Author: Benjamin Boyd

Vectorworks is gearing up once again to welcome design professionals, educators and students across the globe to the 2021 Vectorworks Design Summit from Nov. 1 through Nov. 3. Like last year’s event, the 2021 Design Summit will take place virtually, offering attendees the chance to hear the latest updates from Vectorworks leadership and product experts, participate in live training events and network with fellow users and Vectorworks partners—all at no cost.

“While we look forward to the day when we can all gather together in person again, we are committed to providing our users with an exceptional training and networking experience,” said Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar. “In fact, we hope the virtual format provides a unique opportunity for users across the world to meet and interact with one another in a way that might not have been possible at an in-person event.”

Each day of the event will have a specific focus for attendees.

• Monday, Nov. 1: Hear from Vectorworks leadership including CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar, Chief Technology Officer Steve Johnson and Product Marketing Director Rubina Siddiqui, Assoc. AIA in live presentations followed by a Q&A session.
• Tuesday, Nov. 2: Participate in live and on-demand trainings with Vectorworks product experts and partners on key industry topics and watch thought leadership sessions on Vectorworks best practices.
• Wednesday, Nov. 3: Ask questions and connect with product experts and Vectorworks partners in an open-house style networking session.

Throughout the three-day event attendees can also expect to learn more about the company’s recent launch of Vectorworks 2022, which includes the latest version of Vectorworks Landmark. The new product line includes improvements focused on Next-Gen tech (including being the first major BIM application to run natively on Apple silicon processors), 3D and BIM workflows, and interoperability. There are a few top features specifically for Landmark users.

GIS and BIM Exchange

Vectorworks is now capable of reading the georeferencing data embedded in a DWG file, an image or an IFC import, so you can now import and export files without losing any of this data. You’ll see better compatibility and increased reliability when exchanging DWG and IFC files for your projects.

Site Model Components

Vectorworks users can now enjoy the ability to define subsurface geological strata as components within their Site Models. New site model components create solid geometry that can be accurately represented in 2D elevation, section and textured 3D views. The upgraded object components accommodate fixed or variable thicknesses of the strata, allowing you to create an accurate BIM model.

ArcGIS Feature Layers

In this latest version, you’ll see a boost in your GIS/BIM workflows with easier integration for site planning and collaboration. In partnership with Esri, users can now access, download and incorporate an incredible amount of information into their designs with the vector geometry and data using Vectorworks Layers. You can also export and upload from Layers back to the ArcGIS Feature Layers, making it easier to manage specific geospatial data beyond traditional methods and collaborate with GIS professionals.

GIS Support of Tree Survey

The process for importing various tree survey types is now simpler with location parameters for geographical and cartesian coordinates built in with the newly added GIS support for tree surveys. Users benefit from the new geospatial import methods when documenting existing vegetation for biodiversity and biomass considerations and will be able to import pertinent survey area types like mass plantings, meadows and more.

Plant Root Zone

Vectorworks new root ball settings give users complete representations of installed plants. Added geometry and specified data for plant root balls provide the crucial information you need to complete your BIM for landscape workflow and better collaborate with consultants. The new additions to the Plant Object allow for both 2D and 3D representation of root balls and excavation zones.

Dr. Sarkar will deliver the keynote address this year and not only elaborate on the latest innovative features of Vectorworks 2022, but also give insight into the company’s new tagline, “Design without limits™.”

“At Vectorworks our goal is to alleviate constraints to designers’ creativity,” said Dr. Sarkar. “Designers should be free from restrictive workflows and hardware, from software that doesn’t understand what they want to create. We believe that all designers should be free to design without limits. We live by this mantra every day—now and moving forward.”

To learn more about the 2021 Vectorworks Design Summit and to secure your spot, visit the registration page.

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Vectorworks is a sponsor of Land8!

