Propmodo Technology

By Franco Faraudo · May 15, 2024

Greetings!

Historic buildings connect us to our past, but preservation laws can make them costly to maintain or upgrade. Digital preservation with 3D scanning offers an alternative solution. As discussed in today's email, scanning keeps the memory of buildings alive and provides a cost-effective way to rebuild or restore them if needed. While some buildings must be physically preserved, others might suffice with digital preservation, balancing historical reverence with practical needs.

This week in Propmodo Technology, we delve into the growing use of digital twin technology in real estate. We'll look at how city planners and developers are utilizing digital twins to test and visualize new projects, assessing their impact on the community. We'll also discuss the importance of high-quality scans in maximizing the benefits of digital twins for building owners and operators.

Now, let’s go!

3D Scanning Is Helping Resolve the Historical Preservation Paradox

Everyone loves a historic building. Old buildings connect us to our past, giving us a glimpse into the everyday life of those who came before us and reminding us of the events that shaped our world. But, the love of historic buildings can sometimes go overboard. Historical preservationists often pass laws with good intentions, but these can make owning historic buildings prohibitively costly. As a result, buildings may be left unused and neglected, contrary to the reverence they deserve.

Historic preservation can also impede other important societal goals. Energy retrofits of historic buildings are often hampered by preservation laws, even though they are necessary to help cities reduce their carbon footprint. In many cities, historic buildings also take up critical space needed for housing.

Some historic buildings need to be preserved physically, but for others, the best way to save them is digitally. This was the case with a historic mansion in Merrill, Wisconsin. Built by a lumber baron who was the town’s first mayor, the mansion had been used as a convent, college dormitory, and office. It fell into disrepair and impeded a hospital expansion, leading to its scheduled demolition despite local outcry.

To help preserve the building digitally, a local university team created a detailed 3D scan before demolition. This preserved the memory of the building and helped soften the blow for preservationists who opposed its demolition. “For preservationists, at least, it’s a sense that it’s not completely gone,” said UW-Milwaukee professor Matt Jarosz, who was involved in the project.

Scans are already being taken of many historic buildings. Thankfully, Notre Dame had been meticulously scanned by an art historian before its roof caught fire in 2019. Some historic buildings in fire-prone areas are being preemptively scanned in case they cannot be saved in a disaster. People are even using 3D models to visit buildings destroyed by the fire in Maui last year.

For the relatively small cost of scanning historic buildings, it makes sense to preserve them this way. The scan can be used later to help rebuild or restore the buildings or serve as a historical artifact if the building is destroyed. As we become more accustomed to the idea that visiting a digital representation of a building keeps it alive, we might find it sufficient for some buildings. While some buildings will always be important enough to preserve physically, for others, the need to upgrade or repurpose the land they occupy might outweigh the importance of saving the building itself.

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Propmodo Technology is edited by Franco Faraudo with contributions from readers like you and the Propmodo team.

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