3D Surveying | Church Tower of the Reformed Church in Richterswil

When a Bell Must Fall Silent Before the Tower Can Speak

Standing 75 meters tall, the neo-Gothic tower of the Reformed Church in Richterswil has defined the silhouette of this village on Lake Zurich for over 120 years. Recently, the parish had to take one of the large bells out of service—for structural reasons. A rotten bell frame, rusty supports, crumbling stone elements: The tower is once again accessible, but it must be renovated as soon as possible so that all the bells can ring again.

Before restoration work on a historic building can begin, a reliable survey of the existing structure is required—the foundation for historic preservation and for planning the restoration measures. The challenge here: time. The parish needed the data as quickly as possible so as not to delay the restoration planning.

VDE therefore surveyed the entire church but first prioritized creating a 3D model of the urgently needed tower—including the belfry, the supporting structure, and the components damaged by water. 402 scan positions across the tower’s entire height of 75 meters were processed into a high-precision 3D model, which was made available to the historic preservation authorities and planners in a very short time. The survey of the rest of the nave has already been completed and may be used for modeling at a later date.

For the parish, this means a reliable basis for planning precisely where speed and care are both required—a landmark that must be preserved and a time window that brooks no delay.

What this project demonstrates is that when historic buildings are in urgent need of restoration, it’s not just the precision of the survey that matters, but also how quickly usable data becomes available—sometimes it’s sufficient to survey only the critical structural element first, rather than waiting for the complete model.