Why more and more municipalities are turning to 3D building surveys - using school buildings as an example

Anyone who works in a local authority is familiar with the situation: a school building is to be renovated or extended. The project is put out to tender, an architect is commissioned - and then the first problem arises.

The existing plans do not match what was actually built. Walls are positioned incorrectly, room heights differ, connections don't fit. What follows are additional claims, delays and additional costs. Costs that are a burden on the municipality's budget - and which could have been avoided with a simple measure.

The problem with old school building plans
Many Swiss school buildings date from the 1950s to 1990s. During this time, planning was not done digitally, plans were drawn by hand and adjustments were made over the decades that were rarely fully documented. Conversions, new partition walls, changed entrances - all of this leaves traces in the existing buildings, but not always on paper.

This is a real risk for municipalities that want to renovate or extend today. Planning on the wrong basis costs time and money.

What 3D laser scanning can do for municipalities
With modern 3D laser scanners, a school building can be completely digitally recorded in just a few days - inside, outside, grounds and outbuildings. The result is a so-called point cloud: millions of measuring points that depict the building exactly as it actually is today.

The result is a precise 3D as-built model that architects, planners and engineering firms can use directly. No gaps in interpretation, no deviations, no surprises on the construction site. This means for the municipality:

• Reliable basis for tenders and architectural competitions
• Fewer supplementary claims during the construction phase
• Faster project completion thanks to immediately available digital data
• Long-term usable documentation for future projects
• Transparency vis-à-vis authorities, conservation authorities and the public

Dozens of school buildings - a model becomes visible
At VDE Villa Digital Engineering AG, we have measured over a dozen school buildings and school facilities throughout Switzerland in recent years and prepared them as 3D models. From Richterswil, Dürnten and Schindellegi to Bottighofen, Niederurnen and St. Gallen.

What all these projects have in common: The municipalities were happy to have clarity about their existing buildings before breaking ground. In several cases, deviations from existing plans were discovered that would not have been noticed until the construction site had a conventional approach been adopted.

In Richterswil, for example, several school buildings were successively measured over a period of years - a sign that the added value was recognized and recommended internally. The same picture in Niederurnen: two school buildings were surveyed by us in different projects.

Sustainability begins with the inventory
An aspect that is often overlooked is that those who know their existing buildings renovate in a more targeted manner. Resources are used more efficiently, the use of materials is minimized and planning loops are reduced. The Bottighofen school building is even being implemented in accordance with the "Sustainable Building Switzerland" (SNBS) standard - and here too, the process began with a precise 3D as-built survey by VDE. Digital surveying is not a luxury. It is a tool for responsible municipal planning.

For municipalities planning now
Are you planning to renovate or extend a school building? Then it's worth planning a 3D building survey at an early stage - even before the invitation to tender. The costs for this are usually amortized by the additional work avoided during the construction phase.

VDE has locations in Chur, Männedorf, Baar and St. Gallen - and surveys school buildings throughout Switzerland.