SketchUp modelling with ASTRA
Turn 2D elevation drawings into a SketchUp model
Upload the elevations of a building and import a measured model with File → Import: walls, windows, doors and roof where the drawings put them, each as its own group, at real size.
For Premium members · 15 to 40 coins a model · usually ready in a few minutes
• Imports in one step (.dae)
• Clean groups, faces out
• IFC for SketchUp Pro
• Measured in metres
No tracing, no push-pull marathon
Modelling an existing building in SketchUp usually means importing the elevations, tracing every line, pushing and pulling every wall and cutting every window by hand. ASTRA does that part for you:
Walls, windows, doors and roof planes placed from the drawings' own dimensions
Openings cut through the walls, with frames, glazing bars and sills
Gables, slabs and floor levels as the elevations show them
The whole building at real size, so your own design work starts from the right shell
Four steps from drawings to File → Import
Upload the drawings
A sheet with all four elevations, or one image per side in any order. A floor plan is optional and fixes the footprint and the depth.
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Set the front width if you know it
Optional: the front width in metres (outside to outside, without roof overhangs) and up to 2,000 characters of notes on materials, floors or roof type.
Let ASTRA build it
ASTRA reads the drawings and builds the model, usually in a few minutes.
Import the .dae
In SketchUp choose File → Import → COLLADA (*.dae), then save the model as .skp.
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What comes into SketchUp
Every model ships with the files below; the SketchUp module offers the .dae first.
File
model.dae (COLLADA)
How it opens
SketchUp: File → Import → COLLADA (*.dae)
What comes in
The whole model in metres, Z up; each wall, window, door, roof plane, gable and slab as its own group; named materials
model.ifc (IFC4)
Five renders, .glb and .blend
In the same zip
For presentations, other 3D apps and Blender
SketchUp Pro: File → Import → IFC
The same building with IFC classes (walls, windows, doors, roof, slabs) and storeys
Clean geometry: groups, quads and faces the right way
Add a Title
One group per element
Each wall, window, door, roof plane, gable and slab is its own group, so you can hide, move or replace one without breaking the rest.
Materials you repaint in one click
Plaster, roof, frames, glass, doors and sills each have their own named material: paint one with your own and every element that uses it changes.
Faces point outward
Every face points outward, so the model comes in front faces out: no blue back faces to reverse.
Real size, Z up
The model arrives in metres with Z up, so the Tape Measure tool reads real dimensions straight away.
Quads, not a triangle mesh
Walls are clean quads with their openings cut, not a mesh of triangles to clean up before you can push or pull anything.
Scale from dimension lines, level marks or your width
SketchUp users measure everything, so the scale matters. ASTRA takes it from the best source on your drawings:
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Your front width, when you enter it: the model is built at exactly that width
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Otherwise the dimension lines on the elevations
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Then the level marks, which also set the floor heights
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Then a scale bar (a ratio like 1:100 alone is not enough: an image has no paper size)
With none of these, typical door and storey heights set the scale and the result says it is approximate. The result page always shows the model's width × depth × height in metres and where the scale came from.
Old paper and scanned drawings, ready for SketchUp
ASTRA reads drawings with OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra, the way an architect does: dimension lines, level marks and scale bars. These work best:
Clear elevations of all four sides, as CAD exports or clean scans
Dimension lines or level marks on at least one elevation
PNG or JPG files, up to 5 MB each and at least 128 px on each side
A PDF set exported page by page as PNG or JPG before you upload it
Drawings, not photos of the building. With fewer than four elevations the model has to guess the missing sides, and its notes say which.
Three ways to get a 3D model from 2D drawings
Whether you model it yourself, hire a modelling service or let ASTRA build it, this is what each route involves.
