regarded as an important factor in any viable tourism development [114], new conflicts between stakeholders and changes in inter-subjective relationships are unavoidable in the process of sustainable transformation and quality development of tourism [113]. As shown in Table 2, the case study [18,29,47,49,50,58,113,[115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123] is a com-monly used research method to examine stakeholder relationships in sustainable cultural heritage tourism, followed by mixed research [8,27,89,[124][125][126][127][128][129][130], interviews [6,36,131,132], modelling [17,33,133], and literature reviews [90]. Current studies on BIM-driven cultural heritage conservation and sustainable cultural heritage tourism concern the following groups of people or organisations: heritage residents, community organisations, tourists, managers (including heritage planning managers including local governments, heritage management), and industry experts (e.g., heritage conservation experts and tourism planning experts).…”

“…In terms of frequency of occurrence, keywords such as "culture heritage", "conservation", "management ", "model", "tourism", "technology", and other research themes build up the relationship between BIM and cultural heritage tourism, which have been further classified into the following three categories: (1) cultural heritage conservation, where technology has been used to maintain the physical state of the heritage in a scientific way [23], providing the basis for subsequent adaptive use of the heritage [8] through conservation plans [23], and risk management; (2) heritage and tourism management, that is concerned with balancing conservation and development in heritage tourism [9]; and (3) support of emerging technology, through which BIM in particular aids in the promotion of efficient management techniques [47] and the rational implementation of conservation policies [48]. New applications that integrate BIM with immersive technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), to improve the visualisation of digital heritage data [13] can benefit both professional and non-professional users by facilitating collaboration among specialists in various sectors as well as instructional or entertainment dissemination to the general public [49]. As such, the potential relationships between BIM and the sustainable development of cultural heritage tourism have been identified using the VOSviewer software.…”

“…nologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), to improve the visualisation of digital heritage data [13] can benefit both professional and non-professional users by facilitating collaboration among specialists in various sectors as well as instructional or entertainment dissemination to the general public [49]. As such, the potential relationships between BIM and the sustainable development of cultural heritage tourism have been identified using the VOSviewer software.…”

Architectural Survey, Diagnostic, and Constructive Analysis Strategies for Monumental Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Management of Tourism

“…At the international level, Italian research groups are working on 3D survey techniques exclusively in the field of heritage [21][22][23]. The DICAr (Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the University of Pavia), for example, in Pavia and the Laboratorio di Rilievo in Florence, are at the forefront of this issue and our idea is to collaborate with them in some way (attending conferences, visits, exchanges .…”

3D Modeling of a Virtual Built Environment Using Digital Tools: Kilburun Fortress Case Study

“…Recently, a number of state-of-the-art studies in modeling virtual environments have highlighted the significance of the considered problem. Particularly, Ramos Sánchez et al [3] proposed an approach for achieving universal accessibility by the remote virtualization and digitization of complex archaeological features. As a result, a methodology for heritage management under a collaborative digital environment was realized for the case study of Columbarios in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Mérida, Spain.…”