3D Laser Scanning Preserved the Historical Notre Dame Cathedral

After the Notre Dame Cathedral tragedy on Monday, French officials have announced that the cathedral will be rebuilt. The 850-year-old church, also one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions and monuments, was currently undergoing renovations and repairs and it’s believed that’s how the fire started.

In 2014, the late Vassar College Professor Andrew Tallon utilized 3D laser scanners to create a digital model of the cathedral from which the first set of accurate architectural drawings were created. The professor of art studied Gothic architecture and wanted to understand how medieval builders constructed some of Europe’s greatest cathedrals. Knowing that the Notre Dame Cathedral would need repairs and restoration in the future, he scanned it creating a 3D spatial map consisting of more than a billion laser measured points.

With the Notre Dame Cathedral going through repeated modifications for over seven centuries, any architectural plans of the building were non-existent, but with the help of Tallon’s 3D scans, it will make the restoration process easier and more accurate.

Learn more about Professor Andrew Tallon and his work here.

We admire the vision, foresight and prudence Professor Andrew Tallon possessed to create a 3D point cloud for the Notre Dame Cathedral. Today’s laser scanners accurately measure one million 3D points per second, which is why our team of professional surveyors incorporate this technology into our workflow around the Chicagoland area.