Durham Cathedral

Transformative thinking was on the agenda for the talented estates team responsible for the running of this 900-year-old, World Heritage-protected Cathedral.

Durham Cathedral
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Client

Church of England

Location

Durham, UK

Services

Digital Technologies, Research, Building Performance

Sector

Heritage and Conservation

1 min read

New digital solutions were needed to improve the curation and management of Durham Cathedral to eliminate the need to rely on traditional architectural drawings (dating from the last century) as basis for decision making and assessment of condition of the fabric.

We began by carrying out a laser scan of part of the building, which allowed us to turn part of this historic structure into a digital 3D model.

The traditional restoration processes for the building are very labour intensive and costly, and therefore impacted by budget constraints. Having a 3D visual representation enabled the team to understand the needs of the Cathedral more clearly, and to have an actionable planned maintenance programme.

The project demonstrated how digital building technology can improve efficiency in management and operations of historic buildings, through the transition from traditional FM procedures to the utilisation of digital information and 3D models to deliver greater value to heritage buildings.