Heh, yeah, I know I started this several years ago, but what can I say; that one I never finished, and even if I DON'T finish this one, I've still made at least a lot more progress on it than I did with the last one.

This is a long term project. It's not something that's gonna be knocked up in a couple of weeks. It could even take me up to a couple of YEARS, although given how much I have already done in comparison to how big the CBD is, it shouldn't take years and years.

It's being built in sketchup, and imported into Google Earth. When it's finished, I'll release it as a single big Sketchup file, which you can then import straight into Google Earth as a single model. The CBD is being built block by block in individual files in Sketchup, from the Google Earth aerial images, the Google Earth street view images, my own digital photos that I've taken from the streets, and my own photos from the Sky Tower + the BNZ tower.

I'm not claiming that it will be 100% accurate. As many buildings as possible will be built to the official heights, but mostly for the lowrises that have little to no information available about them, I'll be doing it by simple assumption; how they look next to the photos, how they look next to the other buildings in the 3D scene, etc. Even if the lowrises aren't completely accurate, they should still be fairly close, and the general idea is just to get a 3D representation of the Auckland CBD area that at least LOOKS like it's Auckland.

Due to the CBD's gradual slope (and even some of its quite drastics slopes), I'm building the model to fully interact with the 3D terrain feature in Google Earth; that is to say, the bases of the buildings will look quite odd if you have terrain turned off in Google Earth when the model is completed.

I might release buildings like Saffron or Elliot Tower separately to be included in the model for those who want upcoming towers in their skyline once the model is finished.

Here is the current progress:
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/auckland2.jpg

The ANZ tower is a WIP - I'm still figuring out how to do the dome. Sketchups being all bitchy and not letting me pull the dome out like it should be. Next whole buildings to be done, though, are the Ferry Terminal and the IAG/BNZ tower block.

Any comments, criticisms and constructive criticisms welcome. In fact, any comments, criticisms and constructive criticisms are WANTED.

Cheers.

Current progress

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/AKL3D.jpg

Looking good - you can upload models to Google Earth so that they appear online for everyone, you should look into it.

Thanks :) I probably will, but probably closer to when it's completed. I'm thinking of putting in basic materials before I release it (simple colours that correspond with the real life buildings. Not photoreal, but gives it a slight air of realism).

We'll see.

Thanks :) I probably will, but probably closer to when it's completed. I'm thinking of putting in basic materials before I release it (simple colours that correspond with the real life buildings. Not photoreal, but gives it a slight air of realism).

We'll see.

Typically building models just have side view photos pasted onto them - you should considering doing the same to yours.

Typically building models just have side view photos pasted onto them - you should considering doing the same to yours.

Well I would but then I'd have to go and take photos of every single building from every single angle :lol: it just sounds like a pain to me. The other option was to just use streetview's imagery, but it's not high enough resolution to be used for that yet.

Hi - new here.
You seem to have made some good progress. Cool to see someone piecing Auckland together.

I would definetly encourage you to submit your models to the Google 3D warehouse. That way your not the only one doing it all - plus, hate to say it, if you do it all yourself it will probably be out of date when you finish with it.

To submit you would need to have the buildings as separate files though, or at least smaller groups.
Have done a few model myself, mostly for fun and out of interest to the building.
(see civic & generals building) Texturing is actually pretty easy and quick in sketchup, and just a little goes a long way. And applying streetview and geotaged images is all built in now.

It's such a shame, but I am sure there are complete 3D models out there on some council, or architects machines.. you see them used all the time in renderings and design proposals. If only they would release them to us all via Google earth. Other cities have done it.

Hi - new here.
You seem to have made some good progress. Cool to see someone piecing Auckland together.

I would definetly encourage you to submit your models to the Google 3D warehouse. That way your not the only one doing it all - plus, hate to say it, if you do it all yourself it will probably be out of date when you finish with it.

To submit you would need to have the buildings as separate files though, or at least smaller groups.
Have done a few model myself, mostly for fun and out of interest to the building.
(see civic & generals building) Texturing is actually pretty easy and quick in sketchup, and just a little goes a long way. And applying streetview and geotaged images is all built in now.

It's such a shame, but I am sure there are complete 3D models out there on some council, or architects machines.. you see them used all the time in renderings and design proposals. If only they would release them to us all via Google earth. Other cities have done it.

Hi, welcome to the forums and thanks for your kind words :D

I've actually built the model by block, so it's actually separated into smaller groups by default. I would really like to texture it when it's done, but it'd be a very, very big job, and I'd most likely need help getting all the necessary photos.

However, I have checked up against some of the other buildings that are already available in Google Earth, and it's all a bit pathetic - my buildings are much, much more accurate than the ones that are currently in the 3D buildings layer. Buildings like West Plaza and BNZ are all way, way taller then they should be.

