**1. Introduction**

The difference between existing common buildings and heritage buildings lies in the fact that the latter involve the architectural, historical, and archeological documentation necessary for the technical reproduction of a given context, as well as an intellectual effort to describe the cultural-leisure context [1].

Various theorists of art and architecture, which were important figures of knowledge of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, have proposed many theories, which are not always aligned, on the restoration of heritage buildings. Table 1 shows some of the most relevant.

In Spain, during the first quarter of the twentieth century, ancient monuments were restored by professionals who mostly followed the methods of Viollet-Le-Duc. Parts of the monuments that, according to the criteria of the restorer, did not belong to the original style were replaced by copies or interpretations of the originals. During restoration, the Spanish monuments lost the effects of time, and most were completely rebuilt [2].

The Spanish architect and restorer Leopoldo Torres Balbás (1888–1960), who began work as a curator of the Alhambra and the Generalife of Granada in 1923, recognized the reality of restoration occurring in Spain and developed a new innovative system of intervention in historical architecture [2]. Beginning in 1931, through his participation in the Athens Conference, he contributed to elevating the precepts formulated there to a normative position. Thus, the Athens Charter became the first manifesto of the theory of architectural heritage restoration.

Industrial heritage assets must be jointly understood as assets and as having an industrial nature. For the former, they must be carriers of sufficient value and have the ability to transmit it; industrial character is defined by a productive activity that motivates the existence of the good. Within the material assets of industrial heritage, we can distinguish between movable assets (the machinery that is part of the production process) and real estate (the factory as a productive space), which are both linked [3].

To address new challenges of the twenty-first century in relation to industrial heritage, as a result of the VII Seminar on Industrial Landscapes of Andalusia, the 2018 Seville Charter of Industrial Heritage was published in 2019 and signed by more than twenty experts from different scientific disciplines. Its purpose was to delimit the different approaches that affect industrial heritage so that advancement of their knowledge is possible and coordinated and comprehensive strategies could be proposed to respond to the issues arising from their maintenance and conservation. The document provides a series of recommendations aimed at enhancing the historical legacy of industrial heritage [4].

On the one hand, it is necessary to preserve a site and its historical or cultural value as part of the identity of a community to study the past and best understand the present; on the other hand, it is necessary to provide that territory with a new meaning that does not hide or minimize the original, but that provides an added function that will continue to be valued in a positive context, serving its use for the development of the environment in which it is located and, if necessary, for its regeneration [5].


**Table 1.** Theories for the restoration of heritage assets [2–12].

Defined by the NBIMS-US (National BIM Standard-United States Project Committees), the BIM methodology consists of a digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a space system and a shared knowledge resource of information on a space system, which forms a trustworthy and reliable basis for decision making during the life cycle of a space, from its earliest conception to its demolition [13]. BIM is a collaborative system that is currently fully developed in the design and management of the industries involved in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector. However, in the area of interventions in cultural and architectural heritage, there are very few studies dedicated to managing information models [14]. Although it is true that research has already been carried out to explore the value of BIM in the management of heritage and cultural landscapes [15], these are still scarce and continue to be a new topic in which there is still much to delve into, particularly in the case of industrial heritage. There are many arguments that corroborate the application of BIM to this type of case and to the creation of new buildings.

One of the major novelties offered by BIM is the inclusion of new dimensions for better control and management of the model. In this way, 4D refers to time, planning, and allowing a 3D model to be navigated as if it were a timeline, thus also enabling the control of the life cycle of the modeled building [16], while 5D refers to the economic aspects of the project (facilitated by the so-called parametric objects, Garagnani and Manferdini [17]), and 6D refers to sustainability [18–20].

The essence of BIM is collaborative, coordinated, and efficient work that consists of a virtual representation in a 3D model of an environment, a structure, or a building together with its intrinsic physical and functional characteristics. The model generated as a combination of an accurate geometric representation of the building in an integrated data environment is one of the main advantages of this methodology [21]. This advantage may be of special interest in the case of an intervention in industrial heritage real estate [22].

Implementing BIM is of global importance, not only because of the advantages it provides, but also because of its role in tender procedures in public projects. In Spain, the use of BIM is already mandatory in some public tenders [23]. Industrial heritage interventions fall within that obligation, which, together with the advantages of the use of BIM and heritage BIM (HBIM), can make it necessary and timely to teach this topic in engineering schools. The implementation of BIM in industrial engineering study plans can allow students to learn and acquire skills related to requirements of the real practice of engineering. In this sense, Caballero et al. [24] describes an implementation of the BIM methodology in project subjects for the degrees in mechanical, electronic and automatic engineering, electricity, industrial organization, industrial technologies, and chemistry in a school of industrial engineering based on a methodology of collaborative learning (CLM). Badak arranges the advantages of using CLM in three groups: social, psychological, and academic advantages. The following are a few of the advantages of CLM: It "establishes a positive atmosphere for modeling and practicing cooperation, promotes critical thinking skills, models appropriate student problem solving techniques, and is especially helpful in motivating students in specific curriculum and alternates student and teacher assessment technique" [25].

The present work is part of the BIM methodology implementation process in a school of engineering. The goal of this new step is to establish a line of work for the Final Project Degree (FPD) in engineering in a BIM context. Based on BIM as a project methodology and not as the adoption of a particular technology, during the development of an intervention project on a historic building, students have been integrated into a conceptually complete BIM process, participating in and undergoing the necessary stages for its completion, representing another step forward in the process of implementing BIM in schools of industrial engineering. This new phase of searching for common ground between the incorporation of the skills inherent to BIM and educational practices intends, in this particular case presented in this work, to establish sustainable intervention for an existing Spanish industrial heritage complex.

The European and national guidelines for preservation, including its reconversion proposal, have been taken into account. For the materialization of the experience, consisting of group and collaborative work, an interdisciplinary team of students from different undergraduate programs at a school of industrial engineering was formed; the students developed BIM models and other documentation to develop a complete project. The final work was constituted by the subprojects developed by each student. The true essence of BIM is its great collaborative power; therefore, without making use of this characteristic of the system, a conceptually integral project would not be achieved in any case, remaining in the partial stages of BIM in all cases.

With this intention, the main academic objective that guided us at the time of formalizing the present work was the establishment of a group work methodology that integrates engineering students in a conceptually complete process. For this, it is necessary to undergo all the stages needed to achieve such a project as well as to consolidate the concept of BIM as a collaborative project methodology and not as the adoption of a particular technology. In this environment, it is essential to organize information management in a context of collaboration between the actors involved and to develop a collaborative spirit and ethical behavior during debate and discussion.

The implementation of this work arises from the need, which is still being reaffirmed today, for the protection of industrial heritage as a witness to the historical, social, and economic past of territories. Many projects are currently at work in this context, not only for the conservation of these buildings, but also for their enhancement by converting them into new centers of social, cultural, and economic growth. The development of this project is framed within these lines, in which BIM is used in an academic environment, thus proving the concordance that exists between the preservation of an industrial heritage building and the use of BIM.
