GIS and BIM as data sources for sustainable Heritage building retrofit in Basrah City-Iraq

The integration of multidisciplinary data inside an information system is widely recognized as a crucial aspect in the context of rehabilitation programs. A comprehensive understanding of the condition of preservation and the decision-making process is essential for the sustainable restoration of a given entity. Furthermore, preserving structural integrity in a historic building, particularly one that has undergone multiple construction phases and restoration interventions, necessitates a comprehensive approach incorporating the analysis of diverse disciplines such as history, architecture, building materials, and geometric data. This study describes the elaboration of data within 2D and 3D information systems. This study presents an approach that collects, classifies, and manages diverse multisensory data, which is subsequently implemented within a geographic information system (GIS). In addition, the process of multidisciplinary documentation, along with surveying products, creates a three-dimensional heritage building information model (HBIM). This model encompasses many details pertaining to the construction stages, pathophysiology, and present condition of a structure, contributing to the overall preservation efforts. The objective of this study is to analyze the fundamental characteristics of GIS and BIM that can effectively facilitate the retrofitting of historic buildings. Furthermore, the present study aims to elucidate the primary obstacles associated with the modification of heritage buildings by analyzing various case studies documented in the existing literature. This study presents a proposed retrofit methodology that aims to streamline the retrofit process, with a particular focus on Shanashel, a building of historical significance situated in Basrah City, Iraq.