3D Base Camp: The First SketchUp User Conference

SketchUp has come of age! Four years after its crowd-pulling launch at the AIA 2001 National Convention and Expo (described in Cadence AEC Tech News #51 ), its usage has grown large enough to warrant its own user conference. Dubbed "3D Base Camp," the first SketchUp user conference was held last week in Boulder, Colorado where @Last Software, the company behind SketchUp, is based. Compared to the user conferences of larger AEC software vendors, the SketchUp user conference was a relatively smaller event, with the number of attendees limited to a little over 300, which was the maximum number the conference venue (St. Julien Hotel) could accommodate. Needless to say, considering the popularity of SketchUp, the event was sold out well in advance of the conference. I had the opportunity to attend this event and spend three days in a rarified atmosphere of cool technology, learning about the next product @Last is working on, the upcoming features in SketchUp, features that users would like to see, the partnership between Google and @Last that allows SketchUp models to be viewed in Google Earth, amazing user work done in SketchUp, Ruby scripting that allows SketchUp functionality to be extended, how to work with large models in SketchUp, other tips and tricks, the use of SketchUp for 3D construction modeling, and last but not the least, how architecture, technology, and ecology come together in the keynote address by noted author and thinker, Stewart Brand.

What I didn't see at all—and nobody really missed much either—were corporate pitches from the @Last management about the company, the industry, the market, and so on. The focus was completely and unabashedly on the technology and its users, which is what made the conference seem like a breath of fresh air compared to other user conferences. The beautiful environs of the city of Boulder, where the conference was held, only added to the charm.

This issue of the AECbytes newsletter captures the highlights of the sessions I attended at 3D Base Camp and my impressions of the conference as a whole. (For more information on SketchUp, see my recent review of the latest version, SketchUp 5. Also see the recent AECbytes Viewpoint article, " De-Vendoring AEC Software " by Mark Sawyer, CEO of @Last Software.)

@Last Software's Next Offering!

From my perspective, the most exciting session at the conference had to be "Beyond SketchUp," where @Last Software provided a sneak peek into their next product. It was hard to imagine at first what the company could possibly do after developing the coolest 3D design tool available. And why bother? Why not just sit back and reap the benefits of developing a product that has proved to be successful beyond all expectations? But @Last Software proves that it is in the nature of an innovator to continue to innovate, and so they couldn't help thinking beyond SketchUp. What they have come up with is a 2D presentation graphics and page layout tool that is very close to SketchUp in spirit—it is simple, intuitive, and easy to use. Code-named "Grizzly," the application is essentially a page layout tool in which you can place text, images, views of SketchUp models, etc., on multiple pages, with the ability to create background graphics such as a title block that will run across all the pages. Essentially, you can create a sheet set that can be presented to the client as a slideshow in full screen mode, printed, or distributed in PDF format to all interested parties. Where Grizzly really differs from other page layout and presentation tools such as Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Powerpoint, and so on, is in its ability to interact with the images of the SketchUp models that are placed on the pages. These images are actually viewports into the 3D model, so you can change the view of the model that appears in the viewport by zooming, panning, orbiting, and so on. You can also access the views and pages that have been saved in the SketchUp model and set the viewport to the required view or page, as well as run SketchUp animations within the viewport.

Some other aspects of the application that were demonstrated were the ability to choose a template for the layout; scaling and copying images; smart inferencing and snaps that makes it easier to place images in desired alignments; labels that are attached to images and stay connected when the image is moved; the ability to create red-lines in presentation mode that are saved in a separate layer and can be reviewed at any time; inserting drawing markers and other symbols from libraries of shapes and components; a free-hand tool for graphically touching-up any image; and a library of presentation styles (similar to filters in Photoshop) that can be applied to a SketchUp image to change its display on the fly. Grizzly includes simple drawing and text tools but no dimensioning tools, and the company is very emphatic in that it is not trying to create yet another 2D CAD application. Grizzly is basically a presentation and layout tool to complement the use of 3D modeling done in SketchUp. The link to the original SketchUp file is preserved in the form of a reference, which allows the images to be automatically updated if the model is changed.

Grizzly is still some months away from being complete, and there is no word on pricing yet. Even the name of the product is still to be selected, and the conference attendees were invited to offer their suggestions. Watch out for a detailed review of this product in AECbytes once it is released.

Future Features in SketchUp: What's Coming and What Users Want

@Last Software had a dedicated session to demonstrate four new features in SketchUp they were working on and invited feedback on them from the conference attendees. The first was a " watermark image " that can be placed in the foreground, such as a logo, descriptive text, labels, and so on; or in the background, such as a paper texture, gradient fill, and so on. This image can be placed on a single page, or on all the pages, and remains as a static overlay or underlay that doesn't change when the model view is modified.

