Towards a Relational Representation of Architecture: From Geometry to Semantic Modeling in Computational Graphic Sciences

Abstract

BIM models are increasingly used also for the representation and management of Cultural Heritage (CH). However, while BIM models effectively integrate geometric, technical, and material data, they still struggle to represent more interpretive historical information derived from archival research. This is essential when representing architectural elements whose meaning extends beyond their physical and material features. This paper explores the use of Semantic Web technologies to experiment with structuring and connecting historical information and interpretive relations and correlations to BIM models. The methodology is tested on the case of the balcony frescoes of the First IRE Building in Padua, designed by the architects Francesco Mansutti and Gino Miozzo during the post-war reconstruction period. The results show how directly observable data, contextual relations, and interpretive information can be flexibly structured within semantic graphs and linked to BIM elements by converting both into the same data model. The experiment demonstrates the potential of these technologies in enriching the semantic nature of Heritage BIM models (HBIM), making explicit different epistemological levels of historical information, from directly observable data to documentary evidence, contextual relationships, and the resulting interpretations. The study concludes that semantic technologies can extend traditional HBIM-based representations, opening new perspectives for a more critical digital representation of the historical, cultural, and interpretive dimensions of architecture.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.36.2026.14