One of the first main projects that we had to do for my Technological Design class was to create a 800 square feet condo that includes the typical rooms/fixtures of an ordinary bathroom, such as hot water tank, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc. During this project, we’d have to create 3 different designs that are inspired by 8 designs we choose from the internet. We’d have to create 3 thumbnail sketches, 1 rough copy with dimensions, 1 final good copy,and to create one 3D model using Google SketchUp. Along with the design, we’d have to have a list of materials to whatever price of our choosing, and a 250+ word report regarding a certain given topic. With this huge project on the hand, my teacher luckily gives us small lessons and links regarding the Ontario Building Code, NKBA’s Kitchen Guidelines, different typical room layouts, different manufacturing companies/retail stores, etc.
This project was a fun project as I learned how it was like designing a product of my own and discovering it full scale using Google SketchUp. It taught me many things such as having patience, looking in the view of the buyer, and it opened my eyes a little. However, although I enjoyed doing it, it was very stressful as I had some technical difficulties when it came into working with Google SketchUp and the specific measurements for the condo. I just started using Google SketchUp and was introduced for this project, thus wasting lots of time to figure out controls and getting my design on paper to the digital world. As for the measurements, since my condominium was shaped/designed to be like a circle, it made it harder for me to manage since everything had to be under 800 square feet. This caused me to reduced sizing of rooms and causing things to be a bit more cramped than I wanted it to be, but hey I guess that’s how it feels like to live in an apartment I guess.
The ‘Manhattan’ on Google Sketchup
Want to try Google Sketchup yourself? Look in the site below! (pst! it is completely free!)
http://www.sketchup.com/
ahraycho 