With this accurate & up-to-date 3D Model of London, architects can visualise their designs in city-wide context. But how do you design in fast changing environment like London? Sandor Petroczi from AccuCities offers architects way to see into the future.

3D city models are increasingly used by architects, developers and local authorities to inform design, communicate proposals and to visualise planned developments in the context of wider urban environment.

Although almost every major global city has one or more 3D models, they are very rarely up to date and consistent. Affordability and ease of use are another often cited barrier to wider adoption of 3D city models. London-based start-up AccuCities aims to address these issues with their brand new 3D Model of London.

“We have tailored our models to be as ease to use as possible,” says Sandor Petroczi, AccuCities founder and Director. “The data is available as AutoCad, SketchUp or FBX files. For customers that require the ability to quickly create state of the art presentations and simulations, we also imported our 3D Model of London into Unreal Engine 4.”

AccuCities captured the initial 25km² High Detail 3D Model of London from the latest 2016 High-Res imagery using photogrammetry. The model is accurate to an incredible 15cm (6 inches) in all axes and all major features visible from aerial survey are included.

“Every point in the model is manually captured by one of our skilled 3D modellers,” continues Sandor, “There are very few automated processes involved in the production of this model. To be able to achieve the required level of detail and accuracy, we found this process – although time consuming and expensive – to be the best option. The resulting 3D Model is accurate, with clean geometry, highly usable, ready for 3D printing… all those things that architects and planners expect from a contemporary 3D city model.”

AccuCities plan to enlarge their 3D Model of London to 40km² by January 2018 and 105km² by January 2019. captured the initial 25km² High Detail 3D Model of London is from the latest 2016 High-Res imagery using photogrammetry. The model is accurate to an incredible 15cm (6 inches) in all axes and all major features visible from aerial survey are included. The model will also be continuously updated and upgraded – the intention is to update the model at least every 2 years.

But in London, where planning of major developments can take best part of 10 years, architects want to know how the area will look when these developments are actually built. For those clients the company is also building 3D Models of all all major consented developments.

“It’s like giving our customers superpowers – with our 3D Model of London, they can literally see into the future! As we want this model to be as widely adopted as possible, our 3D Models can be purchased as both small and medium sized models but also as a subscription to full access to the entire dataset for a very affordable monthly fee. We are certain that access to this 3D city model will benefit all stakeholders and will result in better urban design for all Londoners.”

Originally published on Digital Journal