LA+, published by ORO Editions, started out in the spring of 2015 as a unique, landscape-focused journal that deviated from the pack by not only bringing designers, but philosophers, artists, geographers, ecologists, planners, scientists, and others to the table for their take on a core theme in each issue. Since then, the folks over at the UPenn School of Design have covered the themes of Wild, Pleasure, Tyranny, and Simulation. Along with the individual theme, each issue ends up with its own unique tone and perspective. This season’s issue is Identity.

The concept of identity shapes the very core of what we do as landscape architects. “Place-making” is often the seminal charge of clients and the means they use to create, reinforce, or change the identity of a place. This process pulls from every aspect of our skill set. LA+’s Spring Edition explores how the ideas of place have evolved and how “sense of place as the the manifestation of cultural identity has been landscape architecture’s raison d’être and its main aesthetic contribution to the cultural landscape of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.”

Not easing in, the editors start by literally comparing the landscapes of Nazi Germany to those “mass produced by today’s so-called ‘placemakers.’” Shots fired. The creative backlash against organizations like Project for Public Places is real and mentioned more and more often. What are we to make of manufactured identities? Is a 21st century programmed place any less authentic than one developed in centuries past?

Image courtesy of LA+

The initial brushes of the Identity issue wax romantic on the notions of self and personal identity. It surmises that only through the lens of yourself, can you truly take the next logical step and consider a symbiotic relationship with your convenient planet of reference. This symbiotically connects the life and health of the planet directly to you and your actions. However, though these philosophical ruminations are clear and convincing, are they really arguments that need to be made to the intended audience? A philosophical understanding of our entire industry notwithstanding, the invocations of meaning are thoughtfully pondered, but for this reader, mostly end up in the same place they started.

A more interesting evolution of the symbiotic premise is then applied to the idea of colonizing other planets. If humans are currently in a thoroughly vetted, interdependent relationship with Earth, then how do humans sync up with worlds of different origins and inhospitable environments? Are we hopelessly confined to being but guests and never capable of the sort of congruence we have with our current home?

Image courtesy of LA+

A brief and fascinating passage by Dirk Sijmons asserts that identity is, in fact, a verb, or more specifically, a process. He asserts that though in the past century, designers have clung to the idea that landscape form is just a creative output of the project constraints and an application of art, we forget to consider the massive importance of macro processes that shape space. In his example, the massive dam and weirs projects in Holland attest to human’s ability to shape and augment space to fit basic needs. Modern designers have used remnants and echoes of these forms to derive designs that supposedly echo the “genus of place.” Their assertion, however, under weighs the agricultural, industrial, and defensive motivations for the augmentation in the first place. The changing needs of inhabitants over centuries and their willingness to take on massive scale revolutions in the landscape are the true basis of identity. Consider the canals of Egypt, the rapidly spreading swaths of suburban China, the Hoover Dam of Nevada, or the artificial islands of Dubai where Sijmons asks if processes of civilization are the generators of identity, rather than social or colloquial elements landscape architects often use to derive form.

Image courtesy of LA+

Further considering manufactured uniqueness, Andrew Graan and Aleksander Takovski mine Macedonia’s “Skopje 2014 for lessons in identity.” Skopje 2014 is an extraordinary architectural makeover project in the namesake capital city of Macedonia that seeks to clear asunder the remnants of Ottoman and Socialist markers that unfortunately results in a “sense that one has stumbled into a fantastic landscape that desperately wants to be noticed.” Skopje’s array of massive statues of Alexander the Great and others seeks to create a “political economy of architectural spectacle.” While the statues and buildings are derived from historical references and hit all the notes of place-derived focuses, the product borders on infatuation and excess. How are we to consider the identity of these places years, and even decades, from now? Will Skopje be viewed as an exercise in abject nationalism, or will it meld into the fabric of Macedonia’s identity causing future designers to derive their forms from it?

