ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA MEETS BIM: A STUDY ON THE INTEROPERABILITY OF IFC AND CITYGML

This contribution presents a study conducted on the theme of semantic standards for the exchange of information. By analyzing what is available in the BIM, geospatial and construction sector, two standards fundamentally emerge: IFC and CityGML. The new versions IFC 4X3 and CityGML v.3 possess rich description of physique and spatial entities. While IFC 4.3 introduces specific classes for linear infrastructure, on the other hand, CityGML v.. has refined its core model which now focuses on two concepts of “space” and “spatial boundary” to improve semantics, unify representation, facilitate generalized reasoning about urban fabric, and an improved LOD concept to better support the interoperability with the IFC schema. However, as it often happens in the archaeological field, some of the typical features of vesuvian architecture are missing, from both standards. In the field of research, the project announced in 2022 “BIG_SMAART - BIM & GIS for Spatial and Muldidimensional Archaeological Artefacts and Techniques” finds its identity, a research line that is part of the PRIN ministerial program. The project is part of the response to the need to satisfy a systematization of the information and documentary corpus for archaeological contexts on a national scale. Besides the semantic insufficiency, the dialogue between the standards is also discussed: it mostly happens through dedicated algorithm and/or software at the end of an enclosed process, and, a part from very few exceptions, mostly on proprietary CDE. In this article we simulate the transfer of IFC data to CityGML and viceversa using the case study of the domus «casa/panificio» (Regio VIII.6.. 9-11) in the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, a palimpsest of history, spaces and architectural entities of the Roman world between the Republican and High Imperial ages, and highlight the shortcomings of the AEC workflow in use against the needs of Archeological assets.