3D surveying & laser scanning brings marketing success in Neuburg an der Donau
0%
Planning conflicts
20%
Construction time reduction
100%
Capacity/Sales
The Challenge
The planning managers of the renovation partners in Neuburg an der Donau faced an enormous challenge in modernizing and repurposing a historic residential and commercial building in the historic Upper Old Town of Neuburg an der Donau. The stately building, whose origins date back to the Renaissance era, was to be energetically renovated and converted on the ground floor into a state-of-the-art, barrier-free dental practice, while exclusive condominiums with a view of the Danube were to be created on the upper floors. However, since the property was under strict monument protection, no visible changes were allowed to the historic exterior façade and roof structure. The greatest planning risk lay in the completely outdated and flawed existing plans from the 1950s. Over the centuries, the building had been rebuilt several times, causing walls to have irregular thicknesses, ceilings to sag, and not a single room corner to have an exact 90-degree angle. For the MEP planning (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing), the installation of the complex dental supply lines in the floor, and the construction of a new interior elevator, a centimeter-precise planning basis was absolutely necessary. Manual measurement with handheld lasers would have been extremely error-prone due to the complex geometries and uneven masonry. Incorrect dimensions would have led to prefabricated practice furnishings, piping systems, and elevator components not fitting on site. This would have resulted in costly construction delays, contractual penalties, and a severe loss of trust with the future practice operators.
Our Solution
The renovation partners Neuburg an der Donau commissioned FotoEstate to carry out a comprehensive, three-dimensional survey of the entire building complex using the most modern 3D laser scanning. Our experts used next-generation terrestrial laser scanners and mobile mapping systems to capture the geometry of the property completely and with millimeter accuracy. From the historic wine cellar with its arches to the practice areas on the ground floor and up to the complex truss of the historic roof structure, every area was digitized in the shortest possible time. The scanners produced an extremely dense 3D point cloud, which was overlaid with high-resolution HDR color photos to create a photorealistic digital representation of reality. Based on this data, our designers created an accurate 3D BIM model (Building Information Modeling) in Revit format. This model represented the actual current state of the building, including all wall inclinations, ceiling deformations, and beam positions, without compromise. The architects, structural engineers, and MEP planners could work directly in this digital twin, perform clash detections, and plan new installations with millimeter precision. For example, the routing of the dental practice's utilities was digitally laid out in such a way that no historic supporting beam had to be damaged.
The Result
The results of the 3D laser scanning by FotoEstate ensured the smooth and economically successful execution of the entire modernization project in Neuburg an der Donau. Thanks to the absolutely precise 3D planning basis, not a single planning error or collision between the new pipeline routes and the historic building fabric occurred throughout the entire construction and installation phase. All custom-made components, such as the glass partitions of the practice rooms and the elevator technology, fit to the millimeter during assembly, completely preventing costly rework and construction stoppages. The planned construction period could be reduced by a total of 20 percent. This time gain had an extremely positive impact on marketing success: the dental practice was able to open as planned, and all exclusive condominiums on the upper floors were fully notarized to financially strong buyers from the Ingolstadt/Munich region even before the final interior finishing. The investment in 3D laser scanning by FotoEstate paid off many times over already in the early phase of interior construction and demonstrated the superiority of digital surveying methods in the renovation of historic properties.
Project Deep Dive: Process & Details
The initial situation: A demanding marketing
Neuburg an der Donau, a picturesque residential town in Upper Bavaria, enjoys consistently high demand for first-class residential and commercial space due to the region's high quality of life and economic strength. The renovation partners in Neuburg an der Donau recognized the potential of a listed residential and commercial building in the historic old town. The goal was a sophisticated revitalization: a careful energy-efficient renovation of the old shell, barrier-free access to all floors, and the conversion of the ground floor spaces for a medical service provider to ensure long-term stability. Such a project, however, is associated with high planning risks from the outset. The strict regulations of historic preservation did not allow standard solutions; every intervention in the building fabric had to be coordinated with the authorities. To carry out the project successfully from an economic standpoint, an absolutely reliable inventory was essential. The existing plans were incomplete and showed deviations of up to 20 centimeters from the actual building geometry (a typical challenge that we have also successfully mastered in projects such as the 3D survey in Leimen). Without precise measurements, a reliable cost calculation was impossible, as every deviation in an old building triggers unpredictable chain reactions.
