This week “The Daily CatchUp” interviewed Paul Lee of Viewsion Google SketchUp Authorised Training Centre.
TDC: What made you become interested in SketchUp training?
Paul: I learned CAD the hard way (by asking everyone in the drawing office to help me) years ago and later had an opportunity to teach it. CAD courses didn’t at all prepare candidates for the workplace, and learning was a haphazard experience. I wanted to improve teaching in this area, and saw the opportunity this presented. I wrote a detailed CAD course in 2002 in a local Vocational school but got little support to continue it so it died.
In 2005 a colleague introduced me to SketchUp. The more I learned about the program, the more I became interested in it. I started this SketchUp training venture with a partner in 2008, (www.viewsion.ie) and its going pretty well so far, despite the recession.
TDC: What does Viewsion do that’s special?
Paul: Alongside the standard SketchUp courses we have produced the world’s first course for the production of CAD-free construction drawings using only SketchUp and Layout. We deliver this course worldwide through live instructor-led online training. (You can find our Youtube video under the “sketchupireland” banner.) We have also provided specialist training to landscape designers, building contractors, film set designers, and engineering / architecture professionals.
TDC: Where do you see SketchUp going in the future?
Paul: In general terms that’s anybody’s guess, but it’s definitely on an upward and ever expanding trajectory. On one level, we see SketchUp becoming a serious BIM tool, ultimately replacing CAD. Most fields (possibly every field) of design will be very much affected by this technology. Open-source is key. The fact that anyone can write code for this is driving SU’s evolution at a phenomenal pace. Take for example Fredoscale and 1001bit tools. SketchUp’s own Dynamic Components are a massive step in the BIM direction.
The possibilities for product marketing through 3d Warehouse are something which have not yet taken hold of the commercial imagination. This will be a very exciting area to watch into the future. However, companies such as Velux and Kolbe Windows have made some progress in this area, which is encouraging.
TDC: What other areas interest you?
Paul: We aim to pursue the Google Earth modelling of our locality (Cork City) as well as country-wide. This will help to grow tourism in the country as well as being a great resource for ordinary people, local government, etc. We have been working on some models for upload to 3d warehouse that will be helpful to architects engineers and students locally and worldwide. Such models would include regulatory requirements for things like disabled toilets, staircases, windows etc. We are very interested in production of dynamic components for commercial use such as window manufacturers, concrete products etc. Secondary schools education (or K-12 institutions as they are called in the States) is another area that interests us greatly as we feel that SketchUp is the perfect tool for many areas: technical drawing, architectural / construction studies, woodworking, graphic design and tutorials just to name a few. We aim to get kids interested by running a competition this Autumn to model Project Spectrum- We will be providing free SU training to people involved with autism groups (please get in touch if interested – info@viewsion.ie)
Energy analysis from SketchUp models is an area of huge interest and though we don’t yet have experience in this area, we are very keen to get to grips with it. Cost analysis using SketchUp is something that we are pursuing for a client at the moment.
TDC: What is Beyoncé’s phone number?
Paul: I cannot reveal that information as I feel this would be a betrayal of her trust.
