3D technology will help renew our building heritage

Aarhus School of Architecture will be developing and testing new methods for transforming buildings in rural areas that are deemed worthy of preservation but are no longer in use into cheap, flexible homes. The Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority has just made a grant of almost DKK 10 million to the project.

By applying new technologies within surveying and digital production, the project will demonstrate how we can take care of our architectural heritage while giving buildings new life at an affordable cost.

This is something which is in great demand: Every year, around DKK 100 billion are spent on maintaining and renovating public and private homes. Analyses also indicate that the facades of 30% of all Danish homes need to be renovated before 2040.

Standardised Individualism

The aim of the project is to develop rational and standardised solutions by using modular systems that reduce costs. The inclusion of digital tools also opens up the possibility that industrial modular products can be individualised to incorporate the special characteristics, measurements and imbalances of the existing building stock.

“3D scanning makes it possible to register an existing building down to the smallest detail, providing a complete documentation of the building. The data is transferred to digitally controlled production machinery that is able to produce precisely adapted building components. This makes it possible to reconcile the special identity and physical characteristics of cultural heritage and the rational standardisation of industrial modular systems,” explains Simon Ostenfeld Pedersen, Aarhus School of Architecture.

From the specific to the general

The project will be based on buildings deemed worthy of conservation in Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality. And the first task will be to design a suitable building for the experiment. The selection is based on screening of buildings in Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality carried out in connection with the project Umistelige kulturmiljøer i Danmarks yderområder.

Although the pilot project will be realised at a specific location, the intention is to develop a way of thinking, process, and method that can be transferred to many different types of buildings and situations.

“Abandoned buildings that form part of local cultural heritage should not all be treated the same. We consequently emphasise that cultural heritage values should always be observed, documented and assessed thoroughly, and that solutions should be differentiated to provide the strongest and most well-functioning interventions. When transforming existing buildings to new purposes, it is crucial that this process is based on the existing conservation values of buildings,” explains Professor Mogens A. Morgen, who is the project’s specialist in architectural heritage. Mogens is also responsible for the project Umistelige kulturmiljøer i Danmarks yderområder.

Other participants in the project from Aarhus School of Architecture are associate professors Charlotte Bundgaard, Niels Martin Larsen and Anne Mette Boye, who work with the industrialisation of building processes, digital tools in architectural design, and the transformation of buildings and urban areas.