Purpose built archival solution for architectsural studio

Since its inception in 1992, the group Jančina Architects has aimed to provide comprehensive services to its clients in architecture, interiors & design, planning & urban design, engineering and project management.

CHALLENGE

Architectural firms hold large amounts of valuable documentation consisting of designs, planning records, territorial applications and approvals, construction procedures, tender documentation and implementation documentation.

It is often necessary to archive significant volumes of documents and provide them to the owner of the building in a paper form. As time passes, these documents, holding critical information, can be lost or damaged. Our client was searching for a solution that would safely store the necessary documents for the lifetime of a building, while minimizing the costs of storing and maintaining documents.

SOLUTION

The Jančina Architects Group chose Piql to archive and store the architectural and construction documentation for AUPARK Bratislava Shopping Centre.

This included:

  • the preparation of paper documentation for digital archives
  • digitization of paper documents
  • extraction of metadata
  • online accessibility
  • permanent digital and visual offline storage

In total, over 28,000 pages of paper documents were prepared and processed prior to being digitized, with metadata extraction enabling full-text search.

"Digitization, archival and long-term storage offered by Piql is the ideal solution for long-term storage of documentation with lower maintenance costs for our archives.”

All files are compliant with OAIS archival standards with the addition of an open-source code  written on piqlFilm, which ensures that the data and documents can always be read independently of the prevalent technology in the future. 

With this solution, the client has access without limitation to archived documents, which were previously stored only in paper form, overcoming the risk that the information could be destroyed over time. The documents are now stored in two places – online on the client’s servers and on piqlFilm. 

When submitting the project documentation to the owner of the object, the architect can also submit a copy of files and documents to the developer (third party) on piqlFilm and guarantees authenticity, inalterability, immediate and lifelong access to the original data.

Piql’s solution also resulted in freeing valuable storage space and increasing searchability and findability of the collection, creating value for the organization.

BENEFITS OF THIS SOLUTION

  • quick access to both online and offline documents
  • long-term digital archiving on a resilient and secure medium
  • OAIS formats for future accessibility
  • cost-efficient