At the AIA show this year, Mike Tadros, president of the Sketchup training company, www.go-2-school.com did several presentations during the AIA show. As with all of Mike's presentations, they are well thought out, and very informative. Mike has a really fluid manner of teaching, and he's great at sensing what his class needs, and molding the presentation on the fly to accomodate everyone in the room. Check out some of Mike's videos to get an idea of what I am talking about:

Of all Mike's presentations, there was one that really stuck out for me. Mike started building a kitchen using the Kraftmaid models that are available in the 3D warehouse. He went on to show how easy it is to create kitchens and living spaces with these models. At one point, a lady asked if she could build her own kitchen with these tools. Mike said "Sure!" and then asked, "How about I build your kitchen for you?" She agreed. At this point, she, I, and I think everyone else was confused as to how Mike was going to accomplish this. Remember, we're all on a trade show floor, and even though we were surrounded by architects, nobody had any idea what her kitchen looked like.

Without skipping a beat, Mike asked what her address was. He pulled up Google Earth, and zoomed in on her location, and found the aerial photography of her house.

With just a few clicks, Mike had the aerial photography in Sketchup, where he began to trace the outside of the house. He was quickly able to model up the walls. The lady at the show was rather confused up until this point, because she had no idea how Mike was going to draw her house, without ever seeing it. As soon as she saw the walls go up, she was able to easily describe where her kitchen was located.

After finishing the walls, Mike started to build a kitchen for her...

Right there on the screen, Mike put the cabinets where she wanted them. There was no waiting, no render time, it all happened live, right there on the trade show floor. Mike was using Merillat cabinets, which are available on the 3D warehouse in Sketchup

After Mike built her a kitchen, he even emailed her the Sketchup model. She can now go home, download Sketchup Free, and view her dream kitchen herself, right in her own home. When she decides its time to get it built, she's got a great 3D model to start with! They say a picture is work a thousand words, but how many words is a 3D model worth?