Ten passionate individuals, deeply rooted in their local Cornwall, UK community, form the Marraum Architects team. Led by Adam Laskey and his wife, Daisy Sawle, their firm dedicates itself to delivering unmatched value by transforming their clients' homeownership dreams into reality – which Adam and Daisy achieve by utilizing reality capture technology.
Marraum Architects works directly with clients – the homeowners themselves – to deliver 3D models and VR tours of houses, both existing and yet to be built, to enable a complete understanding of their homes, with stunning visuals and high accuracy – all through 3D laser scanning. And they intentionally keep their team and their list of projects small so that they can deliver the best possible results to their clients and keep their focus on their community and the architecture within it.
We always want to add value to our projects, and we live local, work local, and it creates this nice environment where we enjoy what we’re doing,” Adam said. “We can focus on our clients and deliver digital representations of their homes, which is exactly what they need.
Adopting Virtual Reality (VR) with the BLK360
From day one, Marraum Architects' main interest was adopting new technology that is non-traditional in architecture.
“We decided from the start, over 10 years ago, to be very much technology-driven,” Adam said.
The traditional methods of measurement and modeling were restricting, so they realized a change was necessary to create environments they love and projects that resonate with their clients. Their vision was a practice where sophisticated digital 3D designs could become a foundation for homeowners to see and understand their homes. VR became the bedrock of this dream, and adopting it led them to be the first firm in the Southwest UK, and possibly nationwide, to standardize VR in their field.
“We’ve been using VR since 2013 and as a standard business practice since 2016.” Adam said. “It’s not a massive expense – but it allows you to offer the best service to your clients.”
How do they get there? It all begins with a scan by the BLK360 imaging laser scanner.
Buy the best kit to offer the best service
Marraum provides multiple services, but they focus on two areas: documenting public structures, such as old village halls, and documenting family homes and producing VR models of new builds. And they believe in delivering excellence, reflected in their ethos, explained by Adam. "Buy the best kit: it lasts. Offer the best service: it's what your clients deserve." This principle guided them into the world of laser scanning.
“We did our research, and we thought, ‘Yes, we can make this work,’” Adam said. “The BLK360 fits into our company and what we want to do.”
Marraum had tried other scanning technologies, but they demanded a tool that could match their need for precision without compromising efficiency. They also needed a scanner that would save valuable time. Their search ended with the BLK360. Its measurement accuracy supersedes what was previously available to Marraum, and the scanner delivers consistent precision, enabling them to document entire properties.
The BLK360 proved a game-changer, effortlessly integrating into their operations without sacrificing their commitment to quality.
Scanning new homes and old stone halls
While Marraum Architects focuses on homes, they also scan local age-old buildings, known for their formidable stone walls and challenging asymmetries. Using traditional methods, this was a daunting task. The BLK360 breathed new life into Marraum's approach. A task that would take two surveyors, often subcontractors, over a day was reduced to mere hours, delivering much higher-quality results. The scanner revealed architectural elements that often eluded traditional measurement methods.
For example, Marraum scanned a small village hall, where they assumed trusses would be square – and they were slightly twisted.
“Given the age of the building we surveyed, I would consider that more traditional surveying techniques may not have picked up the twisted structure. It did not conform to principle that would otherwise make sense. Perpendicular to walls, parallel to another truss, et cetera,” Daisy said. “The scanner picked up this detail without us needing to put any more effort into figuring out what was going on. The information was there because of the accuracy of the scanner."
“I wanted to know if there was anything we were missing; we can rely on a piece of tech like this to find those issues,” Adam said.
And the benefits of 3D laser scanning also apply to family homes – Marraum’s main focus.
When we would survey a 3-bedroom home, it would take two in-house surveyors an entire day to measure the house,” Adam said. “But doing it with the BLK360, we can scan a 3-bedroom home within 2 hours, and already we’re drawing up the model of a recent scan,” Adam said. “It’s such a time-saver. It’s a bit of a no-brainer, really – and the quality? So much more accurate.
Software workflow, 3D models, and VR
After exploring the benefits of 3D laser scanning, Marraum gained a new perspective on VR with the BLK360. Their bespoke client experiences were enhanced as they transported homeowners into fully realized virtual homes, all seen through a VR headset where clients can “move” through the 3D digital model of their home. The VR experience became a standard component of their service - offering clarity, reducing risk, and streamlining the construction process.
“We first started using VR when we spoke to a friend who games in VR. As a software developer, he showed us the power of the technology and helped us convert our 3D modeling into software that would show the plans in a virtual environment,” Adam explained.
“We have all of this 3D content at our fingertips, and surely, if we can have a gaming experience like that, we can definitely put a 3D model in a 3D environment. We got a new build house design into a VR platform, put on the headset, and ‘stood’ by the front door and immediately thought, ‘We need one of these.’ Within a month, we were up and running.”
Marraum’s workflow is to import BLK360 point clouds into Leica Cyclone REGISTER 360 PLUS for registration, and then move those registered point clouds into ArchiCAD, where they build their 3D models. From there, they go to VR.
“The point cloud from our scanner can seamlessly be imported into our drawing software, ArchiCAD. It is in this software we can explore the point cloud taking sections throughout the building which will give us an accurate representation of the building we are surveying,” Daisy explained.
“We then use the tools within ArchiCAD to trace over the point cloud to create an accurate 3D model of the building. Once we have the 3D model in our drawing software, we are able to come up with designs to suit our client’s brief. These ideas are modelled and easily converted into VR using an integrated plugin where we can run the VR software and ArchiCAD parallel, making live changes to the design before showing it to our clients.”
By integrating laser scanning and VR into their workflow, the Marraum Architects team provides services that exceed client expectations. With an ambitious vision to keep accurate 3D modeling in-house, they utilized the BLK360 to deliver high-quality, time-efficient results that fit perfectly with their VR tech.
However, as part of their standard package of deliverables, Marraum did not want to increase the cost of their services just for laser scanning and VR. “We never wanted to include the VR experience as an additional cost – we don’t pass the cost along to our clients,” Adam said. “It saves time because of the clarity – the homeowner quickly understands everything that we’re going to do.”
“And it seems strange, within architecture – the standard is still 2D plans,” Adam added. “But your biggest asset is your home. How many people would buy a home just by looking at a floor plan? You don’t. You go and visit it. But you can also put on a VR headset and take the opportunity to walk around your future virtual home.”
Adam explained that all it takes is for a couple, for example, to both look at the VR model. Each of them notices different things that open a route of conversation about their home and which decisions to make that might be missed if they didn’t have that visual tool in front of them.
“It’s their house, their money, and they need the security in what they’re buying into, which we’re able to provide,” Adam said. “And the scanner fits right into that whole process. How do we get the most accurate model possible? The answer is the BLK360.”
Delivering exceptional designs
Adam gave an example of what his 3D models can do for clients – and how the BLK360 helps produce them.
“We live in a beautiful part of the UK, and we work with lots of properties that have stunning views. When you use the scanner to gather detailed information of the surroundings, you can transfer this data into a virtual room.” Adam said. “Now we can move around the property, pinpointing lines of sight and say, ‘when you stand here, you’ll be able to see the castle or the beach.’”
“The accuracy of the scanner gets us there,” he added, “and we can deliver those beautiful, framed vistas, through our architecture, to our clients.”
