From TLS of ruins to HBIM model. Heritage documentation and conceptual reconstruction of medieval church

Digital tools are playing an increasingly important role in documenting, analysing, and reconstructing cultural heritage. This study presents the case of the medieval Church of St. Joseph on Zobor Hill (Slovakia) as an example of how such technologies can be effectively applied. High-precision terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) was used to generate a detailed point cloud, providing a digital record of the current state of the ruins. The TLS data served as the basis for an integrated survey, structural analysis, and unsupervised classification, and were subsequently implemented into a Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) environment. The resulting parametric 3D model enabled a conceptual reconstruction of the church, combining geometric precision with historical and architectural interpretation. Historical sources, comparative analysis of regional medieval structures, and expert knowledge were employed to refine the reconstruction hypotheses. This project not only enhanced understanding of the church’s original form and function but also demonstrated the potential of HBIM as a tool for interdisciplinary heritage research. The integration of HBIM with architectural-historical methods creates new opportunities for research, conservation, and public engagement in the digital realm.数字工具在文化遗产的记录、分析与复原工作中正发挥着日益重要的作用。本研究以斯洛伐克兹沃雷尔山的中世纪圣约瑟夫教堂为例，展示了此类技术的有效应用路径。研究采用高精度地面激光扫描（Terrestrial Laser Scanning，TLS）生成了精细点云，为该遗址的现存状态留存了数字记录。TLS数据作为综合勘测、结构分析与无监督分类的基础，随后被集成至遗产建筑信息模型（Heritage Building Information Modelling，HBIM）环境中。由此生成的参数化三维模型实现了该教堂的概念性复原，兼顾了几何精度与历史及建筑解读的合理性。研究依托历史文献、区域中世纪建筑对比分析以及专家知识，对复原假设进行了优化完善。本项目不仅加深了人们对该教堂原始形制与功能的认知，同时也证明了HBIM作为跨学科遗产研究工具的应用潜力。将HBIM与建筑历史研究方法相结合，为数字领域内的遗产研究、保护与公众参与开辟了全新机遇。