Feasibility Study for Building Information Modeling Implementation in Restoration Projects of Historical Buildings in Tehran

Nowadays, the remains of the past have become more and more valuable among nations and many projects concerning protection, conservation, restoration, and dissemination of cultural heritage are being carried out around the world due to its growing appeal as a driving force of socio-economic development. Uncertainty over time, cost, and scope can be seen as common and distinctive features of these projects that pose some challenges. One of the most recent responses to these challenges is the implementation of building information modeling (BIM) in the context of cultural heritage that is referred to as H-BIM (Heritage-BIM). The Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an expansive knowledge domain within the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) industry, representing the physical and functional characteristics of buildings in digital form with the help of a set of technologies, processes and policies, and by facilitating collaborations and data sharing, reducing errors resulting from inconsistencies. In these scenarios the design process is no more carried out using two-dimensional (2D) tools, but it is based on three-dimensional (3D) elements which are coupled with metadata and additional information. By this way, the new era of designing is based on a 3D model with a 3D database. Heritage Building Information Modelling is an emerging knowledge area used for documentation and management of existing historic buildings. By implementing this concept in the cultural heritage projects, not only the current status of the heritage building can be shown, but it is also possible to view and analyze the proposed restoration plans and possible interventions in different scenarios and all the decisions will be made based on reliable information. It should be noted that the reliability of information in projects in the field of cultural heritage is important because no change can be reversed in the historical buildings. In contrast to the maturity of implementing Building Information Modelling in the field of construction, the benefits and process of implementation in the field of cultural heritage is a novel and challenging issue that is called Heritage Building Information Modelling (H-BIM) and in recent years, it has become a major topic for research. This paper, considering Heritage Building Information Modelling as a technological innovation, seeks to study the feasibility and to identify the factors influencing its implementation in the context of restoration projects of the historical buildings of Tehran. In terms of purpose, this research is an applied research and is considered as a mixed research using a set of qualitative and quantitative data. Three types of desk study, semi-structured interview and questionnaire were used to collect data. The results of the statistical analysis of the conceptual model presented in this paper show that the components of the three main groups of innovative characteristics of Heritage Building Information Modelling (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, trial ability), environmental factors (competition pressure) and individual characteristics of the project team (resistance to change and risk tolerance) have different degrees of impact. Based on the Friedman ranking test the complexity of implementation has the greatest impact and compatibility has the least impact.