Photogrammetric and Semantic Reconstruction of Architect Sinan’s Ayakapi Hammam: Reversing Inappropriate Interventions through HBIM

Abstract. Digital technologies have become crucial tools in the documentation, analysis, and preservation of built heritage, particularly for historically layered structures that have undergone prolonged transformation and intervention. Photogrammetry and information-based modeling have significantly enhanced the ability to record architectural complexity while supporting interdisciplinary conservation practices. The present study utilizes photogrammetry-based Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM), scan-to-HBIM, as a tool to understand architectural continuity, deterioration, and transformation in the Ayakapi Hammam (1582), understudied work by the imperial architect Architect Sinan. Through this digital representation, this study proposes a reverse reconstruction approach to recreate an idealized state of the heritage structure which has not been conserved for several decades. TInappropriate modern interventions are digitally removed, and the hammam’s architecturaş configuration is virtually reconstructed based on historical, material, and spatial evidence while accounting for natural aging process and material deterioration under protected conditions. The findings demonstrate that scan-to-HBIM based digital models functions not solely as documentation tools but as transparent and transferable decision support systems. By explicitly integrating uncertainty and temporality into the digital model, the proposed approach contributes to a more informed interpretation of long-term architectural transformation and supports conservation decision-making processes grounded in authenticity.