Detailed HBIM of Song‑dynasty Chuzu Temple Main Hall and Revit family library

Dengfeng, Henan Province, China, August 15, 2025

News Summary

A research team produced a millimetre-accurate Heritage Building Information Model (HBIM) of the Main Hall at Chuzu Temple in Dengfeng, Henan. Using 1.1 billion-point terrestrial laser scans, roughly 3,000 drone images, manual measurement and archival records, they modelled complex Song‑dynasty timber elements and inferred hidden interlocking joints. Deliverables include a loadable Revit family library of 66 categories and 330 families, 23 deterioration drawings, unified point clouds and virtual tours via Unreal Engine. The HBIM captures geometry and condition data to support conservation, reuse on other timber heritage projects and regional HBIM standards.

HBIM study builds a detailed digital model of the Song-dynasty Main Hall at Chuzu Temple

In a landmark effort to preserve and manage Chinese timber architecture, researchers have constructed a comprehensive HBIM—a heritage-based information model—for the Main Hall of Chuzu Temple, a structure within the Shaolin complex that sits on the UNESCO-listed Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in Henan Province. The work, published in 2025, reports the creation of a reusable family library spanning 66 categories and 330 families, designed to help future conservation, study, and management of timber buildings across China. The project is anchored by an explicit aim to represent the current condition and capture the component-based structure of the building, which dates back to 1125 and has undergone multiple renovations through Jin, Ming, Qing, and modern periods. The Main Hall occupies a near-square footprint in a two‑courtyard layout that covers about 3,000 square meters, with a roof described as Xieshan and a main ridge, and a bracket system (puzuo) that illustrates traditional carpentry at scale.

The study is grounded in a broad collaboration among researchers from Zhengzhou University and Henan YunJi Digital Information Technology Co. Ltd., with funding from several Chinese research programs and open access licensing to encourage reuse. The article’s DOI is https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-025-01926-1, and the work is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license, enabling non-commercial sharing without derivatives.

Project scope and subjects of study

The primary objective centers on how to create and apply a HBIM for Chinese timber architecture, with a focus on accurately representing the building’s current condition. The subject is the Main Hall of Chuzu Temple, whose plan features a nearly square footprint, three vertical levels (platform base, main body, and roof), and a roof type that involves a combination of gable and hip elements. The Main Hall’s structural strategy—characterized by external and internal puzuo (bracket sets) and a system of interlocking joints—provides a test case for translating traditional carpentry into a digital format. In total, the project documents the Main Hall and supports the broader Dengfeng cluster, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the area.

Survey data reveal a site footprint spanning roughly 3,000 square meters in a two‑courtyard arrangement oriented north–south. The courtyard includes 49 steles and 14 ancient trees of notable species. The Main Hall’s timber framework includes octagonal stone columns and a bracket set with a layered composition of dou, gong, ang, and sunmao, reflecting the Yingzao Fashi construction guide from the Song era. The project also records decorative schemes, inscriptions, and carved elements on interior and exterior puzuo and beams.

HBIM method and workflow

The HBIM workflow is organized into four core steps: (1) gathering multi‑source information, (2) creating a component family library, (3) constructing the geometric model, and (4) loading non‑geometric information. The team relies on a suite of software tools, including Autodesk Revit for HBIM authoring, FARO SCENE and Geomagic Studio for point cloud work, and photogrammetry software such as Context Capture for UAV data. The study emphasizes a mixed approach to model creation, with single component families built from 2D drafts and then extruded into 3D solids, and nested families assembled layer by layer to capture the full assembly of timber elements.

A detailed library was produced comprising 12 major component types, spanning 66 family categories and a total of 330 families. The nomenclature employs a unique numerical system plus a spatial grid, designed to support precise identification and retrieval. The study adapts Level of Development to heritage contexts, defining LOD100–LOD400 for Chinese timber architecture: walls, doors, windows, and columns typically at LOD300, while timber beams, puzuo, and roofs reach LOD400. The Main Hall modeling sequence proceeds from platform to main body, to puzuo, upper beams, and finally to muji and decorative layers, with a 3‑mm fitting tolerance against the point cloud.

Surveying, data acquisition, and point clouds

Data collection blends terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) with UAV photogrammetry and traditional measurements, supplemented by archival sources and prior surveys. The project deployed FARO Focus S70 TLS at 110 scanning stations, achieving over 90% site coverage with a resolution of 6 mm and an overall RMSE under 3 mm. A DJI Phantom 4 RTK supported UAV data collection, capturing roughly 3,000 images across multiple directions with an accuracy target of about ±1 cm. The two data streams were registered and merged in Geomagic Studio, then converted and simplified in Autodesk Recap before import into Revit. Manual measurements again aided in resolving occlusions and verifying critical dimensions. Final point clouds contained around 1.1 billion points, achieving millimeter-level fidelity for model fitting.

