CyArk is a non-profit organization dedicated to digitally preserving cultural heritage sites. They do this by collecting, archiving, and providing open access to data created by laser scanning, digital modeling, and other state-of-the-art technologies….
Allied Works is an interdisciplinary architecture and design practice that operates from offices in New York City and Portland, Oregon. Founded by Brad Cloepfil in 1994, the practice has been defined by a deep concern for the landscape, human experienc…
Primary and secondary schools all over the world are using Google SketchUp, an amazing 3D modeling application. Shining examples of student work abound; take a look at Eric Yam’s space colony, Michael Hathorn’s history class project, or Andrew Nath…
In the second installment of our three-part series profiling Turner Construction Company, we turn our attention to the plugins Turner is developing to increase efficiencies across the global organization. Jim Barrett, Director of Integrated Building So…
The process of extruding one 2D profile such that it ends in another, different 2D profile is often called lofting. There’s no easy way to do this in plain ol’ SketchUp, but there are plenty of plugins that make it possible. The one I’ve been obses…
I’ve yet to meet a SketchUp modeler who doesn’t—at least just a little bit—want to work in the video game design industry. I get a stupid grin on my face when I think about how much fun it it would be to make battle tanks and exploding oil drum…
Paul from 3DOn Ltd. presented at an event I attended a month or so ago. After his presentation, I asked him if we could tell the SketchUp community about his product, 3DOn ARchitecture. He said yes, but at the time the app was only available in the UK….
Skelion was designed to make working in SketchUp quite a bit easier for solar professionals. It features the ability to automatically insert solar panels on SketchUp surfaces. Because the developers are solar professionals themselves, I have a feeling …
Our January and February 2012 SketchUp Authorized Training Center schedule is now available. The map below contains information on specific locations, dates, and courses provided:View in a larger map Posted by Shara Rice, SketchUp Training Team
Some architects begin new projects by creating a “bubble diagram” that turns the program — the list of space requirements for a building—into a set of shapes. Mostly, these diagrams are useful for figuring out adjacencies and loose spatial rela…
One of my new favorite sources of SketchUp inspiration and information (inspormation?) is Sketchup Ur Space. A virtual smorgasbord of articles, tips, forums and imagery, this website is sure to make you smile. There’s a monthly PDF magazine, too. The…
In the world of software, the designation “M2” refers to “Maintenance Release #2”. Maintenance releases are mini-versions that come out between major updates. They aren’t really about flashy new features; they’re more like tune-ups for your…
Back in architecture school, I once had to lay out a parking lot for a building I was designing. What a terrible, terrible exercise in nitpicky details and perpetual re-arrangement. The solution I came up with accommodated all of four Smart cars and a …
When you’re modeling a small room, it can be a pain to see what’s inside. The problem is that the walls and ceiling get in the way. One solution is to lop off the ceiling and work in a top view, dollhouse-style. Other folks set up scenes from the i…
Our Official Training Videos have been responsible for teaching literally millions of people to use SketchUp. Concepts of SketchUp, the first video in the old series, has been viewed over 7 million times. Collectively, people have spent something like …