I’ve been putting together some program diagrams for work, and it reminded me of one that I created a year and a half ago in grad school. Experimenting with different arrangements and adjacencies of programmatic needs in Sketchup proved to be an effective tool in the preliminary design process. Each volume contains the correct square footage (or sq. meters) of the defined programmatic element, but also takes into account height needs and vertical relationships. Even better, the process of taking this information from Sketchup to a presentable diagram was quick and easy. I didn’t create a full fledged tutorial, but the following images explain the big moves from Sketchup to final diagram

 

3D_program_su

To get the volumetric text, I used the “3D Text” tool, then stretched the words to the correct area and height.

 

 

 

clay_model_rendering_program_alex_hogrefe

As with a lot of my stuff, I began by rendering the SU model in Sketchup as a clay model. TUTORIAL HERE

 

 

 

paint_color_program

I next wanted to break the program up into 3 categories: Public, Semi-Public, and Private spaces. To do this, I created 3 new layers and painted over the program elements.

 

 

 

paint_color_program_overlay_more_color

I next set the layer blend mode of those 3 layers to “Overlay”. Also with a soft paintbrush and really low opacity, I painted some color over the entire image to get rid of the desaturated look of the grey background.

 

 

 

Adding_text_distort

To define use of each element, I added text and distorted it to the perspective of the image. Ctrl+T will bring up the transform option. Then, hold “Ctrl” while picking the corners will allow you to distort the text as need to get the correct perspective. Finally, lower the opacity of the text or set the layer blend mode to “Overlay”.

 

 

 

architecture_program_diagram_final_alex_hogrefe

The final result is a clean diagram that organizes a lot of information into a clear and concise graphic.