Building information modeling utilization in re-functioning projects: Darul Aman Palace

Historical buildings and monuments of a country represent its history, culture, and civilization. These structures and artifacts create a cultural, artistic, and educational bridge between present and future generations. The best option for preserving these buildings and structures is to re-functioning them. Re-functioning involves allocating a suitable function to an existing building based on its characteristics for reuse. This way, instead of demolition, buildings with still structural and physical capacity can be repurposed to enhance their life cycle. In this study, the Darul Aman Palace, built during the reign of Shah Amanullah Khan between 1925-1927, is discussed as an important cultural asset and architectural heritage considered as Afghanistan's first reinforced concrete building and architectural symbol. This palace has been repeatedly damaged and restored over the centuries. Most recently, between 2016-2019, it was restored with approximately 11 million dollars in funding during the tenure of Ashraf Ghani and proposed as a museum and cultural center. However, it has not been effectively utilized positively until today. In order to find a suitable function for this palace, 32 palaces converted into hotels worldwide were examined, and the challenges and key points encountered during the transformation process were identified. According to the Pourebahimi model, after evaluating the 5 functions recommended (museum, library, hotel, school, hospital) and examining the parameters (Architectural features, Structural and installation features, Economic features, regulatory status, Social and cultural features, environmental and spatial features), it was determined that this palace is more suitable for a hotel or tourist accommodation rather than a museum. Darul Aman Palace was later converted into a 66-room hotel. Because important points not taken into account during restoration and refunctioning include circulation system, building and plan typology, plan organization, and spatial arrangement. The most suitable plan scheme for museums is the sequential scheme, and since the plan scheme of this palace is a corridor scheme, it is not suitable for a museum. This building was designed for residential purposes, and the sizes of rooms and windows and the lighting system are not suitable for a museum. Using BIM technology and Revit software, the existing plans of Darul Aman Palace were examined, and different refunctioning options were explored. This process was used for scenario simulation, taking into account cultural, historical, and functional factors. In various areas (clash detection, planning, 3D modeling, design visualization, and collaboration coordination), BIM and Revit have provided great benefits. This option, preserving the structural and cultural features, was determined as the most suitable option and was thoroughly examined and evaluated. After the proposal to convert Darul Aman Palace from a museum and cultural center to a hotel unit, all interventions were evaluated in detail, and the rooms were transformed to meet the standards of the hotel. Some doors were closed in some rooms, and partition walls were added. According to the government's plans, many different buildings need to be restored and refunctioned. This research will form the basis for the refunctioning of these buildings.