Restoration of heritage preserved buildings

The last years, extensive restoration works have been carried out in Cyprus while all the more people decide to take advantage of old traditional preserved houses by restoring them for residential or commercial purposes.

In this kind of projects, a preliminary survey campaign is essential for both internal and external areas of the building. A building record requires scaled plans, full elevations as well as the production of appropriate cross sections to show the building as it is. The drawings need to show the full level of irregularity in an historic building; rooms are seldom anywhere near square, floors are rarely level, walls never have a consistent width etc. All this information of the existing condition allows the architect as other engineers and interior designers to repair, plan, redesign and approve with actual measurements.

To recover this level of information a mixture of survey techniques is needed to achieve a satisfactory result. The deciding factor of which survey method is the most appropriate, applies with the size/scale, the complexity and the architectural details of the building. Techniques such as GPS, total station, 3D laser scanning, photogrammetry and hand measuring can be combined. In cases of small multi-room buildings with simple architectural design, total station measurements in combination with hand measuring still remain a cost-effective option. On the contrast, in very large and complex buildings with rich architectural ornamentation, laser scanning and photogrammetry can show cost advantages, but these need to be carefully considered and used selectively to be most beneficial in terms of product delivery, time and other cost considerations.

Geoimaging ltd has extensive experience in documenting historical preserved constructions. Examples of this kind of projects is the restoration of two abandoned traditional houses that have been declared as protected and preserved; the former located in the area of Old Strovolos, the traditional core of Strovolos, and the latter located on ‘Ermou’ Street in old Nicosia.

Data for elevations, plans, and cross sections for both buildings were collected by combining total station and GPS measurements. Hand measuring was also used in some special situations such as for getting into small and inaccessible areas and for recording details. We measured the inside and outside of the buildings with very accurate measurements, and then created the respective drawings which show the exact dimensions and layout of the buildings. The final architectural as-built plans carrying the current conditions of the buildings were then delivered to the architects to provide them all the necessary information they need to begin the design of the renovation

Are you planning to restore an old historic building?

We’d love to help you with your next renovation project!