SketchUp Aquired By Google

[bzorch]

For those out there who use it, the hottest urban design modeling tool was acquired by Google yesterday. Link to SketchUp's FAQ

Link to Brief Article on Acquisition This is a very interesting development for urban designers. The FAQ on SketchUp's website says that they want to bring SketchUp to a wider audience. SketchUp is already a great tool, I wonder what Google has in store for it. The Google Earth Plugin was a great idea. .

It would be cool if it became further integrated into Google Map with modeling capabilities for everyone. If more cities were modeled, especially Nashville then we could test urban design solutions like the scale of the Encore in relation to the Symphony. In addition, it could be helpful for public comments periods if the projects were modeled on Google Earth and anyone could virtually visit the project.