'I hope that Artificial Intelligence will mean that architects will have to pull fewer all-nighters,’ says AI and XR Product Manager at Trimble SketchUp, Aris Komninos. He says this jokingly, but the truth behind the comment is sobering. For decades, architects have pushed through exhaustion, navigating bloated workflows and an ever-growing stack of software. One programme for 3D modelling, another for rendering, and countless forum threads for troubleshooting. For many designers, the creative process has often felt less about designing and more about overcoming software friction.
Much of this friction comes from design technology's long-standing reliance on add-ons. Need a specific rendering style? Install a plugin. Want to simulate daylight? Find the right extension. And while platforms like SketchUp's Extension Warehouse are incredibly useful, having a single AI-driven workspace that learns as you design, renders in real time, and instantly troubleshoots issues would be transformative. According to Komninos, this would dramatically enhance the design process, giving designers back valuable time. As he puts it, 'AI will empower design professionals by providing tools that streamline tedious tasks, accelerate analysis, and enhance overall productivity.'
This evolution isn't about replacing creativity but about removing monotony. Instead of manually producing materials or searching endlessly through forums for support, designers will soon be able to rely on AI built directly into modelling software to handle those tasks. 'AI will let designers focus on what they do best: design thinking,' says Komninos. 'Soon, every major design tool will have an AI assistant built in, helping capture, generate visuals, and handle repetitive tasks.'
Recent updates to SketchUp show this shift already taking shape. SketchUp's newly integrated AI Assistant can generate 3D objects and answer how-to questions via chat, while AI Render helps designers produce client-ready visuals quickly within the software. 3D objects can be created using both text and image prompts, saving designers significant manual modelling time. Meanwhile, SketchUp's AI Render tool (formerly known as Diffusion) allows users to generate photorealistic visuals through natural language prompts. Traditional workflows are still available, but these new features greatly amplify design productivity, enabling users to quickly generate images and iterate on design ideas.
