Connected Object Data in Heritage Conservation: The Value in Natural Stone Restoration Projects

The Netherlands’ historical buildings are of immense cultural and economic importance, connecting
the country to its past. To preserve these structures, the Dutch government has implemented policies,
and restoration projects focus on conserving both the buildings and valuable information for future
efforts. Building conservation in the Netherlands follows the ”Conservation Cycle,” which involves
inspections, damage diagnoses, intervention strategies, on-site works, and ongoing monitoring.
Documenting relevant aspects of restoration projects creates challenges due to the use of various
data formats and standards. Building Information Modelling (BIM) has emerged as a valuable
collaborative tool in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industry. BIM, along with linked
data based on semantic web technologies, enables the creation of knowledge graphs, facilitating
linking between data objects. This thesis proposes connected data, the combination of linked data
technologies and files, as a hybrid approach for structuring and visualising data.
This thesis develops a prototype tool that combines BIM and Linked Data technologies to improve
data structuring and visualisation during the restoration of historical buildings with natural stone
elements. The tool is designed to serve different users, including beginners, advanced users, and
professionals, providing them with relevant functionalities and information. The research develops a
conceptual system architecture and implements it using a case project, the Monument on Dam
Square. By preparing data from the case project and creating a data structure using various existing
ontologies, an RDF graph is constructed. A front-end web application called Heritage LBDviz is
developed to demonstrate the possibilities of combining RDF and non-RDF data for restoration
projects. The proposed system is validated using a specific object from the case project, and industry
experts confirm its value in saving time, reducing errors, and enhancing data awareness. The system’s
vendor-neutral approach makes projects less reliant on specific software, and as more data is
connected, it opens possibilities for more innovative applications in the restoration domain.