Full LiDAR capture and scan-to-BIM documentation of a 6,000 sq ft commercial space in Hudson Yards, delivered in a 12-day turnaround from a single access window, with detailed reflected ceiling plans to map a complex open-ceiling condition ahead of retrofit.
Hudson Yards, Manhattan, NYC
6,000 sq. ft.
Retail & Restaurants
A restaurant group taking over an existing commercial space in Hudson Yards needed precise existing conditions ahead of a retrofit. The space’s defining feature was a complex open ceiling exposed structure, ductwork, and services with no simple plane to reference and getting the reflected ceiling plan wrong wasn’t a cosmetic risk, it was a real risk of clashing with the retrofit design once contractors were on site.
The constraint wasn’t the ceiling alone. Building access was limited to a fixed window of hours, with no option to return and fill gaps if something was missed. Everything above and below the ceiling line had to be captured correctly in that single visit.
On top of that, the client’s own design work was waiting on the drawings, with a 12-day deadline from scan to delivered documentation. There was no slack anywhere in the process to absorb a mistake not in the capture, and not in the modelling.
The brief covered the full 6,000 sq ft space: floor plans, elevations, and a reflected ceiling plan detailed enough to show HVAC routing, electrical, and lighting fixtures exactly as installed. The client needed this translated into a coordinated Revit model their design and build team could work from directly, backed by full CAD and PDF documentation and a navigable 3D tour of the space – all inside a 12-day window from the day of capture.
With only a limited number of hours on site, the scan had to be planned and executed with zero room for error. We captured the full space with 3D LiDAR scanning, paying particular attention to the ceiling void to record every duct run, conduit, and fixture at millimetre-level accuracy, alongside imagery for a complete 3D virtual tour all within the access window the building allowed.
The point cloud was registered and processed immediately after capture to keep the 12-day clock on schedule. Our BIM team then modelled the space into a coordinated Revit model, with the reflected ceiling plan cross-checked directly against the point cloud to make sure nothing in that open-ceiling condition was missed. Full floor plans, elevations, and supporting CAD and PDF documentation were produced in parallel to hit the deadline without cutting corners on accuracy.
Complete as-built documentation CAD, PDF, and a coordinated Revit model with a reflected ceiling plan detailed enough to remove the guesswork around the space’s exposed services was delivered inside the client’s 12-day window, from a single site visit. The 3D virtual tour gave the client an easy way to walk the space remotely alongside the technical drawings.
For a restaurant group working to a hard retrofit deadline in one of Manhattan’s most prestigious new developments, the value was straightforward: their design team could start immediately, with no second capture, no missed ceiling details, and no delay waiting on corrected drawings.
