Understanding Unique Materials

The majority of our existing building stock was built before the use of now ubiquitous 3D modelling and integrated data. By applying accessible digitization and reconstruction techniques, we can understand the properties and opportunities for individual components, while determining the value and effort of recovery on a per-building basis. Photogrammetry and mobile Lidar tools allow a single material-hunter to capture data for large areas. From there, analysis software can reconstruct floor plans or the geometry of individual components.

Scanning and reconstruction tools give us the data to make informed decisions about reuse. Reused materials are inherently unique. While construction is often performed with standardised components, the processes of installation, operations, possible renovations, and removal - they all may affect the geometry and characteristics of the component. Understanding these properties is necessary to decide if and how a component can be reused.

We study the applications of digital scanning and reconstruction tools to obtain these properties at scale. This drone falls in a spectrum of hardware/software solutions for recording a building site as a point cloud. These may take the form of laser scanners, or as in this case, in-depth photography systems. Produced from millions of individual measurements, these clouds record the position, colour, orientation, and reflectivity of points on the visible surfaces of the building.

Different scanner hardware is specialized for different conditions. Drone capture allows for the rapid capture of large areas, and the inspection of locations normally inaccessible to handheld capture methods. With specialised software for automatic mapping and navigation, it can also capture interior spaces. This speed and coverage are considered against the increased accuracy of laser-scanning systems when planning the capture of a site.

With this data, we can visualise the space and take measurements between objects of interest. In this form, however, the data is hard to draw additional conclusions from, so analysis methods are applied to produce or supplement Building Information Models of differing levels of granularity.

This is one method for producing digital inventories of recoverable and reusable materials. While traditional projects may include material takeoffs and categorical descriptions of the building's components, when materials are unique, they require individual tracking and consideration. This ultimate synthesis of data informs the owners, designers, and contractors working with these sites and materials.