Image courtesy of LA+

Finally, one of the most interesting reads from this issue is Branding Landscape by Nicole Porter. She asserts that ‘place’ itself has obvious intrinsic economic value and the strategic practice of ‘place branding’ seeks to exploit that value. Two case studies, Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay and Norway’s national park branding, outline her argument that these branded landscapes have been reduced to “functioning as commodified objects functioning as brands.” In both instances, the government harnesses the most cost effective way to impress and, consequently, express the commitment and efficiency of said government. She laments that “the irony is that producing place identities according to market-friendly typologies can destroy their true uniqueness and inherent value at the same time.” Her worry is that a capitalist ideology injected into the human-nature relationship is a slippery slope that forces everyone to be consumers.

LA+ Identity is another excellent entry into an already thoughtful collection of varied perspectives on the work that landscape architects do. While some of the more existential explorations of philosophy are valuable and necessary, the critique of pervasive ideologies and popular landscapes is even more essential.

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Benjamin Boyd is a landscape architect practicing at Mahan Rykiel Associates in Baltimore, Maryland. Check out his profile on Goodreads to see what he has been reading. Ben often tweets about landscape at @_benboyd.

2016 has been a great year for landscape architecture books. Whether you are interested in preparing for the eventual shift toward BIM technology, learning about innovative ecological solutions in cities, or the future of infrastructure, last year had something for you. Notably, Charles Waldheim released his most comprehensive primer on Landscape Urbanism which laid out the current thinking on designing cities in tune with nature. Kate Orff published her first comprehensive monograph (though that’s not all it is) about her firm SCAPE. These and many more books formed a stout selection for practitioners and academics alike. We covered a few of these books here at Land8 and plan on reviewing a few more on this list in more detail soon.

ASLA’s the Dirt also recently published a list of their best books of 2016. It is a fantastic list, but we would be remiss here at Land8 not to highlight some of our favorite. So while we recommend you check out all of those books, here are Land8’s best books of 2016:

Cartographic Grounds: Projecting the Landscape Imaginary
Jill Desimini and Charles Waldheim
Princeton Architectural Press
Charles Waldheim and Jill Desimini explore the shift in representation from the “material and physical description toward the depiction of the unseen and often immaterial.” This beautiful book takes a critical view of the current use of data mapping and visualization and calls to return to traditional cartographic techniques.

Landscape Architecture and Digital Technologies: Re-Conceptualizing Design and Making
Jillian Walliss and Heike Rahmann
Routledge
Authors Jillian Walliss and Heike Rahmann explore how digital technology is shaping the projects and practices of some of the most important firms in landscape architecture. The focus is less on making pretty digital renderings and much more on how simulation and analysis can make much more complex design possible and more integrated with the landscape.

Thinking About Landscape Architecture: Principles of a Design Professional for the 21st Century
Bruce Sharky
Routledge
This book is interesting because it is not particularly for landscape architects that are already in practice. If you are just starting out in the profession or deciding on studying landscape architecture in college, this book is a great resource to lay out all the different aspects of being a professional and all the different avenues that practice can take you down. Bruce Sharky is a professor at Louisiana State University and always does an excellent job of writing with the perspective of an educator, teaching you his topic easily and precisely.

BIM for Landscape
Landscape Institute
Routledge
BIM is coming for landscape and if you aren’t already working with it, odds are you will be. The book is presented by the Landscape Institute, the British equivalent of the ASLA. The UK has already made BIM mandatory on all public sector projects. This book makes the argument that the advantages of moving to BIM are worth the effort and present a bevy of examples to back it up.

Thinking the Contemporary Landscape
Christophe Girot and Dora Imhof
Princeton Architectural Press
This book is another “reader” in the vein of Recovering Landscape by James Corner and the Landscape Urbanism Reader by Charles Waldheim (I guess he hasn’t been mentioned enough in this post). The topics sway around a bit, but many are worth your time. A focus is the changing nature of landscape and the effects of climate change, but it is also about beauty and the aesthetic and how we apply them (and don’t forget them) in modern landscapes.

