Purpose The Covid-19 pandemic has placed health-care systems and their facilities throughout the world under immense pressure. The pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of health-care facilities design in looking beyond the ongoing crisis and considering how hospitals can better prepare for unexpected future health situations. This study aims to investigate how hospitals reacted to the crisis in terms of their physical spaces, which architectural features permitted the necessary transformations, and how this data can inform hospital design research in the future. Design/methodology/approach The research adopted a qualitative and multi-method approach to case studies. Data was collected directly (field survey and interviews) and indirectly (literature, periodicals, specialised websites, webinars, conferences and forums), and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats analysis supported the data evaluation. Findings Hospitals’ responses to the crisis were guided by a host of variables depending on the specific intervention context and risk scenario. Some key issues emerged as particularly meaningful to drive future research in hospital design, namely, architectural typology, layout and spatial proximities, technological systems, the quality of care spaces, the role of public spaces, facility management tools to drive the transformation, territorial health care networks and new technologies. Originality/value The paper suggests that the current crisis can be transformed into an opportunity, in terms of research and innovation, to rethink and improve the quality and efficiency of health-care spaces, restoring their crucial role of promoting health by design.
The digital survey was carried out as a part of the research project titled, “The Romanesque and the territory. Construction materials of the Sardegna Giudicale”, and coordinated by prof. Stefano Columbu. The BIM model was developed by a students’ team as part of the teaching activities of the Architectural Drawing course at the School of Engineering, University of Florence. The imagines are extracted from the drawings of the students, Valeria Siddi, Elena Pastorelli, Liuba Gabrielli, Simone Riccio, Elisa Ricotti.
The territory and the contemporary city require a dynamic approach capable of embracing the life cycles of the different functions and their relationships. The article discusses tools developed in three case studies in which some factors that determine the evolution of tourist and healthcare functions in a historical centre and recreational functions in a protected natural park can be observed and interpreted. The research presented aims to provide the territorial conservation, transformation and enhancement project with tools capable of interacting with new social demands for inclusiveness, identity, accessibility and sharing, favouring new forms of administration as well as participation and collaboration between different knowledge and skill sets.
The research focuses on an approach for the development of an automated workflow in the field of fire prevention for the validation of BIM models regarding “Subjected Activities” (according to Italian law - Presidential Decree 151/2011), with reference to the contents of the Horizontal Technical Regulation of the Fire Prevention Code. In fact, since 2019, the Italian Fire Department, through the Fire Digital Check project, is seeking to digitize the Fire Prevention Code in order to allow professionals to integrate their BIM models with the objectives required by the fire regulations. The workflow proposed involves three distinct processes, integrating them within a single workflow: study of the technical regulations and transposition into the digital environment using proven methods such as RASE, Tx3 and TIO, information modelling of a case study and implementation of validation algorithms using Solibri software. One of the main points of the proposed process is to use an open and interoperable format such as that offered by the IFC schema for the information exchange between the different software involved
In recent years, the massive development of digital technologies for capturing data from sensors, located both in-side buildings and in the urban environment, made necessary an expansion of the traditional semantic domains of the construction industry with reference to BIM-based information management processes. The integration of data between BIM models and IoT devices enables the creation of Digital Twins (DTs) of built heritage assets, capable of connecting data coming continuously from sensors with digital models of those assets. This enables the management of large masses of data produced at various stages of the building lifecycle, making it possible to experiment with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics for predictive analysis of building system behavior and performance. This paper presents the results of a research, which aimed to develop a methodological and operational workflow for the creation of Digital Twin of buildings. The interoperability offered by the IFC schema allowed the use of an external platform for linking different semantic fields. Thus, on the one hand, a federated BIM model was created, and on the other hand, real-time acquired data from a system of sensors in-stalled at different locations in the building were recorded and stored in a central server.
