Explore how cutting-edge digital tools like point cloud scanning, AR, and clash detection helped our team coordinate exposed MEP systems in a heritage building—where nothing is square and precision is everything.
In a building more than a century old, you can’t rely on anything being plumb or level.
New mass timber elements are factory-built to precise specifications and all the systems that make a modern building functional and comfortable need to seamlessly bridge both old and new.
That’s where VDC (Virtual Design & Coordination) came in....
Before construction began, the heritage structure was laser-scanned to develop a full digital model of the existing building (see image for initial cloud scanning of original building).
This allowed the design and construction teams to work with a clear and precise understanding to deliver incredible solutions to intricate design challenges.
With very limited space around the existing structure, and with systems left visible as part of the architectural aesthetic, traditional on-the-fly coordination is not enough.
VDC allowed us to simulate construction, spot and resolve clashes, and communicate clearly across trades and disciplines.
ETRO's VDC team used tools like:
Reality capture to base the model on actual conditions
Clash detection to coordinate many overlapping and interdependent systems
Augmented reality to view the models in the context of the real world to plan, sequence, and verify the installations
The result? Fewer surprises, faster installs, and a beautiful and functional integration of building systems.