The second feature, which is particularly relevant to architectural users, is " fat faces ." Recall that one of the limitations I had pointed out in my review of SketchUp 5 was the lack of a double-line feature that would make it easier to model realistic walls, slabs, roofs, etc., all of which are currently modeled as single-line surfaces. The fat faces feature is an innovative solution to this problem, where a material can be given a thickness instead of a specific element. So, for instance, a wall can be modeled with a brick texture that is set to the desired thickness, and any doors and windows subsequently inserted in that wall will make the correct cuts in the material thickness. Users will be able to control the justification of the thickness relative to the modeled surface. Once the design is finalized and plans and sections need to be derived, the fat faces can be exploded into geometry to yield accurate section slices that have double lines capturing the material thickness. This capability will allow a single SketchUp model to be created for exploring both the interior and exterior aspects of the building, and also enable SketchUp to become a better bridge between the initial conceptual 3D design process and the later detailed BIM (building information modeling) process in building design.

Another new feature that was demonstrated was the ability to adjust a 3D perspective grid over a 2D site photograph brought into SketchUp and then model 3D elements with respect to the grid. This would make it easier to model as-built conditions in SketchUp. Labeled " been there, drawn that ," this capability will eventually be extended to work with multiple photographs of the site.

And finally, @Last Software demonstrated " flexible styles " for SketchUp, similar to the presentation styles concept shown for Grizzly. This allows various display aspects in SketchUp such as line styles, extensions, jitters, watermark images, face colors, and so on to be captured in a file than can then be applied to specific objects or to the entire model in a view. So, for instance, in a building model, the main project can be displayed in one style and all the other buildings making up the site context can be displayed in a different style. Every office can create its own personal collection of styles that can be standardized and used across all its projects. Other new display techniques that will be introduced to work with flexible styles are the ability to create a line style in an imaging application like Photoshop and use that to display edges in SketchUp, as well as the ability to add a depth effect to a view, where lines are bolder in the foreground and thinner in the background. The adjustment to the depth effect can be done interactively.

The @Last team cautioned that all these features were currently at the prototype stage, and there was no guarantee that they will make it to the final product. But the audience reaction to the demonstration was very positive, and the most frequent question being asked was: "How soon can we get these?" In addition, the attendees was invited to share the features they would like to see in SketchUp and the wish-list was long enough to keep @Last Software busy for several years: more dimensioning and annotation tools so that users wouldn't need to resort to another 2D CAD application for producing construction documentation; ability to add accurate indoor and external lighting to the model; more photorealistic rendering options; the ability to derive accurate quantity and cost estimates from a Sketch model; the ability to create wall assemblies as components; version control with check in and check-out capabilities for large, collaborative projects; and so on. How many of these features will actually be incorporated in SketchUp remains to be seen. Despite @Last Software's disinclination to "not beat the CAD drum," it seems as though most of its users would like to have that capability so that they can continue to use the tool they love for modeling as well as drafting. As one attendee put it, "Everyone has CAD and everyone hates it," so a 2D edition of SketchUp would be very welcome. The company is also determined to add new features to SketchUp without increasing its complexity, so many new enhancements may come in the form of plug-ins or separate programs, of which the upcoming Grizzly application is a good example.

Google Earth and SketchUp

In my last article, " Hurricanes and their Aftermath: How Can Technology Help?" I had briefly described a recently introduced technology from Google called Google Earth that was being increasingly used to capture and share geospatial data related to the recent hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. Google Earth is essentially a 3D browser for geographic information—you can type an address and zoom right into the location, search for points of interest, get driving directions, as well as tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings. While the basic service is free, there are additional add-ons that can be purchased including Google Earth Plus, which adds GPS device support, the ability to import spreadsheets, drawing tools, and better printing; and Google Earth Pro for professional and commercial users needing location information in various industries, including AEC and real estate.

A recent partnership between Google and @Last Software has resulted in an intriguing juxtaposition of two cool technologies. If you are designing a building project, you can start by using Google Earth to locate the site geographically. A new snapshot tool that will be introduced in SketchUp will allow this site data in Google Earth to be brought into SketchUp, with the correct terrain heights and geo-referencing information. The design can then be conceptualized in SketchUp in the context of the actual site. And finally, when the design is complete, the SketchUp model can be exported back into Google Earth as a KMZ (compressed XML) file with the correct geo-referencing information, so that it can be viewed on the actual site by anyone using Google Earth who has access to that file. An example of a SketchUp model—which is, in fact, of the hotel, St. Julien, where the conference was held—correctly positioned in its geographical location in Boulder within the Google Earth interface is shown in Figure 1. Once positioned in Google Earth, the view can be rotated, zoomed, and so on to see the model from all sides and in more detail. Of the various examples of 3D models within Google Earth that were shown, a striking one was that of the Statue of Liberty, seen within the New York city imagery. The model had over 36,000 polygons, but its view could still be manipulated in real time in Google Earth.

