The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters causes considerable losses and damages in cities and regions throughout the world: among them earthquakes represent one of the highest threads for human settlement, and also a challenge for a range of disciplines addressed to cities and territories.
The construction of a cognitive framework dedicated to territorial knowledge based on relief and on a strong historical background for tackling restoration and recovery at the building, urban and territorial scales, results as a priority and might make substantial difference in terms of outcomes and results. Each seismic event produces different impacts on cities and territories, according to a range of factors, which regards the nature of the event, but also of the specific localities where it happens, in terms of socio-economic, cultural, institutional and administrative characters.
Research goals are directly connected to the ¿priorities for action¿ emerging from the "Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 - 2030" by UNISDR.
Research improves an interdisciplinary methodology which allows and also promotes a continue and long-lasting process which goes from territorial knowledge to planning and to management, which will serve both the usual-ordinary urban/territorial functions, and those emerging during a catastrophic event, helping at better facing the emergency and also the recovery phase. The objective of this research programme is to define a methodology starting from a preliminary draft to prove it, applying it on the Central Italy territory, hit by the sequence of earthquakes started in the Summer 2016. The methodology has been sketched through the convergence of different discipline, their approaches and tools: architectural design, representation and relief of historical buildings and urban complexes in particular, architecture and landscape restoration, history (architecture, urban and territorial history), urban and regional planning.
Research innovation steps can be identified as follow:
1 innovation step: organization and management system. As a starting point there is the involvement of the Research Unit, established on March 14, 2017 at the Department of History, Representation and Restoration of Architecture, titled "Urban Seismic Risk: Prevention and Reconstruction", and a Collaboration Agreement, signed on March 21, 2017, with "Radici Accumolesi Committee", in order to carry out research on the earthquake affecting Accumoli and its territory on 24 August and 30 October 2016.
2 innovation step: establishment of an interdisciplinary and inter-departmental research group, with leading scholars and researchers from the Department of History, Representation and Restoration of Architecture, dealing with the disciplines of Representation and Relief (SSD ICAR17), History (SSD ICAR18) and Restoration (SSD ICAR19) investigating the aspect of pre and post-earthquake knowledge, as starting data for a resilient restoration of the territory. There are also researchers in the urban planning sector (SSD ICAR21), although with an external role, and architectural design (SSD ICAR14). Additionally to these are the competences of the INGV for the part related to the nature of geological stratification and ENEA in the structural and energy efficiency sectors.
3 innovation step: extensive studies on the topic of natural disasters identifying the main technical instruments for the prevention of territorial risks and to prevent or limit damage in the event of an emergency, through actions aligned with the ¿Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 ¿ 2030¿ by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
Research focuses activities on case studies, as to define restoration programs to be suggested to communities affected by natural disasters, that go beyond law-abiding procedures in the direction of reconstructions, with main topic the risk reduction (seismic, hydrogeological, etc.) and the increase in the level of security and resilience of buildings, settlements and territorial systems as a whole, within a sustainable local development perspective.
Based on the experiences and knowledge accumulated following disaster events and reconstructions that have affected our country in the recent past, such an approach assumes a fundamental premise that restoration should be dealt with ¿for and with¿ the territory, starting from its level of damage and loss of functionality, its specifics and resources. Consequently, will be explored methods and tools for rebuilding and reducing risk (seismic, hydrogeological, etc.), through a process involving institutional actors and residents (involvement of residents through the "Radici Accumolesi Committee").
4 innovation step: definition of a BIM procedure defined as ARIM (Assessment Restoration Information Modeling) and referred to the methodology framework described in the previous paragraph.
ARIM procedure integrates some of the procedures derived from Building Information Modeling (BIM), such as GeoBIM, HBIM, LIM and seismicBIM, and presents a natural evolution as such procedures have the following limited focus:
- GeoBIMs can be traced back to the microzonation procedures and surveys, which can be used to determine the degree of vulnerability of a territory based on geological stratification;
- HBIM is associated with the building relief through 3D laser scan procedures, the use of thermographic photocameras and the acquisition of site archive documentation in order to produce an in-depth historical/knowledge of the place;
- the LIM is responsible for evaluating and studying landscape components, where isolated antropic sites are located and/or intended for cultivation or sheep farming;
- seismicBIM is associated with prevention and consolidation techniques through new building solutions and/or techniques related to the use of traditional building materials.
The organization of the ARIM procedure provides a flowchart, where the main variations, compared to a BIM workflow, is related to the part of the procedure related to the "design process" subsystem, which can be revised as "restoration design process". This is where the investigation and contribution of the disciplines of design and relief, history and restoration are central. As an example, it is proposed an application to the restoration process for the territory of Accumoli.