National Trust Main Street Center Selects Historic Districts for 3D Modeling
Joint Effort With Google SketchUp™ and Igloo Studios Will Aid Revitalization
Posted July 21, 2010 | Contact pr@nthp.org or 202-588-6141
Washington, D.C. (July 21, 2010) – The National Trust Main Street Center announced today that five communities have been selected to participate in Main Streets in 3D – a joint project with Google and Igloo Studios. The communities will spend the next year using Google SketchUp™ and Google Earth™ to create 3D models of their historic districts, and then using the models as a revitalization tool that can contribute to sustainable, healthy living spaces.
"Gone are the days when only skilled professionals knew how to navigate complicated architecture software to create renderings and visually show possibilities," said Doug Loescher, director of the National Trust Main Street Center. "A picture can say a thousand words. Today, 3D models allow communities to realize the possibilities for revitalization and historic preservation."
The combination of Google SketchUp™ and Google Earth will allow small towns and neighborhood business districts to quickly demonstrate appropriate rehabilitations of buildings, visualize new public spaces and/or street design and turn ideas and words into interactive 3D visualizations. This project will demonstrate the many innovative applications for this technology, from tourism promotion, public planning initiatives and rehabilitation of historic buildings to street design improvements.
The project participants were selected through a competitive application process in which they outlined specific innovative uses that their organizations and their partners could apply in their economic revitalization and community development work. The five communities include:
- Milford, Delaware: (22-square blocks, 135 buildings, population 7,200) Downtown Milford, Inc., will work with the community, including youth, to model not just the downtown as it looks today, but also to show what it once looked like historically and what it could look like in the future through a student competition that envisions what Milford might be 10 years from now. Other uses include marketing the downtown through Google Earth and animated videos of the 3D Main Street.
- Jefferson, Georgia: (5-square blocks, 33 buildings, population 7,400) Main Street Jefferson plans to use its 3D downtown to help guide smart growth, as Jackson County is located in the 22nd fastest growing county in the U.S. In fact, Main Street Jefferson resolved to bring this technology to the entire county in an effort to stimulate smart growth. Other uses include strategically planting new trees downtown, helping the police department plan for security, and allowing Georgia Power to visualize burying power lines.
- Oregon City, Oregon: (31-square blocks, 170 buildings, population 35,000) Main Street Oregon City plans to turn the city's 2D downtown redevelopment plan into a 3D plan to envision an improved pedestrian environment, enhanced sidewalks and streetscapes (in time for its planned $3 million project) and sensitive design changes to historic buildings. It will also use its 3D downtown to attract new businesses and investment by allowing potential investors to visualize the potential of empty lots and dilapidated buildings.
- Downtown South, Orlando, Florida: (91-square blocks, 454 buildings, population 10,000) Downtown South has been facing challenges from sprawl and a long-standing focus on automobiles rather than pedestrians. The community just completed a community vision plan and wishes to model the business district in the hopes of gaining public support and educating residents on the Main Street's future possibilities.
- Fairmont, West Virginia: (35-square blocks, 155 buildings, population 19,097) Main Street Fairmont plans to quickly make building design enhancements that inspire building owners to appropriately change the appearance of Main Street and to help stop the tear down trend. Two important local landmarks, the YMCA and the Masonic Temple, are in need of saving and the organization will model the structures inside and out so that developers or investors can see their potential. Fairmont is taking on the appearance of the streets and public spaces and plans on using their 3D downtown in planning and public meetings to engage citizens in the planning process.
These five participating communities have a year to learn the technology, model their downtowns and business districts and work with their local governments and partners to use the model for community development. At the end of the year, each participant will share its success stories and innovative uses for other communities to learn.
Igloo Studios will donate one free day of on-site Google SketchUp™ and Google Earth™ training for each of the communities and will provide them with free access to School (www.go-2-school.com), an online learning venue for these technologies. Google SketchUp™ experts will also provide modeling assistance.
Established in 1980, the National Trust Main Street Center helps communities of all sizes revitalize their traditional historic commercial districts. The Main Street Center leads the preservation-based community revitalization movement and has proven that historic preservation and community-driven economic development effects lasting change. Currently active in more than 1,200 downtowns and neighborhood business districts, Main Street programs have generated more than $44.9 billion in new investment since 1980. Participating communities have created 370,514 net new jobs, 82,909 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 199,519 buildings, leveraging an average of $25 in new investment for every dollar spent on Main Street initiatives. For more information about the Main Street program and its widespread successes over the years, visit www.mainstreet.org.
Igloo Studios (www.igloostudios.com) is a digital media firm that creates immersive 3-D and video media solutions for AEC industry companies. Responsible for creating interactive 3-D models for Google Earth and the Google 3-D Warehouse, Igloo creates powerful new media experiences being leveraged by building product manufacturers, real estate developers, and designers to reach clients and consumers in a visually meaningful way. "School" (http://go-2-school.com), Igloo's educational studio, trains Google SketchUp users through online video podcasts, DVDs, and live training.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately-funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. www.PreservationNation.org
