Castlehim: A Semantic H-Bim Framework Supporting Sustainable Conservation and Management of Castles of the Polish Jurassic Highland

Abstract The Polish Jurassic Highland is a region of exceptional cultural and natural value, characterized by medieval defensive structures known as the “Eagle Nests”. These sites face increasing degradation due to environmental and human factors, while existing studies often lack systematic documentation methods. This study introduces CastleHIM, a semantic Heritage Building Information Modeling (H-BIM) framework developed to support sustainable management and conservation of castle ruins. The framework integrates the CIDOC CRM ontology with H-BIM and is based on data collected through field surveys and archival research. The acquired data was structured into a multi-layered representation model that includes architectural geometry, material information, historical documentation, and conservation records. CastleHIM contributes to sustainable development by supporting long-term cultural heritage preservation, promoting digital access to endangered sites, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. The article presents a model developed on a dataset 31 castle sites from the Polish Jurassic Highland and outlines the process of model development and data integration. In practical terms, CastleHIM results in a standards-based, interoperable data structure that improves long-term accessibility, re-use and cross-platform sharing of heritage information for research and conservation practice.