The process of digitization of the cultural heritage is crucial for the conservation and valorization of historical buildings. The paper presents some results of a research project carried out as part of a collaboration agreement between the Bargello Museums and the DICEA and DIDA Departments of University of Florence aimed at the geometric survey and structural analysis of the “Sagrestia Nuova” of Michelangelo within the architectural complex of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. The study focused on the Exchange Information Requirements (EIR) for H-BIM modelling of the monument with the aim of carrying out a structural analysis of the historic building. The research consisted of several phases, starting with the geometric data capturing, developed using digital acquisition techniques. A 3D laser scanner was employed to generate a point cloud, which was combined with a photogrammetric campaign using handheld cameras and UAV drones to process 3D mesh models, facilitating the acquisition of dimensional and material characteristics in the form of raw data. The authoring modelling of the architectural and structural discipline was carried out to optimize interoperability with the specific structural analysis software, DIANA FEA, which posed several challenges and required innovative solutions to improve data exchange between the two different software. The structural model was then subjected to seismic analysis in accordance with guidelines for assessing the structural integrity of monumental historic masonry buildings, using the knowledge gained from the BIM model. The result of this research is a digital model that provides a wealth of information for the management, conservation and restoration of the historic building. Specifically, the digital model can serve as a database for restoration projects and structural analysis of the historic building. Furthermore, the objective of this endeavour is to foster collaboration among actors from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, thereby enhancing mutual comprehension of interoperability concerns.
The operational phase of a real estate asset accounts for approximately 80% of the overall investment and management costs throughout the entire life cycle of the building, and the activities of space management and monitoring of building components and systems play a crucial role in ensuring the well-being and health of users. The AECO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operation) industry is transitioning towards a new framework governed by data-driven processes. In this context, Building Information Modeling (BIM) can support the utilization of big data generated throughout different stages of the building's life cycle, thereby establishing itself as a dynamic repository of information at the center of a constellation of systems used by a Facility Management body to achieve specific objectives (such as CAFM, ERP, BMS, etc.). The proposed study aims to define a processing framework for the collection and management of data aimed at the implementation of DT of existing real estate assets, created based on the integration between BIM platforms and IoT technology oriented to subsequent developments of big data analytics and AI applications. The objective is to support in the operational phase of buildings the decisions of the various operators involved in planning scheduled and/or corrective maintenance actions and to generate content, recommendations, best practices by formulating predictive analysis on managed assets. In particular, a critical analysis is made of the various approaches available for the definition of an IT architecture to support IoT reference models, which will find application in the monitoring of some existing assets of the University of Florence's real estate managed by the Building Area, digitally implemented on a BIM platform. The contribution is part of a broader research activity carried out as part of the PNR Project, "BIM2DT. BIM-to-Digital Twin: information management to support decision-making in the building life cycle."
Building Information Modelling applied to civil infrastructure has opened up interesting scenarios for integrated management of existing infrastructural works. In the last few years Bridge Management System (BMS) have been increasingly used by infrastructure owners, based on different control systems: from stochastic methods, which make it possible to define a condition ratio (CR) starting from periodic inspections of bridges, to sensors for structural monitoring, which can originate a flow of information exchange between real artifacts and the digital model capable of activating effective reactive or planned responses in the operation and maintenance phase of the asset. The paper intends to outline a BIM-oriented process workflow, which from the creation of parametric objects for infrastructural works using Scan-to-BIM acquisition techniques and procedures, arrives at the implementation of information bridge models to manage both static data from scheduled inspections of technicians of defects and their severity according to specific guidelines, and dynamic data from incoming and outgoing sensors placed in the physical asset for real time monitoring towards analysis, supervision and control systems of the facilities owner. The defined process workflow will be applied to some case studies, related to bridges of different characteristics, outlining some directions for future developments. In detail the research showcases the tasks undertaken and the outcomes achieved on four selected bridge case studies, which are real and situated within the geographical area of the Tuscany region, Italy. The studied bridges are all still in use and hold historical significance, as they were constructed between two hundred and one hundred years ago
The research focuses on an approach for the development of an automated workflow in the field of fire prevention for the validation of BIM models regarding “Subjected Activities” (according to Italian law - Presidential Decree 151/2011), with reference to the contents of the Horizontal Technical Regulation of the Fire Prevention Code. In fact, since 2019, the Italian Fire Department, through the Fire Digital Check project, is seeking to digitize the Fire Prevention Code in order to allow professionals to integrate their BIM models with the objectives required by the fire regulations. The workflow proposed involves three distinct processes, integrating them within a single workflow: study of the technical regulations and transposition into the digital environment using proven methods such as RASE, Tx3 and TIO, information modelling of a case study and implementation of validation algorithms using Solibri software. One of the main points of the proposed process is to use an open and interoperable format such as that offered by the IFC schema for the information exchange between the different software involved
