A GIS-Based Common Data Environment for Integrated Preventive Conservation of Built Heritage Systems

Preventive conservation (PC) of built heritage has proved to be one of the most efficient and sustainable approaches to ensure its long-term preservation. Nevertheless, the management of all the areas involved in a PC project is complex, often resulting in poor interaction between them. This research proposes a GIS-based methodology for integrating data from different PC areas into a centralised digital model, establishing a Common Data Environment (CDE) to optimise PC strategies for heritage systems in complex contexts. Applying this method to the pavilions of the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition in Seville (Spain), the study addresses five key PC areas: active follow-up, damage detection and assessment, risk analysis, maintenance, and dissemination and valorisation. The approach involved designing a robust relational database structure—using PostgreSQL—tailored for heritage management, defining several data standardisation criteria, and testing semi-automated procedures for generating multi-scale 2D and 3D GIS (LOD2 and LOD4) entities using remote sensing data sources. The proposed spatial database has been designed to function seamlessly with major GIS platforms (QGIS and ArcGIS Pro), demonstrating successful integration and interoperability for data management, analysis, and decision-making. Geographic web services derived from the database content were created and uploaded to a WebGIS platform. While limitations exist, this research demonstrates that simplified GIS models are sufficient for managing PC data across various working scales, offering a resource-efficient alternative compared to more demanding existing methods.