Digital as-built survey for residential-building planning
Project overview
A multi-storey residential building in Tbilisi, Georgia, was surveyed using 3D laser scanning. The project scope covered interior and exterior areas agreed for the survey.
The objective was to prepare digital as-built documentation to support architectural modifications, trade coordination and subsequent refurbishment planning. The point cloud represents the areas captured within the agreed scope and can support further processing in CAD and BIM environments.
Initial situation
Existing building documentation was incomplete and partly inconsistent. For the planned architectural and interior-design work, the project team needed a digital reference to help:
- review dimensions, axes and building geometry in the surveyed areas
- identify visible shafts, installation zones and routes for building services
- review room geometry and height levels within the captured scope
- compare surveyed conditions with available legacy drawings
The point cloud provided an additional reference for planning; site verification may still be needed where conditions are inaccessible, concealed or outside the survey scope.
Laser-scanning execution
The agreed areas of the building were recorded in multiple stages using a FARO laser scanner. The project scope included:
- façades and external building-envelope areas agreed for capture
- selected floors, rooms, stairwells and balconies
- accessible installation shafts, building services and relevant fixtures
- roof structures and technical levels included in the survey
- terrain interfaces and surrounding areas agreed for capture
Scan positions were registered into a colourised point cloud. Coverage depends on access, obstructions, surface and environmental conditions, scanner setup and registration. Areas that could not be accessed or were hidden may not be represented.
CAD processing and data preparation
The point cloud was imported into HiCAD and used, within the agreed deliverables, as a basis for:
- preparation of as-built drawings for the specified areas
- trade-specific data extraction according to client requirements
- dimensional reviews, coordination or clash checks where included in scope
- modelling of selected components for architects and interior designers
The processed data was delivered in a structured format to the client and project partners, as agreed for this project. Model detail, checks and file formats are project-specific.
Project collaboration
The project involved an international team, with disciplines working from different locations. The shared point-cloud and model data supported the participating teams to:
- refer to the same surveyed data within the delivered scope
- coordinate planning around the captured geometry
- discuss geometric conflicts identified in the modelled areas
- align discipline-specific work across locations
These outputs supported collaboration. They do not remove all geometric uncertainty or guarantee that construction will be free of clashes; checks are limited to the data and design included in the agreed scope.
International workflow
For this project, scanning was carried out on site in Georgia, with processing and modelling in Austria. The resulting deliverables were used by architects, planners and contractors at multiple locations.
The point cloud and models provided a digital reference for refurbishment, extensions, modernisation and interior-design planning within the captured scope.
Conclusion
The residential-building survey provided project-specific as-built data to support planning decisions. Combining on-site laser scanning and CAD processing gave the client a geometric reference for the areas and deliverables agreed for this project. Coverage and measurement results depend on site conditions, equipment, access and processing; the survey does not eliminate all measurement uncertainty or guarantee clash-free planning or construction.
3D laser scan of a multi-storey residential building – Tbilisi, Georgia