Pearl Bank Apartments to survive in archives as digital 3D models

The scans and 3D models have been submitted to URA for archiving.

Joshua Lee | May 10, 2019, 04:28 PM

The iconic Pearl Bank Apartments will live on in perpetuity -- as a digital model.

The horseshoe-shaped residential building was bought over by CapitaLand in February 2018.

The building will be demolished and the site will be redeveloped into a high-rise residential development comprising around 800 units with a host of shared facilities by early 2023.

However, Singaporeans will still be able to admire the architectural marvel because it will be digitally documented in an archive for public access.

Detailed documentation

The property developer spent three months documenting detailed images and videos of Pearl Bank Apartments.

This was done using drone scans of the external facade and 3D laser scans of various apartment types and the common areas.

The data was processed using photogrammetry technology, which produces measurements from images, and converting them into 3D models.

Here's a drone video of Pearl Bank Apartments' facade:

[video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2019/05/Digital-documentation_PB.mp4"][/video]

Here's a photorealistic rendering of Pearl Bank Apartments created using photogrammetry technology with drones:

Courtesy of CapitaLand.

And here's a scan of a typical four-bedroom unit in Pearl Bank Apartments:

Courtesy of CapitaLand.

These 3D models and AutoCAD (a programme used for 2D and 3D design and drafting) drawings of the building's floor plans, section plans and elevation plans have been submitted to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to archive at a later date.

According to CapitaLand, this is their way of "contributing towards the study of Singapore’s urban development, by making the knowledge accessible not just to researchers and students, but also everyone."

All photos and video courtesy of CapitaLand