The Turkish Bath in Iasi —
a monument, kept to the millimetre
2,970 sqm of historic monument, 3D scanned for the National Architecture Biennial 2023. The resulting virtual tour won Digital Twin Awards in the Historic Preservation category — winner of the public vote.
A monument cannot be measured with a tape
Turkish Bath, Iasi · 2,970 sqm · 2023A historic building has no straight walls, no right angles and no perfectly level floors. Those very deviations, accumulated over centuries, are the information that matters to an architect working on conservation — and a hand-made survey is exactly what smooths them away.
The object is also fragile. Any method involving contact with the masonry, mounting targets on plaster or resting instruments against decorative elements is ruled out from the start.
- Irregular geometry, impossible to describe with simple dimensions
- Small, dark spaces on different levels
- A firm constraint: zero physical contact with the monument
- A fixed deadline — the National Architecture Biennial
LiDAR scanning, touching nothing
The scanner measures distances with light, from a tripod. It does not touch the masonry, leaves no traces and requires no intervention on the building. Each position yields millions of points with real coordinates; successive positions are registered into a single point cloud of the whole building.
The result is a measurable digital copy: any distance, height or wall thickness can be taken from the model later, without returning to site.
From point cloud to open door
Two different things came out of the same dataset. For architects — the measurable base from which surveys and drawings can be extracted. For the public — a virtual tour anyone can enter from a browser, with no app and no appointment.
The tour was exhibited at the National Architecture Biennial 2023 and won the Historic Preservation category at Digital Twin Awards, by public vote.
- A measurable point cloud, kept by the beneficiary
- A virtual tour navigable from any browser
- Documentation that stays valid whatever happens to the building
3D scanning of historic buildings
Can a historic monument be 3D scanned without being touched?
Yes. LiDAR 3D scanning is entirely contactless: the scanner measures distances with light, from a tripod, without touching masonry, plaster or decorative elements. No targets are mounted on walls and no traces are left behind. That is why the method suits fragile or listed buildings.
How long does it take to scan a building of nearly 3,000 sqm?
Between 1 and 7 days on site, depending on surface and complexity. A historic building with many small rooms, split levels and dark spaces requires more scan positions than an open space of the same size.
How accurate is a survey obtained through 3D scanning?
Accuracy is +/-2 cm at 10 m, with 99.8% dimensional accuracy of the point cloud. For heritage documentation this means the real geometry, with all its deviations, is recorded as it is rather than idealised as in a hand-redrawn plan.
What does the client keep after a monument is digitised?
The delivered files remain the client's property permanently: the point cloud, the surveys and the CAD drawings or BIM model. The online tour is cloud-hosted for the period stated in the offer; when it expires it can be extended for a fee or archived free of charge, with reactivation on request.
Three consecutive years at Digital Twin Awards
2024 · Best virtual tour
St. Nicholas Roman-Catholic Parish, Bacau — the complete tour of the parish ensemble.
2025 · Education
IEEIA Faculty, Iasi — representative spaces and equipped laboratories.
All projects
Over 100 spaces digitised since 2020. The portfolio shows the publishable selection.
Do you have a building that deserves proper documentation?
A monument, a church, an old building under renovation — scanning neither touches nor tires it. Tell us what it is about.
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