In our fast-paced service profession, grasping new technology can prove essential toward meeting market demands in the AEC. I had the opportunity to make use of 3D point cloud technology to document an existing building and it provided a greater level of efficiency for all involved. The benefits were immediately evident, and the possibilities that this technology exhibits, will prove to be very valuable to our profession.

When procuring as-built conditions, an architect must often precisely document the existing conditions of a building in order to study, document, and design for new spaces. This is typically done by hand, exhausting countless hours with a tape measure, pen and sketchbook by painstakingly locating precise locations of columns, walls, windows, doors, etc. All of this is done while taking pictures as you move through the space, in order to later cross reference with the sketches. This data is brought back to the office and manually translated to the computer to produce accurate drawings of the existing conditions. It’s a great system, right?

Reality sets in when you get back to the office the next day only to realize that some of the pictures don’t show where that electrical panel is, or you forgot to write a down the ceiling heights. Luckily, this new technology eliminates many of these pain points. Point cloud technology allows you to take a camera into a space and document a “street view” like experience through the interior of a building. In addition, high resolution imagery of the entire space is now made accessible, and a 3D model can be directly imported into architectural modeling software (BIM software) for easy documentation of existing conditions.

Overall, it was a very pleasant experience to use this device, and I am thankful that Berardi + Partners was willing to invest in this resource, so that we can provide a higher level of service to our clients in a reduced time-frame. New technology doesn’t always provide the expected glamour, but in this case it was a worthwhile investment saving time, money and resources.