PreDesign; The Future of Environmental Modelling

Trimble, SketchUp’s lead organization made an announcement in the fall of 2020 in Sunnyvale,
CA, that they will be launching a service called, PreDesign. PreDesign is an environmental
modeling service that will allow the architects to perform simulations on their designs to
mitigate the effects of climate and building’s outset lighting. Sketchup will help the architects
and designers to collect valuable information and insights about their designs and the project.
The product director of Trimble, Andrew Corney expressed the significance of this service by
highlighting how PreDesign will help designers to broaden the horizon of their project value in
front of their clients by producing prodigious designs. Luckily, the architects of the modern days
are well known for the adversities that come with dramatic changes in the climatic conditions of
the world. They realize how important it is for the buildings and projects to be responsive to such
situations.

The growing amalgamation and dominance of BIM have put a profound effect on the approach
of the architects. The ideology that put forward the foundation of PreDesign is concerned with
the complete utilization of data about building’s design and performance. To ensure climate-
responsive designs and performance, it is very important to incorporate environmental designing
aspects into each stage of the project.

PreDesign has given architects and designers the power to test initial designs and proposals
against the climatic, environmental, and visual characteristics of the project site. With the initial
testings, supporting data, and visuals provided by PreDesign, architects can get remarkable
intuitions that prove to be helpful in taking proactive climatic decisions about proposal and
structure.

According to the testimony of Heartwood Studio’s chief architect Adam Ostroff, “Its
compelling visual outputs and intelligent talking points also help us clearly communicate the
value of our proposals to clients.” He added that “useful information that we need to position our
projects for better design outcomes from the very start.”

PreDesign helps the users of Sketchup to find suitable design approaches, project narratives, and
graphics by making use of the available information about site location and building category.
The working combination of this two software allows the architects to produce the best
designs that include adequate openings, shadings, and heating. It also makes suggestions for
design changes that may alter the climatic response of the building like the suggestion of
extending the outdoor space of the building.

PreDesign reduces the research that architects need to perform about the climatic conditions of
the project site before starting a design. It provides all the necessary material, statistics, and
acumens that the designers need to enumerate to produce climate-responsive designs. It also
helps the architects to identify designs that will not be suitable for the climatic conditions of the
building site along with the solutions that help the designs become acceptable in those
conditions.

PreDesign also features the cloud-based feature that allows the users to develop a relationship
between the building type and climatic conditions. Sketchup Pro 2021’s studio or enterprise
subscription includes this feature.