The hurdle: Overcoming uncertainty in potential customers
The biggest hurdle in the early project stage was the hesitation of future users and buyers. The dentist who wanted to run the practice on the ground floor required exact dimensions and load-bearing capacities for planning his sophisticated treatment chairs and X-ray equipment. He did not want to sign a rental contract based on the old hand drawings, as the official approval of the practice depended on precise distances and compliance with strict hygiene and radiation protection regulations. The buyers of the condominiums on the upper floor were also hesitant. They demanded precise plans showing the layout of the accessible bathrooms and the course of the roof slopes in order to plan their own furnishing concepts. A manual measurement would have blocked the construction site for weeks and would have remained prone to errors due to the irregular ceiling and wall geometries. The lack of reliable documentation caused sales to stagnate, which in turn jeopardized bank financing approval. A quick, precise, and absolutely transparent solution for capturing the actual building geometry was urgently required to advance the project.
The concept: Visual excellence and attention to detail
The surveying concept developed by FotoEstate relied on the complete digitalization of the building using three-dimensional laser scanning. Our goal was to create a reliable data basis (a 'Single Source of Truth') that could be used both for the complex MEP and structural planning of the dental practice and for subsequent marketing. The concept envisioned capturing the entire property in a single scanning process, both inside and out. This also aimed to comprehensively document the complex roof truss joints and the historic vaulted cellars. The resulting 3D point cloud was intended to serve as the geometric basis for a detailed BIM model. This model allowed all specialists to integrate their designs directly into the actual building geometry. This way, collisions between the new supply lines of the dental practice and the historic wooden ceilings could be digitally detected and resolved in advance, before the craftsmen were on site. This well-thought-out concept offered maximum planning security and simultaneously served as a compelling sales argument in marketing.
The Implementation: Technology Meets Craft
The technical implementation of laser scanning in Neuburg an der Donau was carried out by a specialized surveying team from FotoEstate. To avoid disturbing the ongoing traffic in the old town, the exterior shots of the facade and roof were taken early in the morning. We used terrestrial 3D laser scanners, which offer extremely high measurement accuracy, as well as mobile hand scanners for the intricate cellar and roof areas. In total, over 280 scan points were captured and combined into a dense point cloud of more than one billion individual points. In post-production, the scans were registered and converted into a structured BIM model in Revit format. Our 3D designers modeled the geometric peculiarities of the old building, such as masonry curves and ceiling sags, exactly to guarantee a realistic planning basis. The completed CAD plans and the 3D model were made available on a cloud platform, allowing all specialist planners, site managers, and structural engineers to collaborate seamlessly and in real time.
The result: A flawless marketing success
The result of the 3D surveying was a complete marketing and construction success for the renovation partners in Neuburg an der Donau. The planning phase could be completed without delays because all trades had access to an error-free digital data basis. During the renovation, there was not a single construction stop or costly planning change on site, as all prefabricated components fit perfectly. The dentist received the necessary precise plans for his official approval and signed the lease before the official start of construction. The condominiums were also fully sold to buyers in a very short time thanks to the precise plans and the high transparency of the construction process. The digital twin now serves the clinic center and the owners as a valuable facility management tool for long-term maintenance even after completion. This case study convincingly shows that 3D laser scanning by FotoEstate minimizes planning risks in complex historic building renovations and significantly secures the economic success of real estate projects.
What our partners say
"Fast, professional and visually at the highest level. The exposés now look like premium magazines. This enormously increases buyer confidence."
"FotoEstate's 2D and 3D floor plans are an absolute game changer for our online presence."
"We have never received building permits as quickly as with the photorealistic exterior renderings. Top work!"
"When real furniture is too expensive, I have FotoEstate virtually stage it. My clients often don't even notice the difference."
"The image editing visually enhances even dark basement apartments so much that click rates go through the roof."
"Perfect visualizations of my designs. Finally my builders can imagine what it will look like later."
"Fast, professional and visually at the highest level. The exposés now look like premium magazines. This enormously increases buyer confidence."
"FotoEstate's 2D and 3D floor plans are an absolute game changer for our online presence."
"We have never received building permits as quickly as with the photorealistic exterior renderings. Top work!"
"When real furniture is too expensive, I have FotoEstate virtually stage it. My clients often don't even notice the difference."
"The image editing visually enhances even dark basement apartments so much that click rates go through the roof."
"Perfect visualizations of my designs. Finally my builders can imagine what it will look like later."
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