Virtually Visit the Roundhouse

We asked ScanTech’s technical director Luke Fowler to tell us a bit more about the process of creating this model.

We are ScanTech Digital; a Birmingham-based firm that explores the built world. We love buildings, and we really love old buildings, so we’re delighted to work with the Canal & River Trust and National Trust on the Roundhouse.

View the 3D virtual model here:

• Roundhouse Main
• East Gatehouse
• West Gatehouse

What you’re seeing here is a couple of different technologies being combined into one – an innovation that helps bring heritage into a virtual world. 

We used a high-resolution digital camera to take 360° 4K photographs of the Roundhouse, whilst simultaneously scanning the building and capturing millions of laser points. Both of these things results in an amazing photographic record and an accurate point cloud model of your building or space. Software developed by those clever people at Matterport allow us to stitch these both together to produce an accurate 3D photographic model, allowing you to wander around like in Google’s Street-view, or explore using the ‘dollshouse’ look for the  symbol in the bottom-left of the virtual tour to explore. The photographic model, the hi-res record and the laser point-cloud means that different people can use this data, and the Roundhouse has been captured virtually before all the wonderful conservation work takes place.

ScanTech Digital brings spaces to life using the latest technology, making it affordable, accessible and available to a wide range of people.  We’d love you to hear your ideas on how, come visit us at www.scantechdigital.com

By Luke Fowler

Technical Director at ScanTech Digital