Summary: On April 24, the AIA launched two new layers in Google® Earth: Blueprint for America and America’s Favorite Architecture. Marking the Institute’s 150th anniversary, the AIA and Google Earth partnership demonstrates architecture’s impact on the world to more than 200 million Google Earth users.

The America’s Favorite Architecture layer features the American public’s favorite structures, as selected by an independent poll of the public announced earlier this year. Google Earth users can now see many newly created 3-D models of the ballparks, bridges, buildings, and memorials that characterize architecture for Americans and comment on the poll results. By clicking on the America’s Favorite Architecture layer, users can view textured 3-D images of the nation’s most popular landmarks created with Google SketchUp, right down to the trees lining the sidewalks and flags flanking the entrances.

The Blueprint for America layer documents community service efforts funded by the AIA, in which AIA members donated their time and expertise to collaborate with community leaders and local citizens to address issues such as homelessness, sustainable communities, and downtown revitalization. Clicking on the Blueprint for America layer enables users to explore how AIA members and local citizens are working together to resolve real issues in their communities to create a vision for their future. The Blueprint projects are demonstrations of AIA civic engagement and foster an understanding of how citizens can find their voice to address specific issues related to the design and planning of their community to help create a better future.

A passionate partnership
“Architecture defines the communities where we live, work, and play, and, thanks to the technology of Google Earth, we hope to connect communities to one another by opening the door to virtual exploration of design and the design process without the constraints of distance,” said AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Christine McEntee.

“The AIA partnership with Google Earth reinforces the message that architects and local citizens are part of a growing global effort to create a better quality of life in their community,” said AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA. “By following the Blueprint for America projects as they are completed over the course of the next year, local citizens everywhere can find inspiration and insight into how they might become active or more effective in their community.”

Google’s intelligent drawing system
The process of designing buildings and communities is changing due to new technology, such as Google Earth’s SketchUp, a 3-D modeling software that combines a robust tool set with an intelligent drawing system. Google SketchUp users can build and modify 3-D models quickly and easily, making architectural drawings more streamlined and efficient so that more alternative visions of the future can be explored.

“We’re delighted that the AIA community is sharing their important work with new audiences in Google Earth,” said Michael Jones, chief technologist for Google Earth and Google Maps. “The AIA layers in Google Earth enable users to visualize, understand, and appreciate the world around them better.”

For more information on the AIA and Google Earth, visit www.AIA150.org, or watch the AIA/Google Earth YouTube video.