Building Footprints Mapping and Attribute Assembly

Between 2010 and 2023, Grace GIS delivered a series of building footprint mapping and attribute assembly projects that progressively improved the accuracy, consistency, and usability of built-form data across Melbourne Water–managed areas. Using evolving technologies—from early photogrammetric methods to modern LiDAR and high-resolution aerial imagery; we created and refined building footprint datasets that support planning, modelling, and asset management.

The most recent update in 2023 utilised 2021–23 aerial photography to produce highly accurate footprint polygons and assemble key building attributes, ensuring Melbourne Water has an up-to-date representation of built assets across its catchments. Earlier, in 2018, we integrated LiDAR-derived elevation surfaces with detailed imagery to capture roof structures, complex forms, and fine-scale geometry.

Updates delivered in 2013, 2012, and 2010 ensured the continuous improvement of legacy datasets, correcting spatial inaccuracies, standardising attributes, and aligning building footprints with modern GIS and hydrological modelling requirements. These incremental enhancements created a robust, reliable, and long-term building dataset that supports flood modelling, risk assessment, infrastructure planning, and environmental analysis.

Together, these projects provide Melbourne Water with a comprehensive and long-standing evidence base for understanding the built environment and its interactions with waterways, catchments, and critical infrastructure.