What functionality is missing in SketchUp that would help you with your design process? (Urban Design & Architecture)

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Hi, fellow urban designers and architects!

Our team of computer nerds who understand the urban design and architecture space got an idea to ask you, experts in the field if there’s any functionality missing in SketchUp that would improve your workflow?

What would help you focus more on the design and creation and spend less time doing paperwork, compliance verification, calculation, or other manual tasks that can be easily outsourced to computers?

We have already build a few solutions like:

  1. One-click parametric buildings & city-blocks creation from 2D faces
    The_easy_way_of_converting_2D_AutoCAD_to_3D_Urban_Massing_in

  2. Responsive & parametric design modification with automatic real-time data calculation
    Calculating Parameters upon building modification (scaling) (1)

  3. Integrate zoning rules into your design for automatic complience verification
    Set-design-requirements-img

    Real Time Regulations Warnings.

  4. Live data synchronization with Excel Spreadsheets to save you from exporting your model data and makes it easy to compare multiple design options
    Modelur offers Life Sync with Excel.

  5. Custom land use and unit specification (I don’t have an image, so here’s an explanation)
    Example: Calculate the number of offices with a specific office size in a building. You can also specify the number of parking spaces you need per office and calculate the sum of parking spaces needed.

These are just a few functionalities we have built, and now we’re wondering what else would you need that would make your design process simpler?

Feel free to reply with your ideas.

And if you think our functionalities are already useful for your workflow, we’re currently opening a new partnership program. We’ll give 100 development hours to build custom solutions for free to a few companies that are willing to commit to a 3-year Modelur plan.

You can reach out to gasper.cerar[at]modelur[dot]com if you want to apply.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to see what else would you need :slight_smile:

Best,
Gašper

2 Likes
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I don’t see in your dialogs a place to enter …

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Hi Dan,

If you want to post your suggestions you can do it right here in the reply or send me an email to gasper.cerar[at]modelur[dot]com.

Also, if you’re interested in our partnership program just send me an email and we’ll talk further.

Thanks,
Gašper

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I am not. I am not myself in the urban design and architecture space planning business.

But I have had to deal with residential property lines, deed restrictions and local codes for improvements and fixing hurricane damage.

Where we are in E. Florida there are different setbacks for the frontage facing the street, the sides and the back (depending upon whether the back directly adjoins another lot, a power easement or a right-of-way like an alley.)

It also depends upon what the design lot is zoned (residential or commercial) and what adjoining lot is zoned (residential or commercial.) There might also be variance where there exists older construction that does not follow existing code with regard to setbacks.

Since these setback dimensions are likely to vary from one location to another even within a region (like a county or state,) I don’t think it is feasible to attempt to program automatic setback calculation.

Rather just provide an edit form so that a project lot can be manually assigned a setback dimension for each perimeter segment.