Atlasly + SketchUp

Manually modelling site context in SketchUp — tracing the terrain, building neighbouring buildings from floor plans — takes hours. Atlasly generates this context automatically from any UK address and exports it in formats that import directly into SketchUp.

Use the OBJ export for terrain and building volumes; use SVG or PDF for 2D planning constraint references; use DXF for flat geometry that you want to pull into SketchUp via AutoCAD.

Import workflow: OBJ for 3D context

1. Run a site analysis on atlasly.app/generate
2. Click Export → OBJ from the site intelligence panel
3. In SketchUp, go to File → Import
4. Change the file type filter to OBJ Files (*.obj)
5. Select the exported file and click Import
6. The terrain mesh and building volumes appear as a grouped component
7. Explode the group and lock the context geometry — model your scheme on top

Import workflow: GLB for materials and colour

GLB (glTF binary) preserves the material colours from the Atlasly 3D viewer — useful when you want coloured building masses in your SketchUp model for early client presentations.

1. Export from Atlasly as GLB
2. In SketchUp 2023+, use File → Import and select the GLB file (built-in glTF importer)
3. For earlier SketchUp versions, use the Skimp or SimLab Composer plugin

Using planning constraints in SketchUp

SketchUp does not import DXF constraint geometry natively without plugins. The recommended workflow for planning constraint references in SketchUp is:

• Export from Atlasly as PDF — use as a reference image underlay in SketchUp (File → Import → image)
• Export as SVG — open in Illustrator, clean up, save as DXF, then import into SketchUp via the DXF importer
• Export as DXF — open in AutoCAD or Rhino, extract the relevant constraint layers, save as a clean DXF, import into SketchUp

What is in the OBJ export?

• Terrain mesh derived from OS Terrain 50 (5 m resolution, ±2–5 m vertical accuracy)
• Surrounding building volumes (footprint extruded to building height where data is available)
• Site boundary marker

The OBJ is suitable for massing studies, shadow studies, and client visualisation at RIBA Stage 1–2. It is not a surveyed model — for construction-level accuracy, commission a measured survey and LiDAR scan.

Other Atlasly exports useful in SketchUp workflows

• GeoJSON — useful if you are writing custom import scripts or using the Dibble or GeoJSON-to-SketchUp workflow
• KMZ — opens in Google Earth; useful for geo-location references before SketchUp's Add Location feature