LA+
University of Pennsylvania School of Design
ORO Editions
We’re cheating a little bit again here, but if you haven’t checked out Penn Design’s Tyranny and Simulation editions, you need to do yourself a favor and sign up for their bi-yearly subscription. Each issue focuses on a different topic related to landscape architecture but brings voices from outside of the profession to bear.

Toward an Urban Ecology
Kate Orff
Monacelli Press
If you attended this year’s LAF Summit (or you already knew), then you found out that Kate Orff is an optimistic and creative force in the world of climate adaptive design. Her book is part monograph and part a clarion call for the need of meshing the social and environmental to deal with the future problems of our planet.

Landscape As Urbanism
Charles Waldheim
Princeton University Press
In his new book, Charles Waldheim advocates that landscape architects should become the focal points of a new era of designing the world around us. His book clarifies the theory of landscape urbanism and gives a well-reasoned justification for its existence. Though it is a slightly more challenging read, the subject matter is so important to some of the most influential firms in landscape architecture that is it well worth your effort.

Infrastructural Monument and Scaling Infrastructure
Princeton Architectural Press
Two recently published books chronicle two conferences organized by the Center around its first biennial theme – infrastructure. These books represent the first steps in publishing research applicable to “new theoretical frameworks and methodologies appropriate for urbanism of our time.”

Wild by Design
Margie Ruddick
Island Press
Borrowing a bit because this is on the ASLA’s list too. Learn about how nature can come become an integral part of creative landscape design. Margie Ruddick there’s a set of principles for a more creative than intuitive to produce the challenges in entrenched believe the natural process cannot complement high-level landscape design.

Bonus: Landscape Manifesto by Diana Balmori
Though not published in 2016, the unfortunate passing of Diana Balmori this year merits a revisitation on her seminal work on the purpose of Landscape Architecture. In a passing nod to the Landscape Urbanism vs New Urbanism, Manifesto states that “nostalgia for the past and utopian dreams for the future prevent us from looking at our present.” A solid book on landscape philosophy that is perhaps rigid at times, but it well worth your attention.

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Benjamin Boyd is a landscape architect practicing in Baltimore, Maryland. Check out his profile on Goodreads to see what he has been reading. Ben often tweets about landscape at @_benboyd.

“To engage with potential digital technologies is to understand a new language, new workflows, design processes and theory.” Landscape Architecture and Digital Technologies: Re-Conceptualising Design and Making is a glimpse behind the scenes into some of the today’s most cutting-edge design firms and a welcome, in-depth exploration of the tools that are shaping their most unique landscapes. The range of programs and techniques used to develop projects has been changing at a breakneck pace over the last decade. While most firms have reached proficiency with computer aided drafting and perhaps delved into 3D modeling, many designers might be surprised by the breadth of methods presented in this book.

Form is often a direct representation of the tools used to derive it. These days that means many, if not most, of the landscapes you create are done in plan and with CAD lines. The result can be great, but sometimes it can also lack significant considerations beyond form. Digital Technologies, by Australian landscape architects Jillian Walliss and Heike Rahmann, explores the means and methods leading firms utilize to create complex, high-profile projects. The authors break down design processes and then focuses on the tools employed to create structures, predict performance, simulate nature, and collaborate with others.

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain by Gustafson Porter

In writing this review, it would be remiss not to mention the excellent review of the same book recently published in Landscape Architecture Magazine by Gale Fulton, the Director of Landscape Architecture at the University of Tennessee. The unique aspect of his take on Digital Technologies is that he sees the perspective of students who rotate through his halls annually. He highlights the interesting backlash against digital that is an almost nostalgic trend towards sketching and allure of the “authentic.” He also references a 2013 survey by the ASLA that reported the belief that “technology negatively influences creativity” and that design requires “human creativity” and “human spontaneity.”

