This paper presents an integrated methodology to enhance the detection, data acquisition, and modeling of embedded MEP systems in existing buildings, addressing the gap between as-built information and the need for accurate simulation models. The approach begins with a comprehensive digital survey of existing structures using LiDAR and Radar technologies to generate point clouds and accurately tag the coordinates of detected installations. These datasets serve as the foundation for constructing a precise 3D model in an EBIM environment. To automate data integration, a custom API was developed to cross-reference point-cloud coordinates with manual detections, ensuring accurate representation of all embedded systems. The resulting enriched EBIM model is further enhanced by importing it into the Unity game engine. Through the Vuforia augmented reality SDK, an XR experience was created, offering an immersive and interactive visualization of the 3D model and detailed MEP systems. This methodology demonstrates the potential of integrating advanced digital surveying, EBIM, and XR technologies to streamline building surveys and 3D model creation. The proposed approach not only improves accuracy and efficiency but also introduces innovative tools for design, construction, and maintenance workflows.
“Campus delle Architetture, del Design e della Pianificazione” Project: WebAR for Public Engagement
The design of the Politecnico di Torino “Campus delle Architetture, del Design e della Pianificazione” has an enormous strategic value, both for the reorganisation of the University and for the city dynamics, contributing to the overall development of the Po cultural axis. The transformation involved by the new campus will significantly impact the life of the area, radically changing its intensity through the daily flows of thousands of people and making the park an actual natural connective tissue. The communication project includes the realisation of events aimed at presenting the Campus to disseminate and popularise the outcomes of the realisation process to different stakeholders, showing a scale model of the area. Among the innovative features of the communication proposal is the superimposition of digital layers on the physical model for audience engagement through a webAR that activates a step-by-step journey with descriptions of different aspects of the campus project.
Reliability of Human-genAI Integrated Process for the Virtual Reconstruction of a Lost Architecture
The contribution examines the case study of the Church of S. Pietro a Coppito in L’Aquila, which underwent significant stylistic restoration in the 1960s, to explore the potential applications and reliability of generative AI in cultural heritage communication. In particular, according to the virtual reconstruction of the ancient configuration, the study investigates the impact of integrating graphical inputs alongside textual prompts for image generation, assessing their effectiveness as a means of guiding AI and improving the quality of the results achieved. Based on graphic, photographic, and historiographical sources, sketches of the interior views of the church were produced. Subsequently, various gen-AI platforms were tested to process these images, evaluating the algorithms’ ability not only to generate coherent and effective visuals but, above all, to understand and interpret the initial graphic inputs. The results show both potential and critical limitations: while AI can produce photorealistic and stylistically coherent renderings, it often introduces arbitrary elements and struggles with strict historical accuracy, especially in architectural and decorative details. The paper highlights the need for deeper human-AI interaction and emphasizes the importance of informed graphical input and critical evaluation in the application of genAI to cultural heritage representation.
TIBER: Test, Interact and Build in Extended Realities
The aim of the research project “Modeling the Morphology and Dynamics of Roman Mediterranean Port Cities,” funded by the LABEX Intelligence des Mondes Urbains of the University of Lyon, is to reconstruct lost urban spaces of antiquity while facilitating possible interactions between two scientific communities often brought together in our field: archaeologists and architect-computer scientists. It focuses primarily on a collaborative and interactive environment allowing these communities to interact by jointly and incrementally formalizing the scientific hypotheses that will serve to reconstruct the studied urban and port spaces in three dimensions. The concerted formalization of an urban space at a given period requires numerous interactions: verbal exchanges, visual demonstrations, iconographic comparisons, and morphological hypotheses. It is nourished by expansive preliminary documentary work constituting a state of knowledge at a given moment. However, we believe that when it comes to collaborating between heterogeneous communities, whose words, descriptions, understanding, and interpretation of space draw from different visual and scientific cultures, 3D visualization alone—as detailed and eloquent as it may be—is unable to provide the same interpretative keys to different disciplines. Debates pertaining to synthetic images, for instance, may deprive those who fail to master digital tools of a nuanced space of expression, which can ultimately unbalance the interpretations and shaping of the studied spaces. We have therefore decided to reconsider the nature of this interaction space by reinventing the REACTABLE© (Reactable Project Homepage, https://reactable.com/, last accessed 2025/05/13.), which is essentially a backlit translucent horizontal surface on which tangible objects are placed in order to manifest the appearance of their digital 3D double on a large screen, for example. Echoing what D. Schön calls the “reflective conversation with the materials of the situation” characteristic of the mental disposition of individuals in situations of exchange and debate, we endeavor to enrich possible levels of interaction between transdisciplinary communities by using concept-objects belonging to the real world that allow each individual around the table to participate in exchanges bolstered by the same capacity for interaction.
Exploring Evolutionary Optimization: Integration of AI and Additive Manufacturing
Contemporary architecture, as well as design, has revolutionised the approach to form creation, prioritising increasingly efficient and, above all, adaptive modelling. It is essential for designers to identify the requirements that the product to be realised must meet for its own production. This methodology, driven by technological advancements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and the use of advanced algorithms, enables the exploration and generation of optimised products from various perspectives based on chosen criteria; the resulting forms integrate functionality and aesthetics. This research proposes the use of tools within the parametric modelling environment Grasshopper, such as Galapagos and Octopus, which employ AI algorithms to enhance the design process and optimise forms for additive manufacturing. Experimentation with these plugins allows leveraging evolutionary algorithms to explore a wide range of design solutions, enabling designers to efficiently optimise complex forms. In this context, AI facilitates tackling multi-objective optimisation problems, improving parameters such as structural strength, material usage, and minimisation of printing times. This approach not only enhances the efficiency of the design process but also opens up new possibilities for innovation in design by integrating the advanced computational capabilities of AI with the creative potential of parametric design.
