Measured Building Survey and 3D Revit As-Built Model for School in Clapham, London
BES was commissioned to support a public sector project involving the redevelopment of a school site in Clapham, London. The brief was to carry out a highly accurate measured building survey and deliver a 3D Revit As-built model at LOD 350,covering the external space and the school’s gymnasium. This digital model would serve as the foundation for retrofit planning and architectural design led by the project’s appointed architect.
The scope included a full 3D scan of the gym and surrounding external areas, capturing all visible structural and material details to an elevated level of accuracy.The model not only had to reflect real-world geometry, but also required the incorporation of surface finishes and materiality. The data was to be fully geo-referenced and aligned with an existing topographical survey provided by the client.
As is often the case with education projects, access posed a significant challenge. The school remained in active use, and the scanning process needed to be coordinated so that it wouldn’t interfere with students or staff. In addition,the architect required material data to be represented accurately in the final model—a task that demands both attention to visual detail and tight integration between survey and modelling phases.
To overcome these challenges, the BES team scheduled the measured building survey outside of school hours, ensuring minimal disruption to day-to-day activity.High-resolution laser scanners were used to capture both architectural form and texture, and a material catalogue of all visible finishes was developed on site for implementation in the Revit As-built model. The survey data was georeferenced to the OS Net and integrated with the client’s existing topographical data to provide a fully contextual model environment.
The final deliverables included a LOD 350 Revit model that captured not only the physical structure but also finish materials and spatial relationships within the gym and external areas. In addition to the 3D model, BES also provided detailed 2D elevation drawings for the street-facing facades, supplied in both PDF and DWG formats.
This high-quality output enabled the architect to proceed with accurate retrofit planning, supported by reliable spatial and material data. The clarity provided by the model helped identify constraints and opportunities early in the design process, reducing the risk of clashes and unexpected on-site conditions.
This project illustrates how the strategic use of a measured building survey and a well-executed 3D Revit As-built model can unlock major advantages in planning and retrofitting public sector facilities—especially when working under access constraints and the need for accurate contextual detail.