But yeah. I would like to get it made as the official Google Earth model, but it might be a big job. We'll see. I think Auckland deserves a high quality model like Manhattan, even if it's a much smaller city.

Oh, and while I'm here - I added some more buildings the other day :) I have to say, I'm really happy how my Deloitte came out, I was worried it would look a bit odd, but I think I did it justice.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/AKL3D2.jpg

I've started up a blog, where you can also view updates of the model (however I will continue to post in here): http://aucklandcity3d.blogspot.com/

I've just completed most of the Britomart area:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wqysMZevQVk/S7BogPNpvSI/AAAAAAAAAAc/KhN6CDG1NK0/s1600/Auckland+2.jpg

Well it took a hell of a long time, but I've finally completed most of Vero. All that's left is a few beams inside the halo that I've gotta finish off. And trust me, that halo was a BITCH.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/VeroCentre.jpg

Next up I'm gonna work my way down that row of buildings towards (and culminating in) the Lumley Tower.

The new guy has said something golden, you have to cut these buildings up into seperate files and then upload, because Google will just say that you have to seperate these buildings up.

I have had this problem several times when modeling in Beirut, Lebanon - just to help out here :D

Well it took a hell of a long time, but I've finally completed most of Vero. All that's left is a few beams inside the halo that I've gotta finish off. And trust me, that halo was a BITCH.

Next up I'm gonna work my way down that row of buildings towards (and culminating in) the Lumley Tower.

Nice work but isn't it probably an idea to simply import all the existing buildings and fill in the gaps with what's missing in Auckland? Vero for instance can be seen in Google Earth already.

The new guy has said something golden, you have to cut these buildings up into seperate files and then upload, because Google will just say that you have to seperate these buildings up.

I have had this problem several times when modeling in Beirut, Lebanon - just to help out here :D

That's not a problem :D I'm actually building the model in separate blocks, and then importing them together as one single file. So far I've built about 14 different blocks - I expect around 40 or 50 when the model is complete.

Nice work but isn't it probably an idea to simply import all the existing buildings and fill in the gaps with what's missing in Auckland? Vero for instance can be seen in Google Earth already.

Those buildings are innacurate.

A lot of them have been placed incorrectly, and are scaled to be either much higher or much shorter than they should be; Vero is about the right height, but is placed smack bang on the middle of Shortand Street instead of sitting on its rightful base. PWC is a lot higher than it should be, and the West Plaza building is about twice as tall as the actual tower.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/Buildings.jpg

Where you can see the textured buildings popping over the top of my white ones is how you can see that they're either placed inaccurately or scaled wrongly.

Besides, this is not an attempt to fill in the gaps in the existing models; this is an attempt to fully recreate the Auckland CBD, whether or not it gets into Google's 3D Warehouse. I am making my own model, and getting it into Google Earth is actually my lowest priority; I just want to finish it :D Plus, the buildings on Google Earth aren't very complete, anyway. I'm making my buildings complete with bases and tax blocks, whereas the GE buildings are all just the main part of the building plonked onto their roofs in the 3D space with complete disregard to their ground floors. In most cases.

It's getting a lot denser now; Queen Street and Albert Street are filling up quite nicely. I'm just about right on the Sky Tower's doorstep, although I'll likely leave that until last.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/Auckland5-1.jpg

Really nice, I wouldnt mind PWC being 35 storeys/ 40 tall actually. Can you make up a Auckland as is today and an Auckland with Westfield, Elliot, ANZ HQ, Etc. Sorry to be a pain but i'd like to see how they 'interact' with the rest of the skyline, presuming they get built and you modelling is our best bet. You might wana make a little something out of this, its coming together nicely.

BTW JW, How old are you? And why are you doing this.. It is very intresting I presume since very large variety of ppl are doing this for a large variety of reasons.

Really nice, I wouldnt mind PWC being 35 storeys/ 40 tall actually. Can you make up a Auckland as is today and an Auckland with Westfield, Elliot, ANZ HQ, Etc. Sorry to be a pain but i'd like to see how they 'interact' with the rest of the skyline, presuming they get built and you modelling is our best bet. You might wana make a little something out of this, its coming together nicely.

Way ahead of ya dude ;) that was exactly what I was gonna do when I had finished the model. Two separate versions will be available. Thanks for your kind words :)

BTW JW, How old are you? And why are you doing this.. It is very intresting I presume since very large variety of ppl are doing this for a large variety of reasons.

I'm 15 :D I'm basically just doing it because I felt like it. I've wanted to do it since I was about twelve, and even attempted it at one point about three years ago, but failed miserably. Now, I've managed to get most of it done in less than three months, so maybe I needed to grow up a bit before attempting it ;)

Today I went into town and spent a couple of hours walking around taking some photos of the stretch of lowrises from Vulcan Lane up to JB HiFi to try and get better references for that area. I managed to model the lowrises from Deloitte to Whitcoulls before I left this evening (I'm at my dad's now, the model is at my mum's), but I won't post any pics until I've made Metropolis. That's my next big goal. I've been wanting to get the "trio of tallies" built for a while, and with Vero and ANZ both up and running, Metropolis is the only thing left. Should look good on the skyline though.

