THE INTEGRATION OF BIM AND PROP-TECH IN PRIVATE REAL ESTATE: A PATHWAY TO SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND INVESTMENT EFFICIENCY. Case study of the fragile mountain town of Rosazza

The aim of this thesis in architecture for sustainability is to propose a BIM-based method that can be integrated with other disciplines according to a multi-level approach to design (Whole Building Design) and capable of involving various specialists (structural engineers, energy experts, restorers, economists, etc.), who must share economic optimisation objectives together with the constraints of preserving assets of historical, architectural and environmental interest. The method is based on the use of BIM and technologies such as GIS, Digital Twin and IFC interoperability to simulate design alternatives according to costs and different usage or investment requirements on multiple scales. The thesis explores the potential of BIM in connecting specialists and supporting intervention decisions, considering economic and financial feasibility in relation to potential buyers interested in use and/or investment value. Particular attention is paid to PropTech technologies, as tools capable of optimising the processes of restoration, energy retrofitting of the building heritage, promoting private initiatives and the revitalisation of fragile villages subject to depopulation, with a view to reusing and valorising mountain architecture and improving quality of life. The case study focuses on the potential regeneration of the historic village of Rosazza, one of Italy’s most beautiful villages, but subject to abandonment, depopulation and a lack of services. The proposed method involves three levels of scalability, and the thesis focuses on the first. In each case, the objective remains to optimise costs, quality and economic values, in line with the logic of project/construction management for simulation even in different contexts. The first level demonstrates the transferability of the method to all mountain villages similar to Rosazza in terms of architectural characteristics, population and services, aiming to optimise interventions also with regard to potential new needs related to the use of the mountains. The second level concerns the transferability of the method to villages in fragile areas, such as inland plains and suburban neighbourhoods excluded from urban development dynamics, making assets accessible even to marginal areas with low solvency thresholds. The third level proposes the adaptation of the method to large projects, according to a logic of investment in dynamic markets. The digitisation of the village exploits IFC interoperability between GIS and BIM. After creating a BIM urban model of Rosazza, as a prerequisite for a future Digital Twin, the project is further developed at the building scale with a BIM model with a higher LOD, used to test the proposed method. The building intervention focuses on conservative restoration in compliance with restrictions, the drafting of a bill of quantities of an optimised meta-design hypothesis in a BIM environment, and the analysis of variables in the specifications related to alternative design solutions. The cost analysis is then integrated with the financial analysis of the investment, evaluating scenarios for residential, temporary and tourist-accommodation sales and rentals. Having verified that the most favourable scenario is temporary rental, the thesis returns to the territorial scale, outlining future scenarios for smart cities and real estate investments in abandoned villages and beyond, with the potential to also compete in national or European calls for inland areas.