New 3D city model from the Business Location Center

Berlin plays a leading role throughout Europe in the digital economy – as of today a 3D city model of the German capital is available to the public as Open Data. Until now Internet users have had the opportunity to explore the city of Berlin online by using the Business Location Center’s realistic model from Berlin Partner for Business and Technology – now they can also use the data. Regard-less of whether for scientists, game developers, city planners, architects or graphic designers, the large-scale model of Berlin is available as a free download.

Around 550,000 buildings covering 890 km² of city space were photographed from the air and measured in order to create the model. The 3D building data of the city is now being prepared via a web-based service portal as part of the Open Data initiative from the State of Berlin. The Open Data model enables users to refer to both the original CityGML data for the entire city model as well as sections of the city and to use it for their own purposes. Individual buildings or parts of the city can be selected and downloaded in a variety of 3D data formats over a service interface. “The model provides a unique foundation for research and development for technology-based companies, startups of the digital economy and scientific institutions. The model helps strengthen Berlin’s pio-neering role as a digital and innovative city in Europe,” said Dr. Stefan Franzke, Managing Director of Berlin Partner for Business and Technology.

According to Prof. Dr. Jürgen Döllner, Chair of the Department for Computer Graphics Systems at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, the city model provides a unique data base: “We plan to use the Berlin 3D city model in the research and development of processes and IT solutions for the visualization and analysis of 3D spatial models. Specifically, we want to use the model in the field of “Urban Analytics” as the basis for communication of complex spatial data and processes,” he stated.

The 3D city model is a project by the Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Research and Berlin Partner for Business and Technology. The Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Research is releasing the LoD2 building data and the digitally recorded surface models from 2013 for free download as part of the Open Data initiative from the State of Berlin.