I believe that, on a certain level, this criticism is warranted in the fact that digital tools have been largely leveraged for representational imagery. Designers, under pressure from an escalating war of visual expectations, have to exert more and more time for education and production to create quality digital images. Firm principals have to then leverage more of their budget to create more refined products earlier in the process. These obstacles and sentiments can result in the what Fulton called the “slow advance of the digital in landscape architecture.” Across the industry, landscape architecture is clearly lagging behind architecture in utilizing advanced tools for more than just renderings. Digital Technologies aims to present real-world examples of how these tools can play a prominent role in a project from concept to implementation.

Digital Technologies highlights projects from the following firms, amongst others:

• Snøhetta (Norway + USA)
• Arup (England + Worldwide)
• Gustafson Porter (England)
• ASPECT Studios (Australia) 
• Grant Associates (England)
• Catherine Mosbach (France)
• Philippe Rahm (Switzerland)
• PARKKIM (South Korea)
• LAAC (Austria)
• PEG (USA)

Topographic Surface
One of the distinct advantages of the new age of digital documentation is the ability to model complex geometries and landforms based on improved survey information. However, beyond just making a simple model out of contour lines, many landscape architects haven’t been able to take the next steps in creating complex forms for themselves in high detail. The book explores the concepts of form generation and how some firms are using techniques like parametric modeling and scripting.

Thermal City by PARKKIM

Performative Systems
Perhaps one of the most recognizable projects that places performance at the forefront of design is Fresh Kills Park by James Corner Field Operations. Building on this example, Digital Technologies focuses on the shift toward more quantifiable systems in design. One of the biggest components of this movement is parametric modeling. The book “frames parametric modeling as a speculative research process where form emerges through the interrogation of information, and performance.” The result of this being that designers “model behaviors and relationships of systems, phenomena, and form and seek to establish a set of rules to apply within further design approaches.” This observation becomes increasingly more poignant in the face of more available data, especially that on the effects of climate change.

Simulating Systems
Increasingly, available software capable of modeling the fluid dynamics of wind, water, tides, heat, humidity, and pollution present new opportunities for embedding temporality and change into design processes. Digital Technologies highlights the Supertrees at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore by Grant Associates, Thermal City by PARKKIM, and Sigirino Alptransit Depot by Atelier Girot. The book makes the case that simulating systems is a missing link between a design and a “finished” product that is years, maybe decades, down the road.

Sigirino Alptransit Depot by Atelier Girot

Materiality and Fabrication
Much of what landscape architects design is ultimately constructed from items in a catalog. Concrete from this supplier, benches from this company, or lights from this or that catalog. And while there is nothing wrong with sourcing materials from artisans who focus on creating one or a few products of high quality, emerging technology has “provided new opportunities for exploring materiality and construction techniques.” The lead example in Digital Technologies is again the Super Trees of Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay by Grant Associates. The trees were fabricated using BIM software to document designs and connections.

“The ability to translate designs directly from 3D digital systems into physical installation without spending on 2D abstraction, so called ‘file to fabrication,’ opens new avenues for more efficient automated production processes.” The seamlessness between design and fabrication also encourages more prototyping which should lead to more effective and thoughtful designs. This process, however, relies on many people with a highly specialized skill sets – often those not directly related to landscape architecture. The future of the profession may see us relying more and more on these experts, which begs the question, how can we collaborate with others more effectively?

Collaboration
Much has been said about the advantage of BIM software, like Autodesk’s Revit or Vectorworks Landmark, in documenting the entirety of a project in 3D. While there are still shortcomings in the way landscapes can be modeled, one of the biggest benefits to its implementation is more unencumbered collaboration. When teams can see changes to a site quicker, they can react and work more efficiently. Cooperative design with consultants that may be located all over the world is more and more common in this digital age. Beyond meetings, designers need to see how their decisions are reflected in the work of other trades. That being said, Digital Technologies is quick to point out that there are deficiencies to current BIM integration. The authors warn of reduced design development down to “the assemblage of objects provided by the software toolbox – adding a further bureaucratic layer to design.” BIM also makes designers ultimately rethink their role entirely. Traditionally, architects have become more and removed from construction. Better integration may allow us to patch that gap moving forward.  

