Google SketchUp

I enjoyed playing with Google SketchUp for a while, and I was able to create a house with it!  I think this will be useful in an interior design class because it will help the students make their ideas more tangible and help them better analyze their work.  They can compare their creations with others and get feedback that will aid improvement.

I used Google SketchUp to create the floor design of a house.  It was not too difficult, and I feel that my high school or maybe even junior high students could do what I did.  They could use Google SketchUp to create floor designs for houses and analyze the dimensions, traffic patterns, aesthetic appeals, and space issues that are involved when designing homes.  My students could build the house, and then even begin to work on the inside of the house- adding furniture, painting walls, etc.  Google SketchUp could be used as an ongoing project throughout the semester where each week or so the students work on a different task, adding on to what they did the week before.  The objectives this would fulfill:

• Learn the importance of traffic patterns in the design of a home.
• Understand how the elements of design are involved in designing a home.
• Learn how to incorporate dimensions into the design of a home.