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As-Built Documentation for Conversion of Existing Buildings: Former Mustard Factory
The Challenge: No Existing Floor Plans and Time-Sensitive Planning
In this project, an old mustard factory was being converted into a residential building. The two-story, U-shaped structure contained former production rooms, storage areas and garages – but no current, reliable as-built plans were available for this complex task. 3D laser scanning provided the precise documentation needed for planning and design.
Converting an industrial building into residential space requires accurate knowledge of existing conditions. Without updated plans, planners and engineers risk costly errors during design and construction. In this case, the goal was to produce detailed floor plans and sections as CAD deliverables for the planning office – efficiently and within a short timeframe.
Capturing the Existing Building: Fast and Complete 3D Laser Scanning
The entire building was documented using 3D laser scanning within half a day. A total of 30 individual scans were carried out, capturing all relevant rooms, walls, openings and structural elements.
This approach delivered a complete and detailed point cloud representing the actual condition of the building – an essential foundation when converting industrial structures into residential use.
From Point Cloud to CAD Plans: Efficient Evaluation with PointCab Origins
After data acquisition, the point cloud was evaluated using PointCab Origins. From the scan data, the required deliverables were derived efficiently:
- floor plans,
- cross sections,
- and scaled, CAD-ready drawings.
The generated data could be imported directly into the customer’s CAD system and used for further planning steps without additional re-measurement or manual reconstruction.
Planning Benefits and Project Outcomes
The complete evaluation process – from raw scan data to exportable plans took approximately two hours.
Based on the generated plans, the investment volume for the conversion could be assessed quickly and reliably. The resulting CAD data supported:
- preliminary and design planning,
- detailed execution planning,
- and visualizations for residential marketing and exposés.
This workflow provided a solid digital foundation for all subsequent project phases.
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