Non‑geometric data integration and deterioration documentation

Non‑geometric data—field surveys, archival drawings, and prior conservation records—were attached to model components via family attributes and linked high‑definition imagery. Deterioration information was captured through annotated drawings and textual descriptions, with deterioration schedules generated from Revit and exportable as .txt for external analysis. A total of 23 deterioration drawings were produced, covering timber beam frames, puzuo elements, and roof components, to support ongoing conservation decisions.

Virtual display, visualization, and outreach

The HBIM data were brought to immersive visualization through a pipeline that used Unreal Engine for virtual roaming, while additional courtyard buildings were modeled in 3ds Max and textured in Twinmotion for material realism. A dedicated virtual construction animation was generated in Navisworks TimeLiner, with the HBIM divided into 45 parts to optimize performance. The project also produced a virtual tour that supports conservation professionals and public education about Dengfeng’s timber heritage without reliance on direct site access.

Findings, challenges, and recommendations

The authors argue that a component‑based, family‑driven HBIM is essential for Chinese timber architecture because point clouds alone cannot reveal internal sunmao connections or the hidden joints holding complex wooden systems together. They call for a hybrid approach that fuses point cloud data with archival materials and expert analysis to infer internal structures. The study also notes a gap in native East Asian heritage libraries within mainstream BIM tools, necessitating customized families to achieve accurate as‑built representations. While automation of fully parametric HBIM for entire timber structures remains challenging, partial automation and rule‑based modeling show promise for scaling to other heritage projects.

Practical recommendations emphasize using the IFC standard for cross‑platform interoperability, and suggest future work in lifecycle maintenance data, structural simulations, microclimate modeling, IoT integration, and BIM‑GIS cloud workflows. The project highlights the need for regional HBIM standards in Asia to harmonize data sharing, security, and platform compatibility, and encourages systematic post‑evaluation methods to benchmark performance and usability.

Outputs and data accessibility

The research delivers a fully documented HBIM of the Main Hall, a reusable library of 66 families across 12 major types, along with 23 deterioration drawings and multi‑source datasets. Datasets are available on request from the corresponding authors; the work emphasizes that these outputs are designed to be reused in other Chinese timber heritage projects and across the Dengfeng cluster, including temples such as Talin and Songyue.

Key numbers at a glance

• TLS: 1.1 billion points with millimeter‑level accuracy, RMSE < 3 mm
• UAV: ~3,000 images, ±1 cm photogrammetry accuracy
• Library: 12 major types, 66 categories, 330 families
• LOD: LOD100–LOD400 tailored for timber architecture; Main Hall at LOD300/400
• Deterioration drawings: 23
• Virtual outputs: Unreal Engine visualization and Navisworks TimeLiner animation
• License: CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0 International
• Publication timeline: Received 19 March 2025; Accepted 01 July 2025; Published 14 August 2025
• Funding: Key Research Funding of Henan Province; NSFC No. 52208037; Henan Province No. 2025‑ZZJH‑354; Open Research Fund of the National Cultural Heritage Administration No. 2024CKBKF04
• Site coordinates: 34°30′N, 112°55′E; Area: ~3,000 m²; UNESCO site: Historic Monuments of Dengfeng

FAQ

Key features of the HBIM study

Feature	Description
Subject	Song-dynasty Main Hall of Chuzu Temple within the Dengfeng UNESCO cluster
Objective	Create an HBIM that accurately represents current conditions and supports component-based analysis
Component library	66 family categories, 330 families across 12 major types; 3D, semantic attributes, and cross-project reuse
Modeling standards	LOD100–LOD400 with heritage adaptations; LOD300 for walls/doors/windows/columns and LOD400 for timber frames and roofs
Data sources	Terrestrial laser scanning, UAV photogrammetry, manual measurements, and archival records
Visualization	Unreal Engine for immersive viewing; Navisworks TimeLiner for construction sequencing
Outputs	HBIM model, deterioration drawings, datasets, and a virtual tour for education and conservation planning
License	CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0 International; non-commercial reuse with no derivatives

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Additional Resources

• Nature: HBIM of Chuzu Temple (article)
• Wikipedia: Building information modeling
• Nature: Article figures — Figure 1
• Google Search: Song dynasty timber architecture puzuo Yingzao Fashi
• Nature: Article PDF
• Google Scholar: HBIM Chuzu Temple
• Nature: Supplementary information
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Yingzao Fashi
• Nature: Data availability / Author contact
• Google News: Heritage BIM timber China HBIM