Architectural_Design_with_SketchUp

Chapter 3 Using SketchUp to Inform Your Designs
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As a programming tool—When laying out building
programs, it is possible to easily “block” out
areas and spaces and arrange them in SketchUp
(see Figure 3.20). It is even possible to create
these spaces based on data from external software—examples
are the Onuma Planning System
and Trelligence Affinity.
As a building energy analysis tool—With a
building’s energy performance more frequently
being included into early stages of design, it is
possible to use SketchUp as a rough modeling
tool (these models often need to consist only of
simple faces to work well) and an analysis preprocessor.
Some of the available software then
exchanges the SketchUp-created energy model
with an external energy analysis program or with
other BIM applications using the gbXML (green
building XML) format.
A list of currently available plugins and an example are included in Chapter 4.
As a mock-up building and constructability analysis tool—While BIM software
is able to create 3D models of sometimes very complex buildings, these are often not
executed at a level of detail that might include individual studs or bricks. If 3D assembly
models are required to evaluate or explain details, it is sometimes more efficient to do
them in SketchUp and later import them into the construction documentation set.
As shown in the preceding examples, SketchUp can be used very effectively to create
mock-ups and test assemblies as long as a strict component-based modeling approach
is followed.
As a geo-based modeling tool—One of SketchUp’s strengths is that it is tightly integrated
with geo-based tools, which are:
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Figure 3.20: Space planning in SketchUp
The ortho-photographs (mostly satellite photography) that you know from Google
Maps and Google Earth. You can add them to your model and thereby geo-locate
your model. You can even export your model to Google Earth afterward.
Terrain models (at varying detail levels) for the entire globe. A terrain is automatically
imported when you geo-locate your model using the tool shown in Figure 3.21. Use
the Toggle Terrain button to show it.
Chapter 4 includes an example using SketchUp’s terrain information to create a layered
terrain model.
Street View imagery. These are car-top-height panoramic images of almost every
accessible street in many cities. You can include them in your model using the Photo
Textures window (for example, to texture the sides of a building).
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