Modeling the buildings on campus is a fascinating project. The building styles and ages vary greatly, and I know them quite well after spending nearly 1/3 of my life around them.
I began modeling the building I worked in, B-34, then quickly realized just how challenging large dimensions are to deal with by guessing. BYU already provides floor plans (as PDF files) for most campus buildings, but these didn't show any vertical dimensions. I decided to contact the Physical Facilities office and ask how much information they were willing to share with me. I hoped to get complete architectural drawings with exact measurements. They gave me something better, and something worse: a CAD drawing of all major buildings.
This CAD file jump-started my models, but it was deceptively simple and it caused several problems in the end. The file was a DMG file, which SketchUp imported just fine. However, this is a huge model! While the buildings are only shells, it includes ground contours between all the buildings, and some of the buildings are a little dated. The most challenging aspect of this CAD file is that many of the building lines are not connected (is this sloppy artistry, or just how CAD works?), and some lines were out of plane and thus SketchUp couldn't make surfaces there. So I decided to dissect the model into individual buildings, examining each line and surface as I went.
I worked on the sections near my office first, then I tried the Tanner building (TNRB), where I also spent a lot of time. The TNRB was actually fun because I could pace out dimensions going from class to class. The building is also symmetrical and boxy (easily modeled), with standardized sizes of tile, glass panels, and rock fascia for estimating dimensions. As an added bonus, most of my geek friends to whom I showed this model also live in this building and thus appreciated my artistry (a great motivation).
Finished Models
Is any art ever "finished"? I could always add more details.Partial Models
- B-34
- TNRB
Building Shells
Base Files
