Now that version 2026.1 of SketchUp is rolling out, we are getting a clearer picture of where SketchUp's AI implementation is heading. As you likely know, the SketchUp folks had previously released SketchUp Diffusion, a rendering and visualization solution. At the last Basecamp, they then also teased their AI Assistant, which was implemented as a chatbot that could show help topics, write Ruby code, and do various other things that are implemented within an extensible dialog.

A little while ago, Peggi Clouston and I joined Galen Nelson, MassCEC’s Chief Climate Officer, to talk about mass timber. This was part of their Thoughtful Climate Live Interview Series, which is a dialogue that features experts, pioneers, and practitioners from a variety of existing and emerging climatetech sectors and disciplines, as well as subject matter experts who can provide insights into broader economic, social and technological dynamics shaping our industry.

We have come exciting news: Together with Peggi Clouston, I co-authored a reference book on all aspects of mass timber buildings - from the materials through conceptualization and design to construction. If you are interested in developing, designing and constructing mass timber buildings, then you may want to keep an eye on this book. While the book has not yet been released (we are still working on the proofs), you can already…

I just released new versions of my Scale By Tools and Random Tools SketchUp extensions. As always, you can simply install the new version from within SketchUp via the Extension Warehouse or the SketchUcation PluginStore. You can also download the installer files from this website at the links shown below. Scale By Tools Extension 1.2 I fixed a bug in the Scale By Tools extension that occurred whenever an object's scale reached zero.

I just released version 3.0 of my AI Explorer (Experimental) SketchUp extension. The main change in this version is that I broke out the API endpoint URL as an editable field in the settings. Since several AI services now offer OpenAI-compatible API endpoints, this opens up the extension to other services like Google's Gemini. All a user has to do is sign up with the different service, get an API key, and then enter the API key, an applicable model name, and the correct URL of the service's API endpoint in this extension's settings.

Now that SketchUp 2025 has been released, SketchUp's materials have experienced a significant upgrade. All materials that ship with SketchUp are now PBR (physically-based rendering) materials that look much better than the older materials, which at the time were designed with efficiency in mind. However, that efficiency often came with graininess, unpleasant repeating patterns, and some other artifacts. The new materials are in many cases of render-quality while still being quite efficient.

This image of a wood-veneer tray with a decorative brushed metal ball was exported right from SketchUp - no rendering software needed SketchUp 2025 introduced a new graphics system for materials: PBR (physically-based rendering) photoreal materials. As you can see in the image above, you can now have shiny, glossy, dimpled, and otherwise textured materials right in SketchUp's model area.

Interior reflections like these (on the floor) can easily be done right inside SketchUp with this little trick SketchUp 2025 introduced some very nice visualization capabilities: PBR (physically-based rendering) materials and environments. While those are great (especially for exteriors), indoor material reflections are a bit trickier since objects cannot be reflected even with the new PBR materials. In this tutorial I show you how you can create some good-looking reflections (in e.g.

To properly introduce ThomThom - this version's scale figure - I decided to go with a Nordic look for this post's title image As of this week (February 25, actually), the latest iteration of SketchUp - version 2025.0 - is now available. Desktop users can click on the Help > Check for Update menu item and download it (or get it…

Well... at least on this web site it is. A few days ago, I went through the visual styles of this sketchupfordesign.com website and edited them so that dark mode is now available. You can see an example of this in the image below. One of my articles, now much easier on the eyes. As is good practice, I implemented this in a way that lets you - as the site reader - choose what you want to see.

The images on this page are some of my favorite images from this year. They don’t include everything I have seen and done this year, but each one tells a little story. I hope you like them. If you want to see more, check out my albums on Flickr. I also have a selection of my photographs under the…

To my readers, viewers, friends and colleagues: I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and joyous holiday season, Merry Christmas (to those that celebrate it), and a healthy, happy, and successful New Year 2025! "An image of a wintry, busy German Christmas market in a small alpine town, centered on a brightly-decorated Christmas tree. Snowy and airy yet cozy atmosphere with many warm, glowing lights."

Discover the highlights from SketchUp’s latest 2024 3D Basecamp conference - co-located with Trimble Dimensions - which featured new tools, exciting visualization features, and a vibrant venue in Las Vegas.

Although I had some introductory videos about point cloud modeling with Scan Essentials in SketchUp in this playlist, those didn't go into sufficient detail on a bunch of the features. Based on my presentation "From Points to Polygons" at the recent 2024 3D Basecamp, I decided to rectify that shortcoming and produce a set of videos that introduce Trimble's Scan Essentials extension and present various workflows that can be used with this tool.