Historic Building Documentation · Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Free Library

3D laser capture and Revit existing conditions modeling for the adaptive reuse of a former Carnegie library into MuseumLab — a creative space for older kids in Pittsburgh.

Start a Conversation View More Projects

Location Allegheny Square, Pittsburgh

Building Type Historic Carnegie Library

Approx. Size 45,000 SF

Client Team Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh + KoningEizenberg

Deliverable Revit Existing Conditions Model

A Grand Old Building, Reimagined

Measured for a new public life.

Some projects stand out because the work goes beyond documentation. This was one of them.

The former Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny was being transformed into MuseumLab, an extension of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh created for older youth to explore art, technology, making, and creative learning.

Pointknown was brought in to document the building and create a reliable Revit model of the existing conditions so the design team could move confidently into planning and design.

Historic buildings are full of surprises. Good design decisions start with accurate information.

Pointknown Revit model of the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny in Pittsburgh

Pointknown existing conditions Revit model of the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny.

Historic Character

Romanesque Revival detail, captured for design.

The building’s heavy masonry, arched openings, tower, stairs, roof forms, and layered interior volumes required a documentation process that could support real design decisions.

Existing conditions floor plan produced from Pointknown documentation of the Carnegie Free Library

Existing conditions floor plan derived from the documented building model.

The Challenge

Historic character, future use.

Adaptive reuse projects demand more than field measurements. They require a clear understanding of how an existing building is actually put together.

For this project, the building’s historic fabric, large-volume spaces, and varied conditions called for a capture strategy that balanced speed, coverage, and precision.

The design team needed a model they could actually design from — not just a cloud of data, but an organized existing-conditions foundation that supported planning, coordination, and reprogramming.

Our Approach

Terrestrial + SLAM capture, working together.

Pointknown used a combination of high-definition terrestrial laser scanning and SLAM-based mobile scanning to document the building efficiently and thoroughly.

Terrestrial scans were used to capture key exterior and interior conditions with precision. SLAM scanning helped cover the full interior more efficiently. The datasets were then registered into a unified point cloud and used to build the Revit existing conditions model.

Exterior + key interior scan coverage for high-confidence geometry.

SLAM capture for efficient interior documentation.

Unified point cloud organized for modeling and coordination.

Revit existing conditions model delivered for design use.

Architectural section view of the Carnegie Free Library Revit model

Early model / section view showing the building’s complex vertical relationships.

Allegheny Square Context

Capture that supports the building and the site around it.

For adaptive reuse work, the building is only part of the story. Access, entries, surrounding grades, sidewalks, and site context all shape how a project moves forward.

Deliverables

Existing conditions you can actually design from.

Our role was to make the building easier to understand — visually, spatially, and technically. The final deliverables helped the project team work from a coordinated understanding of the building as it existed.

3D Laser Capture Terrestrial and SLAM scanning for comprehensive building documentation.

Unified Point Cloud Registered data brought together into one coordinated capture environment.

Revit Model Existing conditions model developed for architectural planning and coordination.

Plans + Sections Clear architectural outputs created from the model for design reference.

Architectural section drawing of the Carnegie Free Library existing conditions model

Architectural section output from the existing conditions model.

Why It Mattered

Less guesswork before design begins.

When a historic building is being carefully reimagined, the design team needs dependable existing-conditions information from the start.

On projects like this, Pointknown helps teams move from complex existing conditions to practical design intelligence — a clearer basis for planning, coordination, renovation, and adaptive reuse.

This is one of our favorite types of work: a grand old building, documented carefully, so it can be given a new life in service of the public.

Then + Now

A civic building with another chapter ahead.

The former Carnegie library became MuseumLab — a place for older youth to keep creating, experimenting, and learning.

Project Media

Model views, documentation, and context.

Architectural rendering of the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny Revit model in Allegheny Square Pittsburgh context — Architectural rendering created from the Pointknown Revit model, shown in Allegheny Square context.

Detailed Revit model of Carnegie Free Library — Updated existing conditions Revit model view.

Existing conditions floor plan of Carnegie Free Library — Existing conditions floor plan developed from the model.

Architectural section of Carnegie Free Library existing conditions model — Architectural section output from the Revit documentation.

Exterior tower photograph of Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny — Exterior tower photograph showing Romanesque Revival stone detail.

Exterior photograph of Carnegie Free Library in Pittsburgh — Exterior photograph showing the building in its Pittsburgh context.

Aerial context view of Carnegie Free Library in Pittsburgh — Aerial context view of the Carnegie Free Library at Allegheny Square.

Historic photograph of Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny — Historic image showing the building’s long civic presence.

Early Revit model exterior view of Carnegie Free Library — Early model view showing the tower, stairs, and main building massing.

Early Revit model roof and rear view of Carnegie Free Library — Roof and rear massing captured in the existing conditions model.

Early Revit model aerial roof view of Carnegie Free Library — Aerial model view showing roof geometry and internal massing relationships.

Early Revit model front entrance and arched facade of Carnegie Free Library — Primary entry, stairs, turrets, and arched façade conditions.

Renovation · Adaptive Reuse · Historic Documentation

Start with existing conditions you can trust.

Pointknown captures complex existing buildings and turns them into clear, usable deliverables for design teams — from Revit models and CAD plans to scan data, site context, and visual documentation.

Contact Pointknown