**Experience the Case Study in the video format**
🔹Background on the EU regulations - View
🔹 Scanning & Inspecting the model - View
🔹 Importing into BIM software - View
Background on EU Demolition Regulations
In response to a growing emphasis on sustainable building practices, the European Union is implementing new regulations to improve the efficiency and environmental impact of building demolitions. These regulations, including standards such as ÖNORM B3151 and DIN SPEC 91484, focus on detailed pre-demolition audits. Their objective is to ensure that buildings marked for demolition are thoroughly analyzed and digitally archived, and that materials from these demolished structures are either reused or recycled. This approach aligns with the principles of circular building, aiming to minimize waste and reduce the environmental footprint.
Market Need for Efficient Solutions
Amid these developments, the construction and demolition industry faces significant challenges. Traditional methods of pre-demolition assessment are often time-consuming, labor-intensive, and subject to inaccuracies. There is a clear market demand for solutions that are not only efficient but also align with the EU's sustainable and circular building goals.
Metaroom offers a promising solution. It aims to streamline the pre-demolition audit process, making it faster, more accurate, and more comprehensive, thus meeting regulatory demands and industry needs.
To demonstrate its potential, an abandoned building in Croatia has been chosen as the subject for this experiment.
Overview of the Selected Building in Split, Croatia
This case study focuses on an unfinished apartment complex in Zenta Bay, Split, Croatia (Figure 1). Originally intended to provide residential spaces with views of the port, the construction was halted due to issues with the project documentation, leaving the building incomplete.
Figure 1 Abandoned building in Zenta Bay, Split, Croatia
Metaroom in Action
Kristijan Vilibić, representing Mastery of Digital, performed a detailed digital scan of this structure (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Scanning process
This study aims to investigate the integration of the scanned building into the BIM (Building Information Modeling) environment. Through this examination, we intend to evaluate the efficiency of digital archiving methods for buildings marked for demolition. The focus here is to show how Metaroom can align with regulatory standards, offering a new approach to pre-demolition audits.
Scanning the Building
The scan began with a detailed capture of the first room in the abandoned building (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Scanning the first room
After scanning each room, the '+' icon in the Metaroom app was used to connect the next room to the existing digital layout (Figure 4). This step was essential for accurately mapping the building’s interior, relying on the app's ability to auto-determine GPS positions. The accuracy of these measurements depended on keeping the camera lens unobstructed, ensuring precise data on room layouts and wall thicknesses.
Figure 4 Scanning workflow
This approach was replicated across the first floor, ensuring each room was accurately digitized. The stairway was then scanned, providing a link to the second floor. The same process was employed on the second floor, maintaining consistency and accuracy.
During the scan, elements like installation openings were identified and tagged as points of interest within the Metaroom app (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Installation opening - Point of Interest
This practice, while just one example, illustrates the app’s capability to highlight potentially reusable components or hazardous materials. Such tagging is invaluable in pre-demolition audits, as it aids in identifying materials that can be salvaged for future use or those that require special handling due to their hazardous nature.
The scanning was stopped after the second floor, as that amount of data was considered sufficient for this case study. The app then took over, automatically compiling the scans into a complete digital model of the building. The model was then sent to the cloud, allowing for later access either through the app itself or in Metaroom Studio.
The Generated Model
After uploading the digital model to the cloud, it was reviewed using the Metaroom app and Metaroom Studio. In the Metaroom app, the model's dimensions and layout were checked for accuracy, and a first-person virtual tour was conducted (Figure 6).
Figure 6 Building in the Metaroom App
In Metaroom Studio, the focus was on examining the element tree of the model and reviewing the previously marked points of interest (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Building in the Metaroom Studio
Following the detailed inspection, the model was then seamlessly exported into the IFC format for further use (Figure 8).
Figure 8 Exporting the building into .ifc format
Model in the BIM Environment
The next phase of our case study involved importing the IFC model into the BIM software Allplan. This process is critical for understanding how effectively the Metaroom-generated model integrates into professional modeling software.
Importing the IFC model
The import process was done using the default exchange profile in Allplan, with no customizations made to the attribute mapping. This decision was made to evaluate the software's capability to interpret and adapt to the IFC model as provided.
The results of the import were mixed in terms of element recognition and accuracy (Figure 9). Allplan successfully identified and correctly imported some elements from the IFC model, showcasing its ability to understand and adapt standard IFC data. However, other elements were categorized as 'other user-defined architectural elements’ (Figure 10).
Figure 9 IFC import results 1
Figure 10 IFC import results 2
This discrepancy can be attributed to the lack of a customized attribute mapping profile. Without this customization, Allplan defaulted to its basic interpretative capabilities, which, while effective in some areas, were not comprehensive enough to accurately categorize all elements of the model.
Current Applications
The Metaroom App is capable of creating good 3D models as demonstrated in this case study, which can be essential for the digital archiving of buildings before demolition. These models deliver a comprehensive visual representation of a building, which is crucial for generating precise floor plans. These floor plans can be seamlessly extracted using any BIM software, as illustrated in Figure 11.
Figure 11 Extracted floor plan
The precise measurements from the models can also be used to calculate the quantities of materials, such as concrete, which is important for managing resources and recycling in demolition projects.
Additionally, the models include marked points of interest. These marks help identify special parts of the building, like valuable equipment or hazardous materials. This is helpful for planning which materials can be reused or need special handling during demolition, ensuring both efficiency and safety while complying with environmental rules.
Future Applications
Looking ahead, there is a big potential by capturing material information during scans. This additional data, when imported into BIM software, could facilitate automatic quantity takeoff based on the material attributes in the BIM models. Such a feature would represent a significant advancement in streamlining the process of material estimation and analysis in demolition projects.
Innovative Scan-to-BIM solutions have the ability to save time, increase accuracy, and support cost-effective, sustainable demolition projects. It represents a significant step forward in the construction industry, aligning with the trend towards smarter, data-driven methods.