The Future
Digital Technologies predicts the power of the digital model, continually evolving education, transformation of practices, and a greater focus on research will all have a big impact on the profession in the years to come. Many firms are also placing a bigger emphasis on research as a fundamental aspect of their practice. I believe that we are on the verge of a major shift in the way that landscape architects design and document projects. The transformation to modeling and BIM related systems is undeniable. Can we, however, maintain, the soul of our designs while moving into this new methodology? Only time will tell.

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Benjamin Boyd is a landscape architect practicing in Baltimore, Maryland. Check out his profile on Goodreads to see what he has been reading. Ben often tweets about landscape at @_benboyd.  

Most people’s interaction with maps is on their phone these days and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. However, the landscape architect knows that mapping is one of the keys to both speculative design and its representation. A map “merges spatial precision and cultural imagination.” With data being increasingly ubiquitous, the transformation of maps into artistic visualizations has increasingly become a greater part of the design process. At the same time, data can be a crutch that eliminates “speculation and agency, while supporting a methodology that looks for projects to emerge out of an illusory objectivity.”

Cartographic Grounds: Projecting the Landscape Imaginary  explores the varied methods of geographic representation and the intricacies of translating maps to plans – from representation to intervention. Jill Desimini and Charles Waldheim, both of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, have produced one of the most visually stunning books I have had the pleasure of reading this year. The book represents the culmination of work that was showcased in an exhibition in late 2012 at Harvard.

According to the authors, the ability of maps to not only represent space but also to depict “unseen and often immaterial forces” holds the “projective potential of cartographic practices that afford greater connection with the ground itself, making present and vivid the landscape, as it exists and as it could be, both to the eye and the mind.” This power is wielded by all landscape architects to varying degrees of success. Thus, it is the transformation methods of data to plan that are the focus of this the book.

Desimini and Waldheim explore and dissect ten key cartographic conventions and show how historical as well as modern practices levy their unique characteristics to provide better analysis, convey more information, and to increase the usefulness of a plan. The aforementioned map typologies discussed are:

• Sounding / Spot Elevation
• Isobath / Contour
• Hachure / Hatch
• Shaded relief
• Land classification
• Figure-ground
• Stratigraphic column
• Cross section
• Line symbol
• Conventional sign

The authors assert that “the cartographic imagination is a study of the importance of multiple representations – of seeing and depicting various realities depending on the relevance of the occasion.” This abstraction is fundamental to the future of mapping. Google understands this as well and aims to personalize maps to an even greater degree in the future for better representation and to aid us in translating that data into interventions.

The book is light on text and heavy on images which show contrasting styles as well as engaging examples within each typology.

Cartographic Grounds asks “readers to return to traditional cartographic techniques while reimagining the manifestation and manipulation of the ground itself.” The authors advocate that the thoughtful and thorough application of these techniques will clarify and elevate both design and its ability to translate it to others. The book is light on text and heavy on images which show contrasting styles as well as engaging examples within each typology.

One of Waldheim’s other books published in 2016, Landscape as Urbanism, has also been profiled by Land8 as well as his involvement in the LAF Summit in June of 2016. Below is a video of Waldheim’s presentation provided courtesy of The Landscape Architecture Foundation:

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Benjamin Boyd is a landscape architect practicing in Baltimore, Maryland. Check out his profile on Goodreads to see what he has been reading. Ben tweets at @_benboyd.