The Artifice Among Languages: Automating Geometric Processes Through AI
This paper explores the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in design and geometric analysis processes in the CAD environment, with reference to Descriptive Geometry. Although the use of AI in academia is constantly growing, the implementation of artificial intelligence tools for solving geometric problems remains limited. In this context, this research proposes an experimental approach to automate the creation and manipulation of NURBS geometric entities, focusing on the ellipse as a case study. This document details the process of converting curves generated by the ‘Archimedes Compass’ in a 3D space into NURBS ellipses. The conversion is achieved through programming in Python and facilitated by ChatGPT. The analysis shows how the mathematical exactness typical of NURBS may not always be compatible with the requirements of certain geometric procedures, making integration with dedicated algorithms and AI tools necessary. In a broader perspective, the work shows the potential of textual programming and AI in simplifying and generalising complex processes, enabling new levels of precision and flexibility in virtual modelling. Finally, the results obtained and possible future perspectives in different areas of drawing and geometric representation are discussed.
An Educational Experience Between AI and Architectural Drawing
This paper presents the latest phase of a research project investigating the interplay between the representation of ‘Virtual Living’ and digital technocultures—particularly the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR)—within the educational framework of an Architectural Drawing course. This course is part of the third-year curriculum of the Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture at the ‘G. d’Annunzio’ University of Chieti-Pescara. The research builds upon and refines technocultural methodologies long employed in teaching, leveraging the concept of the ‘semantic model’ as a versatile foundation for designing habitable virtual spaces, such as metaverses or virtual museums. This approach has been revisited and expanded to address the rapid evolution of generative AI applications, which demand rigorous monitoring and continuous thematic experimentation. New technologies in representation are reshaping the pedagogical landscape, offering unprecedented opportunities to redefine the scope of architectural drawing education. From descriptive geometry to surveying, from the history of representation to design, the incorporation of AI has fundamentally transformed how visual representations are conceived and executed. This paper discusses a case study that bridges research and pedagogy, showcasing how students’ creativity, when coupled with the capabilities of AI, facilitates the creation of innovative semantic models. These models have direct applications in the design of Virtual Cities and Museums, offering a vision of inhabitable spaces within the metaverse.
A VR Reality Dissemination Experience Unveiling Historical Transformations of Sant’Agata Chapel in Pisa
In recent years VR has been consistently applied for dissemination purposes for historic architectural heritage and museum experiences. Technological development is increasing the quality, interactivity, and authenticity of VR applications for cultural heritage, maximizing user satisfaction and stakeholders’ interest. Despite realism and fidelity being recognized as relevant features of an effective virtual experience, the characteristics of virtual reality experiences need to be tailored to the specific needs of the cultural experience. Consistent research on heterogeneous case studies is still needed to identify efficient workflows for the realization of heritage sites’ virtual experience. This study describes the experimentation conducted on the case study of Sant’Agata Chapel in Pisa, an octagonal chapel with a pyramidal roof that dates to the XI century. The chapel survived World War II bombings that led to the destruction of the surrounding buildings. For this reason, the chapel, originally enclosed in a cloister, today is located in the centre of a garden, creating a different perception for the observers. Traces of lost frescoes dating back to the thirteenth century emerged during restorations in the second half of the nineteenth century. The workflow includes several stages: historical analysis, digital survey, 3D modelling, and the VR experience design and set-up in Unreal Engine. The development of the virtual experience design is targeted at an effective visualisation of different temporal phases in the disruption of the frescoes and to consent the user to immersively explore the site’s spatiality in relationship with the context transformation before and after the cloister destruction.
Digital Tools for the Fruition of the Monuments of the Nuragic Civilization
The Nuragic civilization, which flourished in Sardinia between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age (ca. 1800–800 B.C.), left an archaeological legacy of extraordinary importance, evidenced by iconic monuments such as nuraghi, tombs of giants and sacred wells. This study analyses and enhances the village of Serra Orrios, a paradigmatic example of Nuragic architecture and social organization, through an integrated methodological approach combining advanced photogrammetric survey techniques, 3D modelling and augmented reality. The project produced detailed site documentation, including an updated planimetric map, and developed an AR application to improve public enjoyment and understanding of the heritage. The multidisciplinary approach highlighted the potential of these technologies for conservation, communication, and education and outlined research perspectives, including cultural comparison, sustainability, and methodological replicability. The case of Serra Orrios thus emerges as an experimental model for archaeological heritage management and enhancement.
Urban Wunderkammer: Physical and Digital Experiences in the Historic Center of Turin
Through this contribution, the authors aim to illustrate a pathway for the knowledge, communication, and accessibility of urban heritage by utilising and applying current survey and representation tools based on AR technologies. Specifically, the area of focus is Piazza IV Marzo, located in the centre of Turin, whose original Roman layout has been modified over the centuries. Our research begins with a historical and philological study of the square, followed by the acquisition of metric data using a laser scanner. We then develop a three-dimensional reconstruction of the buildings through BIM processes, create a 1:500 scale 3D-printed model of the square, and conduct AR experience tests applied to the scaled model. Harnessing the power of augmented reality and interactive media, our prototype, Urban Wunderkammer, is an attempt to transform a “passive” informational experience into an active and exploratory one, with the potential to revolutionise the way we interact with and understand our urban heritage.