Your time
Model it yourself in SketchUp
Hours of tracing, push-pull and cutting openings
Hire a modelling service
Briefing, waiting and checking the delivery
Turnaround
As long as the modelling takes
Usually days, set by the provider
ASTRA
Uploading four elevations
Usually a few minutes
Cost
Best for
Detail, interiors and one-off shapes
What you get
Full interiors, structure and documentation
Your hours
A quote per job
Shells of existing or proposed buildings, fast
As detailed as you make it
What you ordered
A measured massing model with real openings, as groups
15 to 40 coins per model
Made for extensions, renovations and massing studies
Add a Title
Extensions and loft conversions
Model the existing house from its drawings, then design the extension on top of the real shell.
Client presentations
Walk a client around the building in 3D the day you receive its drawings.
Renovation and planning drawings
A measured base for before-and-after views, planning sets and neighbour consultations.
Old paper drawings
Bring scanned or archived elevations into SketchUp as a model instead of a picture on a wall.
Massing and context studies
Neighbouring buildings at their real size, with real openings, instead of plain boxes.
A shell to design around
Interior and landscape designers get the building's walls, openings and roof to work around.
Next: photoreal images of the model
Once the model is in SketchUp, you have three ways to show it:
The free ArchiVinci plugin renders the active view from inside SketchUp; see SketchUp rendering with ArchiVinci (Extension Warehouse)
Any SketchUp renderer you already use, since the model is clean SketchUp geometry.
"Render this view" on the result page, which sends any of the five renders to ArchiVinci's Exterior module as its input image.
Coins, not hours
Who can use it
Premium members, with a Premium plan or pass.
How the coins work
Generate holds 40 coins. When the model is done you pay only what it used, between 15 and 40, and the rest comes straight back to your balance. A typical house costs 15.
Current limits
One model at a time and up to 10 a day; files stay for 7 days, so download what you want to keep.
If it fails
A model that cannot be finished costs nothing: all 40 coins come back.
SketchUp modelling with ASTRA: questions and answers
Which SketchUp versions can import the model?
Any SketchUp that imports COLLADA (.dae) files. Importing the IFC file needs SketchUp Pro.
Is the model a SketchUp (.skp) file?
Not yet. It is a .dae file that SketchUp imports in one step (File → Import). Save it as .skp after importing.
Will the faces come in reversed?
No. Every face points outward, so the model imports with its front faces out.
My drawings are a PDF. What should I upload?
Export the elevation pages as PNG or JPG images first, up to 5 MB each, and upload those.
Do I need all four elevations?
Yes: one sheet with the four elevations, or four separate images. With fewer, the model has to guess the missing sides and says so in its notes.
What does "Ready · check" mean on my result?
The model is complete. An AI review compared its renders with your drawings, and the note lists what it could not confirm, so you know where to look.
Can I tell ASTRA about materials or the roof type?
Yes, in the notes, up to 2,000 characters: materials, number of floors, roof type. Notes clarify the drawings; they do not override what the drawings show.
Can ASTRA build a model from a plan alone?
No: ASTRA needs the elevations, and a floor plan only adds the footprint and the depth. To turn a plan on its own into a 3D view, use ArchiVinci's Floor Plan Maker.
Can I model an existing house for an extension design?
Yes. Upload the existing house's elevations, import the model and design the extension or loft conversion against the real walls, openings and roof.
Which languages and devices does the module work on?
English, Spanish and Italian, on desktop, tablet and phone.
The same model, two more ways
Blender modelling
The same building as a .blend with cameras, studio lights and Cycles settings ready.
Revit modelling
The same building as an IFC4 model with walls, windows, doors, roof and storeys for Revit.
SketchUp rendering
Turn your SketchUp views into photoreal images with the free ArchiVinci plugin.
Your SketchUp model is four elevations away
Upload the drawings, press Generate and import a clean, measured model.
SketchUp is a trademark of Trimble Inc., Blender of the Blender Foundation and Revit of Autodesk, Inc. GPT-6 Astra is a model made by OpenAI. ArchiVinci is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.