Dow Atrium 3D Model

I completed this project as part of the requirements for my Terrestrial Laser Scanning course at Michigan Tech. The purpose of the project was to use a terrestrial laser scanner to capture the geometry of an indoor environment to create a virtualized, three-dimensional, interactive walkthrough. I chose the Dow Atrium located on campus as the subject of this project.

Data collection

I used a FARO Focus 3D scanner to capture the data. The scanner was mounted on a tripod and moved around the room, capturing the geometry of the room. I used FARO SCENE to process the data and create a comprehensive point cloud.

The atrium resides in the south sixth and seventh floors of the Dow Environmental Sciences and Engineering Building.
The courtyard is visible through the glass walls and doors of the atrium.

I captured the data in thirty scan stations, collecting 60.5 million points overall.

An oblique render of the point cloud data.

Modeling

I then used FARO SCENE to convert this point cloud into a 3D model. I transfered it to Blender 3D, where I then manually created hard-surface geometry representing the walls, floors, and other props within the environment.

The automatically generated mesh.
The manually created mesh.

Rendering

I then brought the mesh data into Unreal Engine 5 to create a walkthrough of the atrium. I used physically based materials and rendering to create a photorealistic image.

A render of the west end of the atrium.

Since the courtyard is visible through the glass walls and doors of the atrium, I also modeled the courtyard and added it to the scene. I only modeled as much of the courtyard as was visible through the glass walls.

A render of the courtyard.