Architectural plans using Sketchup models

SketchUp Pro
1

Hello all:

I’m an architect interested in learning how to develop Sketchup models into plans suitable for client presentations and city submittals. I’m currently mostly using AutoCAD and feel like I’m in the dark ages.

Is anybody using Sketchup for this?

If so, any tips on a good learning source?

Austin

2

That would be the purpose of Layout, part of the SketchUp install. You can search youtube for Layout for architectural presentation and most likely find a number of tutorials. There are also a number of extensions that attempt to streamline the process of documentation for drawings. 5D+ is a popular one.

3

Check out books by Nick Sonder, Matt Donley and Mike Brightman.

The books are old now but the fundamental principles are the same.

Also search YouTube for those authors – they have videos about their process.

4

Hi Mark - Got it on Layout. I was wondering whether or not it contains enough tools to create comlete construction document plans, and if it’s commonly used for that.

I’m also wondering if the plans can be exported to DWG or other formats commonly used by engineers.

Any thoughts on these?

5

Hi Paul - thanks for the reply. I’ll check out books by those authors and will pick one up.

best, Austin

6

Yes. I use a plugin for this out of SketchUp. You can also export out of LayOut to DWG but I’ve never done that. .

7

I find those requesting DWG only need basic line information. So I will export a DWG direct from SU, showing only the REQUIRED linework and back it up with relevant PDF’s. The recipient is usually happy because they don’t have to clean up a complex DWG file and you have saved them a lot of time inputting things manually from the PDF.

8

And I will add that what DGSketcher does is exactly what I do.

9

Agreed on that - I find my consultants prefer shared DWG drawings to be as simple as possible since they typically freeze layers and/or purge out unnecessary stuff anyway. Thanks again for sharing. I’m now feeling more confident that I could just about exclusively use Sketchup from conceptual design to CD’s once I get past the learning curve. Revit, as amazaing at it is, just seems way too complicated for my needs, and my longstanding AutoCAD LT setup belongs in a museum.

10

I can recommend the tools and workflow from 5D+ architectural documentation: scene creation/management, hatching, grid lines, level lines, tagging objects like windows and even annotations.