An example method performed by a processing system includes obtaining a light detecting and ranging point cloud of a building, where the point cloud includes a plurality of points, and where each point is associated with a set of (x,y,z) coordinates. A first point of the plurality of points is assigned to a subset of the plurality of points that is associated with the building, where the subset includes points whose (x,y) coordinates fall within a footprint of the building. The first point is grouped into a first cluster according to at least one of: a (z) coordinate of the first point and a gradient to which the first point belongs. A first prism formed by the first cluster is constructed. A model of the building is stored as a plurality of connected prisms, where the plurality of connected prisms includes the first prism.