Other Conference Highlights

The keynote address at 3D Base Camp was presented by Stewart Brand, the author of "How Buildings Learn," which explores vernacular adaptations in architecture, and the more recent, "The Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility," which advocates a longer-term vision of information and engineering. He has contributed several progressive ideas in the fields of ecology, architecture and technology, and was the visionary behind the Whole Earth Catalog that featured products for individual self-education and community development, for which he received the National Book Award in 1972. He is currently a co-founder of the All Species Inventory and the Long Bets Foundation, and a consultant with the Global Business Network and EcoTrust. He is also the president of the Long Now Foundation , which is building a library and a 10,000-year clock (the subject of his recent book) that ticks every year and gongs every century. He also happens to be a SketchUp user, who started using the tool to design his house and subsequently also used it to explore different design options for the 10,000-year clock, which he shared with us during his presentation. But the focus of his talk really wasn't on SketchUp in particular; instead he talked about how fluid buildings are and how we need to keep this in mind when we design. Cities change to the extent where they are practically new every 50 to 100 years. Also, the world is slowly but surely moving towards increasing urbanization and leaving villages behind, which means that most of the world's population will eventually live in these fluid cities. The fluidity of both cities and individual buildings can be analyzed in the form of layers of functionality, where the inner layer changes most rapidly and the outer layer takes the longest to change. In a building, for example, the layering from outer to inner can be seen as Site > Structure > Skin > Services > Space Plan > Interior (furniture, fixtures, etc.). Relating these ideas back to design tools such as SketchUp, Brand proposed that they should incorporate special layers which will enable designers and clients to get a sense of how time will affect the building. He also suggested that SketchUp incorporate ideas such as Christopher Alexander's "Pattern Language," enabling quick operations such as increasing the width of a balcony, thickening walls, moving doors and windows to diagonal corners, and so on. This would help architects to design buildings that are easy to change.

In a session on "SketchUp in Architecture," we saw many examples of advanced work done in SketchUp by HKS, Inc., a top-ten national architectural firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The firm has been using SketchUp for a few years and earlier this summer, it acquired permanent licenses of SketchUp for all its 700+ employees for both commercial and at-home use. The design process at HKS starts with obtaining site data from various resources such as Google Earth, aerial photographs purchased from commercial websites, and data from city web sites, and subsequently taking a 2D site photo into SketchUp to start exploring 3D building forms. The key buildings on the site are also modeled. As the design develops, the SketchUp model gets highly detailed to the point where it captures most of the internal and external elements of the project. Figure 2 shows two examples of projects for which detailed SketchUp models were created. The actual photographs of the respective buildings after they were constructed are also shown, illustrating the extent to which the SketchUp model comes close to the final design. HKS uses SketchUp not only for design, but also in various other ways: presenting design concepts to the clients in the form of several SketchUp animations and walkthroughs, including diagramming to explain interiors and levels for complex projects; pricing the design project for the contractor; producing construction documents from the sections cuts of the SketchUp model; and using SketchUp imagery in the marketing materials for the project. For large projects, the model is broken up using components so that different teams can work on it simultaneously.

3D Base Camp included several technical sessions showing how SketchUp works in conjunction with other applications such as Photoshop, AutoCAD, Autodesk Architectural Desktop, Revit, Piranesi, 3D Studio Max, and so on, as well as parallel workshop sessions manned by experts where users could actually explore different features hands-on. There was a dedicated session on the Ruby scripting language which allows SketchUp functionality to be extended and the interface to be customized by users (for more on Ruby, see my review of SketchUp 4). Several SketchUp experts hosted a "Tips and Tricks" section, sharing with the audience several shortcuts and modeling techniques, such as modeling a rounded box, creating a Face-Me component with shadows, simulating lighting in SketchUp, wrapping an image around an object, and so on. In addition, there was a dedicated session on tips for working with large models in SketchUp, some of which are modeling everything on Layer 0 and then moving it to the required layer, collating all the geometry into groups or components, using the Outliner (recently introduced in SketchUp 5 ) to understand the project hierarchy, using Color by Layer, avoiding the use of profile lines, turning off the display of edges if possible, using locks to make components non-editable, and so on.

There was also a session showing how SketchUp can be used for 3D construction modeling, which requires using groups and components to make SketchUp, a surface modeler, simulate the object modeling capabilities of BIM applications. While the main argument for choosing SketchUp—its simplicity and ease of use—over a BIM application for construction modeling (such as Graphisoft's Construction Solutions described in AECbytes Newsletter #15 ) is certainly valid, it is doubtful, however, to what extent SketchUp can be deployed by construction firms for construction modeling on large projects unless it systematically introduces more BIM-like capabilities. Still, it was interesting to see the range of applications and activities that users are deploying SketchUp for.

In summary, the 3D Base Camp was an excellent inaugural user conference for SketchUp, capturing the personal "small-company" feel of @Last Software and the simplicity and elegance of its product. The focus was solely on the technology and its users, allowing attendees insights into the future development of the application and giving the company a chance to interact with the users and find out what they would like to have in SketchUp. It was also terrific to find the company still brimming with ideas for new products and features. Innovation doesn't always go rewarded, but in the case of @Last Software, it is nice to see that it has.

About the Author

Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor of AECbytes. She has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and consults and writes on AEC technology. She can be reached at lachmi@aecbytes.com.

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