Case Study
Chapel of the Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin Mary,
Flagstaff, Arizona
The Objective
In June 2025, Line and Circle had the privilege of commissioning the digital documentation of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The work was executed in two phases:
1. 3D laser scanning of the exterior of the Chapel
2. As-built documentation of the Chapel’s architectural details, specifically the gargoyles, buttresses, and buttress pinnacles
Figure 1. Front elevation is based on point cloud of the Chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Challenges
- The chapel is surrounded by dense vegetation, which interfered with LiDAR visibility, complicating scan registration and obscuring architectural details.
- Many cast stone elements, including gargoyles and buttresses, exhibited significant surface erosion due to aging concrete cladding.
- This degradation reduced the clarity and fidelity of the surface data in some areas, presenting challenges for post-processing and digital reconstruction.
- The chapel is located in a high-traffic area, which introduced movement-related disturbances during scanning, including pedestrian interruptions and environmental factors such as wind.
Figure 2. As-built documentation of one of the buttresses with cast stone details.
(a) Orthogonal image–based 2D CAD drawing,
(b) 2D CAD with segmented gargoyle and orthophoto overlay on the buttress side,
(c) Full orthophoto of the buttress in context.
Figure 3. Restitution drawings of buttress pinnacles and gargoyles based on digital documentation.
(a) Front elevation
(b) Side section
(c) Top view
(d) Perspective view generated from the final point cloud.
Our Approach
- Utilized high-accuracy terrestrial LiDAR scanning to capture the chapel’s exterior with 1/8” precision
- Developed a high-resolution point cloud dataset to serve as the basis for detailed documentation
- Generated RGB-textured, high-definition orthographic images of the facades and all 11 sets of architectural features: gargoyles, buttresses, and buttress pinnacles
Historical Context
Construction of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel began on September 20, 1929, led by architect Emmet G. Martin.
Learn more about the Chapel’s history
Results
A high-fidelity digital scan of
the chapel’s exterior and its
key structural ornamentation.
A future-proof digital
documentation set, formatted
for both CAD and state-of-the-
art BIM environments.
Supporting future interdisciplinary preservation
and conservation efforts
Scaled (up to 1:1) condition
recordings of exterior
elements for accurate
preservation and repair planning.
Want a Closer Look at these PDFs?
To have a copy of the PDF’s generated from
this project, contact our team today and we will send those out to you!