New technology gives unique view of Northland, and New Zealand's oldest building

3D laser scanning technology has created a high-precision model of New Zealand's oldest stone building, Kerikeri's Stone Store.

A Kerikeri engineering firm has used state of the art 3D laser scanning technology to create a high-precision model of New Zealand's oldest stone building.

Vision Consulting Engineers used a series of scans both inside and outside Kerikeri's Stone Store to capture a moment in time in the building's 185-year history. The engineers used technology that projects, then records, hundreds of millions of points of light to create a virtual picture of the historic landmark.

The data points both inside and outside the Stone Store were then drawn together by Engineering Technician, Callum Smith, using advanced computer programming to produce views of the interior and exterior of the building from a multitude of angles.

"The results are accurate to within a couple of millimetres and literally give us a snapshot in time of this extraordinary building," says Vision Consulting Senior Civil Engineer Ben Perry.

"This technology isn't new but the equipment and software we have used is cutting edge and we were really impressed with the results it gave us."

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff were also impressed – not just with the imaging, but also the potential heritage applications the scanning and software technology could provide.

"These might range from extremely accurate recording of collection items within a historic building, through to detailed assessment of conservation and maintenance of heritage structures, and even the possibility of providing virtual tour experiences," Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Northland Regional Archaeologist Dr James Robinson said.

The scanning project was undertaken partly to showcase the potential of the technology, but also because – in Ben's words – "it was a cool thing to do."

"This technology is often used in construction projects for things like quantity surveying. We wanted to put it through its paces in a completely different context and for a very different purpose and the Stone Store was the perfect test for us," he said.

The digital information will be given to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga free of charge.