Most people working with the built environment are familiar with building information modeling (BIM): the process of creating and managing digital representations of buildings' physical and functional characteristics using software such as Autodesk Revit. Through a shared 3D building model, BIM can help architects, engineers, contractors, and owners collaborate more effectively, optimize design and performance, and reduce costs and risks when undertaking a ground-up construction project.
But what about historic buildings that have unique and complex features, require special care and maintenance, and have multiple stakeholders and users? How can BIM be applied to these buildings, which are not only structures but also cultural assets and living documents of history? Standard BIM tools are not sufficient for the complexities of stewarding, preserving, and adapting historic buildings.
The answer is historic building information management (HBIM), and we're very proud of our role in developing it.
What Is HBIM?
At its heart, HBIM uses innovative technology to create what Quinn Evans president Alyson Steele, FAIA, LEED AP, likes to call a "3D filing cabinet" for clients to store, manage, and access the vast amount of data, documentation, and contextual information associated with a historic building.
HBIM transcends traditional BIM by not only capturing a building’s geometric information but also to allowing us to incorporate historical, archival, and analytical information that can inform conservation and stewardship decisions and actions. This information is tagged to individual objects within the BIM, giving stewards access to everything known about that building element with the click of a button.
Because it provides a single source and a structured framework for information, HBIM acts as a true management tool for stewards of historic buildings. It can inform decision-making, generate insights into building performance, and help users communicate and disseminate information to various audiences, including owners, managers, researchers, educators, and visitors.
How Did Quinn Evans Create HBIM?
The acronym "HBIM" dates to 2009, when a UK-based team (with which we are not affiliated) used the phrase “historic building information modeling” to describe a process for converting laser scans and survey images of historic structures into a BIM. Today this workflow is known as "scan-to-BIM" and is widely used for creating BIMs of existing buildings.
In 2014, we independently developed historic building information management. Although we didn’t know it at the time, we were creating something similar to the UK team’s product—BIMs for historic buildings based on detailed existing conditions data—but furthering it with the crucial addition of historic documentation.
Let’s start at the beginning. As with most things at Quinn Evans, we created HBIM in response to a question.
It was 2014, and our client Tom Reinhart was the Deputy Director for Architecture at Mount Vernon. The institutional memory among Mount Vernon’s staff held that all the floorboards in the New Room (a room added to the house by George Washington starting in 1776) were replaced in the 1850s. Mount Vernon was considering a restoration of the New Room, and Tom wanted to know if that inherited knowledge about the floorboards was true.
He set about surveying the floor, mapping the location of each individual nail hole and dating each nail. Next, his team turned to Washington's correspondence with the building foreman, where Washington specified the floorboards be the length of the room—which, at over 22 feet, made the wood difficult to source.
Combining the insights from their survey of the building material with Washington’s letters and other historical documentation enabled the Mount Vernon team to confirm that the floorboards were, in fact, original to Washington's addition—not a later substitute. This knowledge has informed subsequent preservation work in that area of the house, including a current major infrastructure revitalization.
Having proved the value of combining different information sources to inform decision-making, Tom’s next step was to find a way to capture and store the information his team had gathered so that they would no longer have to rely on (sometimes faulty) institutional memory but instead manage and access valuable data more strategically.
Since no such system existed, we began to work with the Mount Vernon team and technical systems experts at the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) to develop HBIM. "Software is hardly ever developed for historic preservation, so we have to be innovative in how we incorporate available tools," says Alyson.
How Does HBIM Work?
While different client priorities might drive the level of development (LOD), or depth of detail required for specific areas (for instance, more detail for historically significant assets, less for maintenance- and equipment-housing areas), the process follows the same steps. For example, at Mount Vernon, we started with a high-resolution laser scan of the rooms, crawl spaces, and exterior. Our team then used the software program Revit to create a BIM.
The innovative step of incorporating historical architectural drawings, previous Historic Structure Reports (HSR)s, letters, and other documentation was next. The model was constructed as a living document, making it easy for the Mount Vernon team to continue to add details about paint colors, hardware, and materials used in renovations over time. It also makes it easy for users to access those details and gain a fuller understanding of the building's construction, use, preservation, and performance today. HBIM became our go-to historic preservation technology.
Client-Facing Technology
While HBIM is impressive from a technology standpoint, its true value lies in how it enhances our work and benefits our clients. The challenge for us is to help clients get the information they need as quickly as possible. It should always be at their fingertips—that’s ultimately what HBIM is trying to accomplish. That means access is a leading consideration.
We didn't want clients to have to learn a new and complex system, so we developed a simple web browser interface and intuitive commands. For instance, to view the details of a particular area of the building's fabric, the user can simply click on the area of interest in the digital model. This provides access to all the information about the selected item, from engineering and mechanical systems data to materials details and links to historical context. Users can search using various criteria such as room, component, date, material, or craftsperson.
