Dan vs. Google Sketchup

Well, here is my 3D Reconstruction project. After trying numerous different images to draw, trying to find many real (and somewhat fictional) maps, I settled on a guest house that existed on an estate near Manakin Town. I found the image while looking for houses in the area, and it turns out that a single estate, Keswick, still exists largely in its original from from the 1740′s! It also happens to be an American Heritage site, and has its own page in the American Memory part of the LOC site. Here are some of the entries that are listed for the vicinity: LOC American Memory

This was the point where the easy parts were over. The rest of this entire project was a painstakingly arduous process of trial and error, frustration and missing pieces. I will put out a disclaimer right now: Google Sketchup is a very powerful program that was designed for toddlers. At least I feel that way after using it. There are so few options that I became so frustrated with the program I continually oscillated between using a flat city map just so that it was easy and straightforward (I’m looking at you snapping line tools!)

Moving on from my frustrations with Sketchup, I think that my end result turned out rather well, considering someone’s shortcomings (the program, or more likely me). The way that I constructed this model very similar to the wayt hat we put it together in class: I edited and leveled the original photo in Photoshop and imported it into Sketchup as a Match Photo. I then lined up the planes (realizing that the scroll wheel on my trackball zooms in and out with out using the real tool) and was able to accurately place the end markers. This took about a day of tweaking, as my lines were continually askew. After finishing, commenced to outline the front my building, learning how to properly draw along the planes, and how to use the Move tool to my advantage. I became very frustrated trying to match any angle that was not 90 degrees, and it was after using the aforementioned tool, that I was able to make intersections of varying degrees all on the same (green) plane. I finally had the front of my building as a single plane.

I then used the push/pull tool to move my building back into the third plane, which gave it real dimension. This is when I finally began to make progress!!! I could finally envision my building as a real object. Using the Orbit tool, I began to move around the space trying to see what the building looked like. Again, I am not entirely sure of the cause of this, but my building was askew. The further away that the reconstruction was from the central focal point, the longer it seemed once I matched the lines of the picture to the actual model. So what should have been a 4″ roof overhang was over 12″! I decided that for the sake of the project, I was going to modify the dimensions so that it all fit with the closer perspective. I have no idea why it turned out like this, other than the idea that the camera and lens combo that were used to shoot the photo used some foreshortening without realizing it. Oh well.

Now, having the mastery of my tool, putting the chimney and tweaking the dimensions of the house was rather easy. What took me over a week to figure out, I was able to put together in the matter of an hour. Now that I know what I am doing, these beginner models shouldn’t be too hard to reconstruct.

As for what this model actually tells me is again hard to define. After putting together the reconstruction of this house, I went into the online aerial maps to try to find out where this house is. I triangulated (through my online research) where the address of this estate is and went to look for it. There are at least 4 other buildings mentioned: A main house built near 1750 still exists in the center, the original house, now a guest house is also there. It dates to approximately the 1720′s, and is said to have originated from iron-rich bricks that were made on the premises. (See the short bio from the Manakin Genealogical Society’s page here) There is also a fascinating building which was built near the mid century, that housed the slaves that worked the plantation. It is this round building, with 3 chimneys to keep the building warm. The owner of the plantation (who unfortunately was not French after 1749) was a slaveowner and in an Enlightenment fashion, built a slave house that was supposed to resemble their “traditional” housing and was designed to keep them warm, as they were thought to have needed the warmth.

But looking on the aerial maps, this small structure is nowhere to be found. It strongly resembles the other brick buildings both in scale and design, so I assume that it was there at one point. It’s gone!! Judging by the condition of the building when the photo I used was taken, I would not be entirely surprised that the building may have been torn down. Sad, but I cannot find this anywhere in miles around. So, after all of my work I have no context in which to place this small house. I think that if I were able to photograph the rest of the extant plantation that I may be able to better understand how the original French settlers designed their homes and laid out their farmland. The way that the French originally situated themselves in this very foreign land could speak to some of their attitudes towards their migration or their initial establishments. Perhaps I could go back and talk to those who I met last week to figure out who lives there and get permission to photograph the estates as they exist today. I think that this holds a great deal of promise, but I need more data before I can continue!

You may have won this round, Sketchup, but I will have my revenge!!!

EDIT: I think that I may have found the little house, but unless my eyes deceive me, it has been turned into a poolhouse!

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