March 21, 2012

Visual learner

I'm really good at visualizing spaces and forms in my head.  I can picture  rooms, elevations, furniture layouts, you name it, before I start designing.  But for some reason I hit a road block with the trailer.  The shape was easy, but as far as the construction of it, I just couldn't picture it and it frustrated me beyond belief.  So like a true architect (or at least one too poor/cheep to buy a better program) I turned to the wonderful world of SketchUp - a super easy, super free 3D design program by Google.  We use it all the time at my job to convey our design ideas to clients without the pain of cardboard models.

Using the program I was able to take what we started in CAD and litterally start building the trailer on the computer.  It's not perfect or exactly what we have outside, but it really helped us get the ball rolling with the finer details of construction. 

It was also really helpful for figuring out how the spars and side wall framing would go together.  By the time I finished the model (minus the doors and galley) I felt much more confident about the build and Darrell and I really had a good base for deciding what to do next.

overall view - minus the doors & galley.

showing the sidewall framing & insulation

side wall with exposed framing & finished sidewall

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