Multidisciplinary data integration within an information system is considered a key point for rehabilitation projects. Information regarding the state of preservation and/or decision making, for sustainable restoration is prerequisite. In addition, achieving structural integrity of a historic building, especially one that has undergone many construction phases and restoration interventions, is a very elaborate task and should, therefore, involve the study of multidisciplinary information regarding historical, architectural, building material and geometric data. In this paper the elaboration of such data within 2D and 3D information systems is described. Through the process described herein, a methodology, including the acquisition, classification and management of various multisensory data, is displayed and applied within a geographic information system (GIS). Moreover, the multidisciplinary documentation process, aggregated with the surveying products, generates 3D heritage building information modeling (HBIM), including information regarding construction phases, pathology and current state of preservation of a building. The assessment of the applied methodology is performed concluding in a qualitative and a quantitative manner, in both 2D and 3D environments, providing information to facilitate the structural assessment of a historic building. Thus, in this work, the described methodology is presented, combining the multidisciplinary data with the development of GIS thematic maps and an HBIM. Representative results of the suggested methodology applied on the historic building of Villa Klonaridi, Athens, Greece are displayed.

In this work, a multi-disciplinary approach regarding diagnostic study processes is presented, using as an example the Catholicon of Kaisariani Monastery in Attica, Greece. Kaisariani Monastery is considered one of the most important Byzantine architectural complexes in Greece. The Catholicon of Kaisariani Monastery was built during the middle Byzantine period, and has undergone many reconstructions during the centuries. It is a semi-complex, four-columned, cross-in-square church, with a cloisonné masonry. The suggested diagnostic processes included the creation of multidisciplinary thematic maps in Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment, which incorporated: (a) data of historical and architectural documentation; (b) data of geometric documentation; and (c) data of building materials characterization and decay diagnosis. The historical and general architectural data were acquired by thorough bibliographical/archival research. Geometric documentation data were acquired by three-dimensional (3D) laser scanner for the creation of the Catholicon section drawings, whereas image based photogrammetric techniques were utilized for the creation of a 3D textured model, from which orthoimages and architectural drawings of the Catholicon façades were developed. In parallel, characterization of building materials and identification of decay patterns took place after the onsite application of the nondestructive techniques of digital microscopy, infrared thermography and ground penetrating radar. These vast array kinds of data were elaborated and integrated into the architectural drawings, developing thematic maps that record and represent the current preservation state of the monument, a concerning major construction phases, the most important conservation intervention projects, building materials and decay. Furthermore, data quantification regarding the extent of building materials and decay at each monument’s façade took place. Therefore, correlation and better understanding of the environmental impact on building materials according to façade orientation and historical data, e.g., construction phases, was accomplished. In conclusion, the presented processes are multidisciplinary tasks that require collaboration among architects, surveyor engineers and materials scientists/engineers. They are also prerequisites for the planning and application of compatible and efficient conservation/restoration interventions, for the ultimate goal of the sustainable protection of a monument.

This paper focuses on the integration of multi-sensor techniques regarding the acquisition, processing, visualisation and management of data regarding historic stone structures. The interdisciplinary methodology that is carried out here comprises of two parts. In the first part, the acquisition of qualitative and quantitative data concerning the geometry, the materials and the degradation of the tangible heritage asset each time, is discussed. The second part, refers to the analysis, management and visualization of the interrelated data by using spatial information technologies. Through the paradigm of the surveying of the ancient temple of Pythian Apollo at Acropolis of Rhodes, Rhodes Island, Greece, it is aimed to highlight the issues deriving from the separate application of documentation procedures and how the fusion of these methods can contribute effectively to ensure the completeness of the measurements for complex structures. The surveying results are further processed to be compatible and integrated with GIS. Also, the geometric documentation derivatives are combined with environmental data and the results of the application of non-destructive testing and evaluation techniques in situ and analytical techniques in lab after sampling. GIS operations are utilized to document the building materials but also to model and to analyse the decay extent and patterns. Detailed surface measurements and geo-processing analysis are executed. This integrated approach, helps the assessment of past interventions on the monument, identify main causes of damage and decay, and finally assist the decision making on the most compatible materials and techniques for protection and restoration works.

The geometric documentation of characteristic parts of the walls of the Sarantapicho Acropolis and Erimokastro Acropolis in Rhodes, Greece, in accordance with GIS modeling and analysis operations are utilized to accomplish the mapping of building materials, decay patterns and conservation interventions of both investigated sites. Ortho-rectified images as base-maps and the building materials and decay data, comprised the spatial and attribute data sets. Building materials and decay data were collected after the application of non-destructive testing and evaluation techniques in situ and analytical techniques in lab after sampling. The result was the development of thematic maps of building materials and decay. Moreover, using geoprocessing analysis the thematic map of conservation interventions was produced incorporating attribute data from both building materials and decay themes. This multidisciplinary approach provides the basis for the compatibility assessment of conservation interventions (whenever applied) and for monitoring of the preservation state of building materials, contributing decisively to the sustainable protection of both investigated sites.

This paper illustrates a study for the reuse of selected historic buildings in the Medieval City of Rhodes in Greece. This study contributes to the understanding and interpretation of the chronological sequence of major intervention programs for the preservation of the Medieval City. The main idea of the project is the spatial distribution of compatible and various uses to reveal the unique character of the Medieval City. Spatial planning is proposed within the preserved urban zones in order to optimize and harmonize the selected uses according to the needs of sustainable urban development. Criteria to assess the compatible uses that ensure the features and architectural characteristics of the preselected historic buildings, located within the city fabric, were established and validated. The developed methodology that is presented herein and is an indispensable part of a pilot project may be applicable to other cases concerning historic cities. Finally, this paper aims to present a pilot program which promotes the reuse of historic buildings as a part of an integrated preservation plan. Inter-disciplinarity has set the basis for effective policies to guide and control the proposed pilot program, with ultimate objective to ensure sustainable preservation of the Medieval City of Rhodes.

Modern and historic buildings and infrastructure are subject to varying environments and risk conditions. Their sustainable preservation demands an integrated methodology of diagnosis, monitoring and control, with appropriate interventions, designed, implemented and assessed within a holistic approach that benefits from transdisciplinarity and cooperation between involved scientific and technical fields and stakeholders. The project of the rehabilitation of the Holy Aedicule of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, can act as an emblematic and successful paradigm that demonstrates a multispectral, multidimensional, novel approach to address the project’s challenges and preserve the monument and the values it represents.