Open digital workflow targets heritage management in Figuig Oasis

A case study in Morocco’s Figuig Oasis has developed an open digital workflow for managing the historic district’s architectural heritage in a setting marked by environmental vulnerability and limited resources. The workflow integrates City Information Modelling with OpenBIM and OpenGIS and hosts the resulting information in a Common Data Environment. It is presented as a potential method for coordinating heritage management where technological infrastructure, budgets and specialist expertise are constrained.

The study focuses on a historic district of Figuig, a semi-urban oasis described by the authors as one of the region’s most emblematic cases. The district is suffering severe deterioration, while available documentary records and reports are described as unusable for effective management. Technically, the proposed workflow combines City Information Modelling methodologies with OpenBIM and OpenGIS within a shared digital environment.

Its intended contribution is to bring relevant heritage-management information into a structured framework that can be adapted to other resource-constrained contexts affected by climate change. The authors position the Figuig case as a reproducible reference approach for similar historic settlements. The work responds to recurring requests from decision-makers for tools that are less costly and scalable while remaining compatible with local constraints.

The published research summary presents a developed methodology and its rationale; it does not report measured improvements in heritage condition, a quantified reduction in climate risk or long-term performance results. The central result is therefore methodological: an open, shared digital structure designed to support heritage management in a climate-affected oasis town with limited technical and financial resources.

Subject of Research: An OpenBIM and OpenGIS workflow for digital heritage management in Figuig Oasis, Morocco

Article Title: City information modelling for preserving heritage under environmental vulnerability in the oasis of Figuig

Article References: El Ganadi, Y., Idrissi Gartoumi, K., & Chahbi, M. (2026). City information modelling for preserving heritage under environmental vulnerability in the oasis of Figuig. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04940-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04940-w

Keywords: Figuig Oasis, heritage management, City Information Modelling, OpenBIM, OpenGIS, digital workflow, climate vulnerability, historic districts, Morocco, conservation, City, information