V-HBIM: A Vulnerability-Oriented Heritage BIM Workflow for Cultural Heritage Conservation

Heritage Building Information Modelling (H-BIM) is increasingly used for the documentation, conservation and management of historical assets. However, the integration of geometric singularities, degradation phenomena and vulnerability-related information within H-BIM environments remains only partially addressed, as current workflows are often manual, fragmented and poorly connected to structured conservation assessment procedures. This paper introduces V-HBIM, a vulnerability-oriented Heritage BIM approach aimed at integrating geometric data, defect mapping and conservation parameters into a single digital model. A semi-automated scan-to-model workflow is proposed, combining point cloud processing, geometric modelling, mesh-based defect representation, BIM conversion, structural vulnerability calculations and automated information enrichment. The workflow uses CloudCompare, Rhinoceros 3D, Rhino.Inside.Revit, Autodesk Revit and Dynamo scripts to connect digital survey outputs with a structured database derived from the Italian Ministry of Culture Risk Map. The method is validated on the Roman Arch of San Damiano, in the Archeological Park of Carsulae, Italy. Results show that defects can be represented as queryable BIM entities and associated with severity, extent and urgency parameters. The proposed approach supports conservation planning, inspection updating and vulnerability-oriented management of cultural heritage assets.