Scan-to-BIM on a 3,200 m² commercial retrofit

The project

A regional investor was converting a 1980s commercial building into mixed-use office and retail space. Original drawings existed but were incomplete and had diverged significantly from built reality over four decades of modifications. The design team needed an accurate as-built BIM model to plan a new MEP system without discovering surprises mid-construction.

The challenge

• Unknown as-built geometry — wall positions, slab thicknesses, and column dimensions all needed verification.
• Legacy MEP routing — existing services had to be documented before any demolition.
• Tight design schedule — only three weeks available between investor approval and start of tender documents.
• Coordinate system — had to align with the client's existing CAD standards and the architect's Revit workflow.

Our approach

1. Scoping and BEP — half-day workshop with the architect to lock LOD per element category (walls LOD 300, MEP LOD 200, structure LOD 300), coordinate system, and deliverable format.
2. Capture — three days of terrestrial LiDAR for the full building envelope and primary spaces, plus handheld scanning for dense MEP areas and critical connections.
3. Registration — two days of point cloud registration against control points distributed across each floor.
4. Modeling — ten days of Revit modeling at the agreed LOD matrix, with daily architect review calls to flag assumptions and resolve questions.
5. QA and handover — deviation report against point cloud, assumptions log, and a two-hour handover session with the design team.

Deliverables

• Registered point cloud (E57) — 47 GB, 184 scan positions
• Revit project (.rvt) at the agreed LOD matrix
• IFC 2x3 export for cross-platform collaboration
• Floor plans and sections (PDF and DWG)
• Deviation report and assumptions log
• 30-day support period

Results

• Three clashes caught at design — previously unknown beams that would have required field modification during construction.
• Two unknown MEP risers identified — routes had to be redesigned to avoid conflict, but the redesign happened on paper, not on site.
• Zero schedule slippage from as-built surprises during the retrofit construction phase.
• Design team kept the BIM model as the source of truth for operations handover to the facility management company.

What the client said

"The clashes we caught in Revit would have cost us weeks on site. The Scan-to-BIM investment paid for itself before construction even started."

— Project architect (name withheld by client preference)

Thinking about Scan-to-BIM on your own project?

We offer a free 30-minute scoping call for any renovation or retrofit project in the Adria region and EU. We will give you a realistic budget range, recommended capture method, and timeline — with no commitment.

Get in touch or read the Scan-to-BIM service page for more detail on our process.