Immersive Technologies and Digital Twins in Architectural Heritage: A Scientometric Review of Knowledge Structures and Application Pathways (2007–2025)

Immersive technologies and digital twins have provided new opportunities for the documentation, interpretation, and conservation of architectural heritage. However, the knowledge structure and evolutionary pathways of this interdisciplinary field remain insufficiently understood. This study conducts a scientometric analysis of 273 articles published between 2007 and 2025 using CiteSpace to investigate publication trends, collaboration networks, co-citation structures, and keyword evolution. The results demonstrate that research on immersive technologies and digital twins in architectural heritage has evolved from digital documentation and visualization toward integrated information management and intelligent conservation. The knowledge foundation of this field is mainly constructed around three interconnected areas: three-dimensional data acquisition, Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM), and digital twin-supported conservation management. Collaboration and co-citation analyses reveal an interdisciplinary knowledge base spanning architectural conservation, construction informatics, remote sensing, computer science, and human–computer interaction, but also indicate a comparatively fragmented collaboration structure. Keyword evolution further indicates a transition from photogrammetry and virtual reality toward HBIM, extended reality, Internet of Things, and digital twin applications. Based on these findings, this study proposes a preliminary Cross-Domain Technology Adaptation Framework to organize potential relationships among data acquisition, semantic information modeling, immersive interaction, digital-twin analytics, and heritage-oriented applications. The framework represents a conceptual synthesis rather than a validated technology-transfer model and provides directions for future empirical research and sustainable architectural-heritage conservation.