Preservation through technology: 3D modelling of a historic building from 15th century
Led by Dr Marco Funari, the project focused on developing a 3D model of a Grade I listed historic site, providing an accurate representation of the building’s current condition to support effective management and preservation. The project addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) SDG 9 and SDG 11.
The Challenge
West Horsley Place is a Grade I listed medieval manor house dating back to 1425, with evidence of occupation on the site since Saxon times. While recent conservation efforts have made the principal rooms safe and comfortable for public access, the house remains on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. West Horsley Place Trust is committed to restoring the house, gardens, 400‑acre estate, and eight Grade II listed outbuildings, while enhancing community wellbeing through art, culture, heritage, and nature. The mission is to preserve and protect the unique site for generations to come, while offering enriching and engaging experiences for the community.
Our approach
Dr Marco Funari specialises in structural integrity protection of historic buildings, developing efficient assessment and retrofitting approaches that support building management and conservation. With a strong background in structural engineering and advanced computational methods, alongside a keen interest in emerging digital technologies, his research focuses on safeguarding the structural integrity of existing and heritage buildings.
West Horsley Place has been exploring options to retrofit the house with more sustainable forms of insulation and heating. While Historic England generally recommends organic insulation materials to maintain breathability in historic buildings, such materials can raise concerns – including vulnerability to pests, increased fire risk, and incompatibility with the building’s historic fabric. Drawing on his expert knowledge and skills, Marco set on to support West Horsley Place in developing an approach that enables the Grade I listed house to be restored and retrofitted sustainably, without compromising its historic integrity.
Using high-resolution terrestrial laser scanners alongside HBIM (Historic Building Information Modelling) technology, Dr Funari and his team completed an extensive digital survey of the 15th-century manor house. Working in collaboration with ALMA Soft – an open BIM specialist –, the team captured millions of data points over 20 days of 3D scanning, producing a rich and comprehensive dataset of exceptional precision. The resulting digital model reveals the building’s full geometry, including subtle structural movements and areas of hidden deterioration that would not be detectable through visual inspection alone, offering an unprecedented understanding of the house’s current condition.
Next Steps
The team is now working closely with West Horsley Place to explore how the digital model can further support conservation planning, along with long‑term monitoring and management of the estate. The project’s outputs will provide comprehensive diagnostic insights and well‑informed recommendations, enabling the development of restoration and retrofit strategies that are technically robust, conservation‑led, and sensitively tailored to the unique character and needs of this historic building.
West Horsley Place has centuries of history embedded in its walls, and preserving that legacy is at the heart of everything we do. This collaboration with the University of Surrey gives us an invaluable new way to understand and care for the house, using digital innovation to help support the long-term protection of historic sites like ours.Ilona Harris, Director of West Horsley Place
Sustainable Development Goals
The digital survey undertaken to support the conservation of West Horsley Place advances two key UN Sustainable Development Goals. It supports SDG 9 (Industry, innovation, and infrastructure) by applying cutting‑edge digital technologies to assess, monitor, and enhance the resilience of a Grade I listed historic structure. Through innovative methods such as digital surveying, structural modelling, and data‑driven analysis, the project improves the site’s long‑term infrastructure performance while demonstrating how heritage buildings can benefit from modern engineering innovation.
It also contributes to SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) by enabling the safe and sustainable preservation of an important cultural asset. Strengthening the condition and management of West Horsley Place allows the site to continue hosting cultural, educational, and community‑centred activities that promote wellbeing, inclusion, and local identity. By ensuring that the building remains structurally sound, accessible, and responsibly maintained, the project supports the wider goal of safeguarding cultural heritage for future generations and enhancing the sustainability of the communities it serves.
Contributors
Dr Marco Funari, Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Fellow at the Institute for Sustainability, School of Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey
Catherine Cole, Innovation Lead, Sustainability Innovation Hub, Institute for Sustainability, University of Surrey
Haeyoung Eun, Innovation Lead, Sustainability Innovation Hub, Institute for Sustainability, University of Surrey
Ilona Harris, Director, West Horsley Place
Robin James, Conservation & Collections Manager, West Horsley Place
The Institute for Sustainability facilitates collaborations between scientific experts and organisations. The Institute’s Sustainability Innovation Hub provides expert voices from the Fellows to nurture ideas, encourages collaboration, and supports organisations in the adoption of sustainable practices, products, or services.
Read the latest on the University of Surrey’s UN SDG report here.
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