The University of Rhode Island was founded in 1892 and is the second largest University in the state of Rhode Island. The campus is home to many large laboratories, lecture halls, and dormitories, including a brand-new Engineering Complex currently in construction. This left the old engineering hall to be renovated and that task was up to Ballinger of Philadelphia.
The building in question, known as Bliss Hall, is a 5-story split level lecture hall and laboratory space constructed using mostly old masonry. The existing record drawings for the structure dated back to its creation in the 1920s and were in need of an update. The architects hired Sebago Technics to modify the existing record model and update it to meet the as-built condition of the building. Utilizing High Definition Laser Scanning the Sebago team took 4 days, setting up over 200 times which maximized data collection on-site. With the point cloud data processed, the model could be manipulated to match the existing conditions, allowing the designers the accuracy they needed to properly renovate the interior of the building.
