Ceci n’est pas un HBIM

This paper offers a critical reinterpretation of the concept of HBIM, questioning its growing identification with standardized computational tools. The authors highlights that HBIM should not be viewed as a merely extension of BIM applied to historical heritage. Through an analysis ranging from Palladio to the early digital experiments at the CNRS and MIT, the essay shows that information modelling should be considered an epistemological tool capable of representing the complexity, history, and diversity of built heritage. From this perspective, HBIM is not a predictive design model but rather an interpretative knowledge system based on semantic relationships and cognitive structures. The text denounces the limitations imposed by commercial software and advocates an open, networked, and critical approach to digital representation, in which modeling becomes a tool for inquiry rather than simplification. ‘Ceci n’est pas un HBIM’ is thus an invitationto radically rethink digital practices in architectural conservation.