Etch-A-Sketchup

If you attended the AIA show last year in San Antonio, you probably remember a couple of things:
1) the wonky layout of the show floor and all of the small ballrooms that housed the exhibitors that didn’t make the main show floor; and
2) the heavy promotion of Google Sketchup (www.sketchup.com).

I for one remember all of the buzz and excitment over Sketchup ... there were swarms of people surrounding the display, you could barely squeeze by it and people couldn't stop talking about how it was going to change the construction industry.

In case you missed it or you’ve never heard of it, Sketchup, as described by Google, is 3D for everyone. It’s software that allows users to create 3D models, and two versions are available. A free version can be used by anyone and then there’s the Pro version for, you know, the pros.

Now, I’m not doing an ad for Google or its products, but I can say this: I really see more and more of the construction industry, even all you glass folks, making that shift toward 3D modeling. Sure, the transition will be a gradual one, but it probably won’t hurt to get in the know on this.

In fact, there’s going to be a presentation on the subject during the upcoming Glass Association of North America Glass Fabrication Conference (www.glasswebsite.com). Denise Beneke from Marmon Mok Architecture will be talking about using image-modeling software. Plus, I happen to know Denise and I am sure she will be able to relate using these programs directly the needs of the glass industry. Plus the whole conference is in Las Vegas, in case you needed another reason.

OK, with that said and done, now that we all know there’s a free version of Sketchup, who’s going to be playing around with it this weekend? I know I will be!