PreDesign for SketchUp
- ops
- Apr 8
- 2 min read
Sustainable architecture and energy efficiency design for buildings can be challenging because in traditional workflows, environmental performance often enters the conversation too late—after the building model is complete and flexibility is limited. But sustainability shouldn't be an afterthought.
PreDesign empowers architects to take climate responsiveness into account from the very first sketch. By integrating site-specific environmental analysis at the earliest stages of design, PreDesign helps you make informed decisions that shape not only your building—but its long-term impact on the planet.
With PreDesign, you can get the valuable data you need to weave contextual insights into your project and get your creative juices flowing before you launch into 3D.
PreDesign is great for
Anyone designing a building, building renovation or outside space.
Anyone looking for design inspiration or ideas when considering a new building design or renovation.
With SketchUp’s PreDesign tool you can:
Obtain information about the climate that will help you design a better building.
Get inspiration and ideas for incorporating local climate factors and environmental considerations into your design narrative.
Find out what design strategies will work well before you start building your 3D model.
Generate content that helps you convince others of the merit of alternative design strategies.
SketchUp's geo-location and terrain features can help match the planned design with the actual site of the project. Furthermore, you can enhance and expand your modeling capabilities by using extensions such as SketchUp Engineering Toolbox or SketchUp Energy Analysis. You can find and install these extensions by browsing the Extension Warehouse, downloading the files, and enabling the plugins.
Where the PreDesign tool fits in:
The SketchUp PreDesign tool is intended to be used as part of the “PreDesign” (also known as research) phase of a building or building renovation design project.
The SketchUp PreDesign tool filters through design ideas and presents those that have the potential to be most suitable to your project, based on an analysis of historical climate data for your site.
By using the SketchUp PreDesign tool BEFORE you start designing, you can avoid spending time thinking about strategies that are unlikely to be worth pursuing on your project.
What the PreDesign tool does not do:
It does not tell you how to apply design strategies to your project (although we do offer some guidance in the help section.)
It does not guarantee compliance with energy or green building codes or standards.
It will not be able to provide guidance for a specific 3D model you are working on (it only looks at building type and climate history and provides suggestions based on that).
Choosing your location and climate data
Specifying a location provides the following:
a background map. This is used to help identify the project and as a background on some visualisations
An easy way to helps us guide you to the right historical climate data for the study.
In the create study workflow, you can start typing an address and you’ll start getting options that might relate to what you are typing.
Consider climate in your design planning process. By optimizing a building’s orientation and selecting materials that enhance thermal mass and solar shading, you can significantly boost energy efficiency.
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