Reconstructing the past's lost heritage is a practical and methodologically rigorous guide to rebuilding historic architecture when no 3D data exists. Drawing on medieval and Georgian Winchester (1400–1800), this book equips readers with the tools, reasoning frameworks, and digital workflows needed to transform fragmentary evidence into credible HBIM models and immersive real‑time environments.

From maps, engravings, archaeological reports, estate records, and architectural typologies, readers learn how to assemble robust reference sets and make defensible design decisions through evidence hierarchies and inference modelling. Step‑by‑step case studies, including lost medieval streetscape and 1800 reconstruction of College Street and Jane Austen’s surroundings, demonstrate complete workflows in Revit and Bonsai BIM (Blender), from primary geometry to conjectural detailing.

The book then moves from technical modelling to historical storytelling, guiding readers through materials creation, Unreal Engine pipelines, scene composition, lighting, level streaming, and narrative interpretation of heritage environments.

You Will

• Develop parametric Revit families and Bonsai BIM assets designed to accommodate uncertainty, probability ranges, and conjectural variations
• Reconstruct complete buildings for both 1400 and 1800 Winchester case studies, producing defensible HBIM models from partial records
• Expand individual structures into full historic streetscapes, using period maps, topography, and urban‑morphology analysis
• Create historically accurate material and texture libraries, translating archival descriptions and visuals into PBR‑ready assets
• Design immersive historical storytelling environments in Unreal Engine, incorporating lighting, atmospherics, level‑streaming transitions, and interpretive layers

Who This Book Is For

The book is for a digital heritage practitioner, a visualization artist, an educator, or a built‑heritage researcher with basic understanding of Revit, Bonsai BIM and Unreal Engine.

Dr Deborah Wilson is a specialist in Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM), virtual heritage, and 3D architectural reconstruction. She works at the intersection of heritage practice and digital production, teaching Revit, Unreal Engine, and visual storytelling to both university learners and commercial teams. Her first Apress title, Recreating Built Heritage for Cities, introduced a practical, end‑to‑end workflow for HBIM reconstruction and is supported by a companion site offering tutorials and downloadable project assets.

With a background spanning 3D reconstruction, digital heritage, and immersive media, Deborah develops robust, repeatable methods for recreating lost buildings and historic environments using archival, cartographic, and visual sources—especially those connected to the historic city of Winchester. Known for combining technical clarity with real‑life applicability, she makes complex reconstruction and visualization processes accessible to architects, heritage professionals, and creative studios working with historical content.