H-BIM – Innovative and Digital Tools to Improve the Management of the Existing Buildings

With the introduction of the BIM methodology, the digitalization is consolidating mostly the process of new building design defining new standardized working procedures in order to optimize the data flow. On the contrary, pertaining to existing buildings, the rules are still dictated by the traditional methodology leading to fragmented and disaggregated information flow. However, some tools have been recently developed and are quickly upgrading to meet the specific aim to pursue progress, dynamism and experimentation in order to stay in tune with market demands. One common issue, is due to the fact that the documents are paper, hard to find and numerous so that the digitalization represents the best real solution to improve their management. In this regard, the heart of the informative flow is represented by the Common Data Environment (CDE), a cloud storage in which the documents are collected once uploaded and easily manageable with specific platforms. By way of example, a case study is developed in the paper in which the management process of the H-BIM of the XV century’s structure placed in the old town of Naples is carried out in a digital way, through the usBIM.platform (released by ACCA software company) using specific tools, like links, markers and tags. The goal of the paper is to define both a new organization for the data archive, in which the documents are structured and easily traceable, both a new way of conceiving the BIM model that it is thought as an informative vehicle and a key access to the information rather than a mere geometric representation.