Importantly, because we all make assumptions using our best abilities at the time, we also developed a metric for the degree of reliability of information. Having a wealth of information is invaluable, but not all of that information may be complete or correct. For instance, if you use record sources to track piping throughout a building, a technician or engineer in the field may find there have been changes that haven't been captured anywhere. Or, a Historic Structure Report (HSR) from the 1990s may have been accurate at that time, but in subsequent years we have learned more about the historical context or uncovered new information about building techniques. Thus, the HSR may no longer provide the most accurate information for the decisions stewards need to make today. To help stewards (and technicians!), every piece of information in the HBIM can be tagged according to a scale from “reliable and trusted” through “you can't necessarily count on this information being accurate today.”
Because of the level of innovation and the client-friendly nature of the project, HBIM caught the attention of others in the historic preservation field, and we were invited to present at various conferences. During one presentation, we ran into some existing clients from the Michigan State Capitol who asked us to adapt the system to their building.
That request led to an important expansion of HBIM: incorporating digital twin technology.
Incorporating Digital Twin Technology into HBIM
IBM describes digital twins this way: "A digital twin is a virtual representation of an object or system designed to reflect a physical object accurately. It spans the object's lifecycle, is updated from real-time data, and uses simulation, machine learning, and reasoning to help make decisions."
While digital twins have long been used by NASA, among others, for things like simulating satellites, their use in architecture is very recent. We have pushed the digital twin concept further than most by insisting that it be continuously updated, rather than created and then allowed to run independently of the actual building. We've also found that when combined with HBIM, digital twins become powerful stewardship tools.
As my colleague Charles Thompson explains, "what's cool about the digital twin is that it allows us to tap into Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and data points to record operational data like temperature, carbon dioxide, and humidity levels in real time."
At the Michigan State Capitol, for instance, there are nine and a half acres of decorative paint finishes that are susceptible to damage caused by environmental factors, including extreme temperatures and changes in humidity. By layering digital twin technology onto our HBIM model of the Capitol and connecting it to the building management system (BMS), building engineers can now, for instance, click on a room and see its current temperature and relative humidity. This alerts them to environmental conditions that exceed specified boundaries, allowing the facilities team to quickly take corrective action.
Considerations for HBIM and Digital Twins for Historic Buildings
We're still exploring the capabilities of HBIM and digital twins in our practice, and there are challenges to implementing the combined system on the ground. For every project, we must collaborate with the client to carefully think through factors including:
PRIORITIES AND OBJECTIVES
Our understanding the specific reasons the client wants to set up an HBIM system and digital twin—such as preservation, maintenance, or public engagement—guides the project's scope and execution, ensuring it meets stakeholders' needs. Gaining clarity at the outset is a must.
GRANULARITY OF THE MODEL
HBIM projects often require more time than typical design projects due to the high level of detail needed to accurately catalog and represent historical and architectural features. We all have to be very clear about the LOD required in different areas of a building to concentrate efforts where they are most needed. High preservation priority zones might include more meticulous modeling of every architectural element—which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and requires significant expertise.
ACCESS TO SPACES
Accessing certain areas (such as inside a high dome) for detailed documentation can be difficult, often requiring specialized equipment like lifts or scaffolding. Capturing necessary details accurately without disrupting the building's use is a constant balancing act.
DATA ORGANIZATION AND NOMENCLATURE
Because the whole purpose of HBIM is to ensure that clients can access data easily, effective data organization is crucial. Implementing consistent nomenclature is important because it ensures everyone is talking about the same element in the same place. Everything must be properly correlated. Otherwise, you're in danger of opening the "filing cabinet" but grabbing the wrong file.
The Future of Historic Preservation
At Quinn Evans, we embrace new approaches and take on every project with a spirit of curiosity. For us, the potential of HBIM and digital twins in preserving and managing historic buildings is immense. By combining detailed architectural modeling with historical data and then layering on real-time operational data through digital twins, HBIM now provides a comprehensive tool for informed decision-making in design, preservation, and restoration efforts.
The potential for HBIM is exponential. Today, our clients can access real-time performance data, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of the effect of environmental changes, visitor flows, daylight, and other factors on the performance of historic buildings. As artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities improve, the "filing cabinet" may unlock more hidden information and provide thrilling research or educational opportunities.
Whatever the future holds, we'll continue to push the boundaries in this exciting and vital intersection of technology and cultural heritage.
This piece is part of a series on design computation in which we explore the various software, techniques, and workflows that are shaping the future of architectural design. To learn more about how we’re leveraging data to enhance our understanding of historic places and build enduring new ones, check out these posts:
Design Computation: Transforming the Future of Architecture with Data-Driven Insights
Optimizing the Visitor Experience with Pedestrian Flow Analysis
Balancing Heritage and Innovation with Historic Preservation Technology
From Past to Future: Leveraging Technology to Preserve Historic Structures
