Commercial Building Scan-to-BIM: Chicago Case Study

Project Overview

A Chicago-area property owner retained Laser Scan Chicago to document an existing 8-story commercial office building in preparation for a full-floor renovation. The building, constructed in the 1960s, had undergone multiple tenant improvement cycles over the decades, and the available as-built drawings were significantly out of date. The design team needed an accurate existing-conditions BIM model before schematic design could begin.

BIM sectional model from commercial building scan: Laser Scan Chicago — Sectional BIM view revealing existing MEP conditions: the kind of discovery that prevents costly field surprises.

The Challenge

The building presented several documentation challenges typical of mid-century Chicago commercial stock:

Original architectural drawings were incomplete and did not reflect decades of modifications
Ceiling heights varied significantly across floors due to layered mechanical system additions
Active tenant occupancy required scanning to occur after business hours across multiple nights
MEP systems were complex and densely routed, requiring high scan density to capture accurately

The Approach

Laser Scan Chicago mobilized a two-person crew over three nights of after-hours scanning. Using our FARO Focus scanner, the team captured all eight occupied floors, the mechanical penthouse, the lobby, and key exterior facade elements. A total of 312 scan positions were completed across all sessions, with scan registration controlled by surveyed targets to maintain project-wide accuracy.

Field data was processed and registered within 4 business days of the final scan night, producing a fully georeferenced point cloud delivered in Autodesk ReCap (RCP) format. The BIM modeling team then used the point cloud as a reference layer in Revit to build a Level of Development 300 model of the existing conditions.

Deliverables

Registered point cloud (RCP/RCS): all 8 floors, penthouse, and exterior
Revit model (LOD 300): architectural, structural, and major MEP systems
2D CAD drawings: floor plans and reflected ceiling plans, all floors
Dimensional verification report: key structural dimensions compared against original drawings

Results

The scan-to-BIM model revealed several significant discrepancies between the original drawings and actual conditions: including column locations shifted by up to 4 inches on two floors, ceiling heights 8–14 inches lower than indicated in the original drawings due to added ductwork, and a previously undocumented structural transfer beam on the third floor.

These discrepancies, caught during documentation rather than during construction, allowed the design team to adjust the renovation design before permit submission: avoiding what would have been costly field changes and potential schedule impacts.

3 nights Full 8-floor building captured after hours

4 days Point cloud processed & delivered after final scan

3 weeks Mobilization to final LOD 300 Revit model

Timeline

Field scanning: 3 nights (after-hours)
Point cloud processing and delivery: 4 business days after final scan night
BIM modeling (LOD 300, all floors): 12 business days
Total project duration: 3 weeks from mobilization to final Revit model delivery

Ready to Start Your Project?

Laser Scan Chicago delivers fast, accurate scan-to-BIM documentation for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings throughout the Chicago metro area. Contact us to discuss your existing-conditions documentation needs and get a project-specific quote.