Architects or acrobats

by our colleague Lynn Florizoone

3D data capture makes the difference

How my personal interests are translated to work and vice versa.

As an architect, 3D data capture really is my cup of tea. In my past work life, I encountered a lot of obstacles while measuring a building. No matter how precise I was, the error margin was still too big. I got myself into different tricky situations: from juggling with a distometer and crawling on ladders to trying to keep the laser beam still, and breaking picture-taking records every time I went to measure a building.

And that was only the on-site part. The real adventure dawned upon me when I had to puzzle my sketches into a drawing. Most of the time I had to return to the building site, where mathematic formulas were recalculated to put everything together, floorplans looked like Picasso paintings and time was not on my side when finding a structure in my million pictures.

One can imagine that the discovery of 3D scanning came as quite a revelation. Not only the level of acrobatics on-site dropped, but the timing and accuracy made me a huge fan of the digital technique.

Another very important reason why I am an enthusiastic 3D surveyor is on a more personal level. The idea of giving an architect, contractor, and promotor the right tools to rethink an existing building is the very reason why I love my job. Whether it is working on small-scale renovations or large-scale restoration projects, every building becomes readable — and therefore adaptable.

In times when countries get overpopulated and nature has to make room for housing (unfortunately), every tool that helps to restore or renovate efficiently is a tool that is worth having!

Think of it as sustainability on all levels, and being able to really bring buildings to life! Not to get carried away, but as a crucial part of heritage history and helping out colleague-architects to swiftly start a building project or to rediscover heritage and residential projects —it keeps my job entertaining and challenging.

What more do you need?

Explore the 3D data capture references and stories on www.realvisuals.eu

What are your two cents on 3D data capture? We would love to hear from you!