Sketchup for Site Design: A Guide to Modeling Site Plans, Terrain, and Architecture is the follow-up to Daniel Tal’s 2009 edition of the same name. Since then, the environment of Sketchup hasn’t changed dramatically, but being purchased by Trimble from Google has spurred more development support and a host of new features. Ruby Scripts are now referred to as “extensions” and Tal has changed what was called “sandbox architecture” to “digital elevation modeling.” These subtle differences mean that the old version is still applicable regarding workflow, but that the new version corrects for all the incremental changes over the last seven years.

The reason that this book is very relevant to landscape architects is that it has a larger focus on the softscape functions of Sketchup. You could arguably purchase a Sketchup tutorial book and learn how the various tools work, but the examples would be less that applicable in the modern LA office. Tal offers practitioners practical examples of landscape projects that have been built into the program.

Sketchup has an interesting place in the modern office. Models can be used in all phases of design. Process models come alive quickly while construction details can be fleshed out with precision. However, with more and more architects using Revit and more advanced modelers like Rhino are available and taught in school, Sketchup is not the ubiquitous choice for modeling it once was. However, it still has its place. What sets it apart is the ease and approachability of the program as well as vast libraries of models in the 3D Warehouse. These assets continue to make Sketchup an excellent choice for a broad range of projects in the modern firm, and this is where Tal is targeting his book.

“…Sketchup is not the ubiquitous choice for modeling it once was.”

The second edition breaks down into four distinct topics: an introduction to the program, the process of modeling, terrain modeling, and techniques for working with AutoCAD files. It is striking that there is a whole chapter devoted to dealing with the idiosyncrasies of AutoCAD conversion. This focus speaks to the vast majority of landscape design users that are planning designs in CAD first and then fleshing out models based on it.

One of the most useful parts of the book for me was the identification of all the myriad of extensions that you can use with Sketchup. Often when you install these scripts, there is a short explanation on how to use it, but most of the know-how comes from trying it out yourself. Tal breaks down many of the most popular options that even a seasoned user like myself hasn’t had on my radar. Tal shows you where the options are for each and what the best use of it is utilizing a real example.

Tal breaks down many of the most popular options that even a seasoned user like myself hasn’t had on my radar.

For advanced users, the introductory chapters are going to be a good refresher, but something that you can mostly skip. For new users, these topics are a must for understanding how Sketchup works as a modeler. Understanding the capabilities and limits of the program is key to knowing how and when to utilize it most effectively. Tal sprinkles in some on the before mentioned extensions which make browsing through the chapters at least worthwhile for everyone.

Understanding the best practices for your modeling process is critical for usefulness in the workplace. Someone else may need to get into your model, or you may need to come back to it at a much later date to make changes. Proper organization is imperative to ensure that this process is as seamless as possible. Tal expands on almost all of the available tools as well as the most significant extensions and what their capabilities are. Many of the processes come with exercise that can be accessed through Tal’s website and the 3d warehouse.

The terrain modeling is often one of the most challenging tasks in Sketchup because it deals with undulating forms that don’t lend themselves to the line and face architecture of Sketchup models. Tal offers many practical suggestions and work processes that aim to simplify the terrain process. He introduces methods to work through spot grades around building to create paths as well as how to utilize a mesh system with more accurate manipulation tools to make better models.

The final section of the books deals with one of the biggest headache areas for users – working with AutoCAD drawings. Here Tal present a multitude of options and shortcuts to make the linework transition more fluid as well as organizational tips for CAD to make your Sketchup workflow more efficient. If you have ever transferred over a drawing with a lot of curves, then you know that Sketchup isn’t the best at handling them. The book outlines a myriad group of third-party extensions that can make bridging the gap in capability much simpler.

Sketchup for Site Design: A Guide to Modeling Site Plans, Terrain, and Architecture was published in February 2016 by Wiley.

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Benjamin Boyd is a landscape architect practicing in Baltimore, Maryland. If you would like to check out what books he is reading or reviewing currently, check out his profile on Goodreads. Ben tweets at @_benboyd.