The Google SketchUp team just released another nice batch of 3D buildings. Along with a variety of new models from the 3D Warehouse, they’ve added a ton of grey buildings in Antwerp, Belgium (thanks for the tip Nick!) and Portage, Michigan. A few months ago, Google showcased a few excellent 3D modelers that were building out a large portion of Antwerp. Having the new gray buildings to surround their models really helps bring the city to life.
The SketchUp team posts these updates each week, using models that they’ve approved during the previous week. I’d expect they’ll begin to approve some Building Maker models this week, which means they might start appearing in Google Earth as early as next week.
Another minor update this week is the Disney World area (our original review | video tour). Some buildings had gone missing which have now reappeared, and some other models have been slightly cleaned up. The best part of Disney 3D is Google Earth 5.1. Because of the incredible level of it detail, it used to require a very powerful computer to handle it at a decent framerate. With the speed enhancements in Google Earth 5.1, Disney performs much better and it’s a neat place to fly around with your kids.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
Melbourne is done too
City of Lyon, France has also been updated with auto-generated 3D Buildings.
Google has kindly updated the 3D maps of New York City from Google Earth.
wow.. that awesome.. sketchup can do that? unbelievable..