Customer Stories

As more countries move to preserve their historic relics, one Vietnamese municipality is turning to 3D laser scanning to document its treasured buildings, with excellent results. The Saigon Opera House, a beloved structure that has served as a performing arts facility and government building, has returned to its roots as an events venue and the local government wants to ensure it can be rebuilt should anything happen. overview Location HO CHI MINH CITY VIETNAM TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS With modern advancements continuing to creep further into our lives, many governments are realizing the importance of saving historic relics. In Vietnam's capital Ho Chi Minh City, for instance, there are more than 150 historic structures including the Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Museum of Fine Arts. Perhaps one of the most cherished buildings in the city is the Saigon Municipal Opera House, built in 1897 by a French architect who created what is the country's best example of Vietnamese beaux arts. The elegant three- story structure, in the heart of downtown, has been a major tourist attraction for decades. To preserve the Opera House's place in history, the Department of Culture and Sports decided to create a 3D model of the building's façade. Creating a 3D representation would help the government restore the opera house if it ever needed to be repaired or replaced. A 3D model would ensure that the building's detail and design was safely preserved. The Department of Culture and Sports selected VMT, a full-service consulting and engineering firm, to handle the project. Huynh Si Nguyen, co-founder of VMT Solutions Ltd, said his company was contacted in May 2020 about scanning the Opera House. VMT has scanned other old buildings in the city including Saigon's City Hall. "The Saigon Opera House is very important because it has been a part of Vietnamese culture for more than 100 years," he said. They chose the Trimble X7 3D laser scanner and Trimble RealWorks software to complete the task. "The mapping needed to be extremely accurate," Nguyen said. VMT used the Trimble X7 to scan around the façade of the building to measure the exterior conditions and

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