Thank you everyone :banana:

^^ LOL I'm 16 and I am doing it because I would like to see Beirut look like other cities on GE and I thought - What the hell ?! Why not..

However, I envy you, it is rarely allowed to be seen taking photos of buildings in Beirut because of the tense security situation so I am working with very low resources , however I am finding photos of Buildings on the internet and they are very helpful.

You can go to the link in my signature to see what I and 4 others have done. :D Cheers and congrats on your efforts :D

^^ LOL I'm 16 and I am doing it because I would like to see Beirut look like other cities on GE and I thought - What the hell ?! Why not..

However, I envy you, it is rarely allowed to be seen taking photos of buildings in Beirut because of the tense security situation so I am working with very low resources , however I am finding photos of Buildings on the internet and they are very helpful.

You can go to the link in my signature to see what I and 4 others have done. :D Cheers and congrats on your efforts :D

Your models are looking great, man. I wish I could texture mine though :( Well done for having made all of those without being able to get proper pictures, though :O

I've completed Metropolis and most of the buildings leading up to the Sky Tower along Albert and Queen Streets. I'm not really all that happy with Metropolis, but it's early days yet, so I may do a better version later on.

I have found more information on Emporis for buildings I have already built, so just a heads up, when I've finished everything I'm going to go back and check over every building to make sure it's absolutely perfect (if there is structural info available on that building). Here, however, is how the model is currently looking.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/AucklandCity.jpg

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/AucklandCity2.jpg

Your models are looking great, man. I wish I could texture mine though :( Well done for having made all of those without being able to get proper pictures, though :O


What exactly is your problem? Taking photos or using them correctly?

What exactly is your problem? Taking photos or using them correctly?

Both, in a way. I've never textured sketchup models with photos before, but that's not really the issue - it's taking photos of every single building in Auckland from every conceivable angle that I have issues with :P

Just a fun image; what would Auckland look like if the Freedom Tower was built on top of the Sky Tower's site? :banana:

I made this model of the FT complete to scale.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/AucklandFreedomTower.jpg

that actually looks realy good in the skyline, build it haha

Here's another interesting one. NOTE: The Sky Tower in this picture is one I downloaded off Google's 3D Warehouse. It is NOT the final Sky Tower. I am going to make my own one towards the end of the project. I put the Sky Tower in this image to show the skyline compairsons.

Really nice, I wouldnt mind PWC being 35 storeys/ 40 tall actually. Can you make up a Auckland as is today and an Auckland with Westfield, Elliot, ANZ HQ, Etc. Sorry to be a pain but i'd like to see how they 'interact' with the rest of the skyline, presuming they get built and you modelling is our best bet. You might wana make a little something out of this, its coming together nicely.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WorkingFilms/AucklandCity2020.jpg

I'm just gonna go right ahead and say it; I don't like Elliot Tower. I think it's much too tall.

I think Saffron is a nice height, but my model of it doesn't do it justice, so disregard the design and focus on the height. Westfield... meh. Too tall for the waterfront.

I think Elliot and Westfield make the city look too large, too soon and in much too small a space. It's like we're aiming for Sydney heights before we have the space to breathe.

Just my two cents.

Your models are looking nice ! I suggest you start texturing and cutting up pretty soon to start uploading !

Bah! You have overruled me. I watched a couple of texturing tuts and it does look very easy. I'll have a shot at texturing some buildings sometime today. Probably Vero or something. :D I'll see how it works out.

Nice work; that's looking real sweet! Lots of progress.

Texturing is pretty easy and fast. I suggest you look at this by google (you probably have already)
modelingacity.pdf > (http://corporate.emporis.com/pdf/databuzz/googlesketchup-modelingacity.pdf)

(the link on google is broken for some reason: http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en_uk/3dwh/photography_guide.html)

Let me know if you want some help, or need some reference. Started collecting and taking a bunch myself, specifically for Elliot towers / Jean Batten (which I had planned on modeling). Also got a bunch of arial shots that I had collected over time. Happy to send these to you.

(had started a thread on this here: http://www.cgnz.co.nz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=421)

JW, your skytower is off (as you noted) its much taller. Westfield seems massive, it is noted how ever that it provide more office space than any other tower in New Zealand. I totally disagree about aiming for Sydney heights, I think we should. And 168m is not sydneyish, try 230 - 250m, thats more like sydney. Even Elloit at 218m isnt that tall.

Nice work; that's looking real sweet! Lots of progress.

Texturing is pretty easy and fast. I suggest you look at this by google (you probably have already)
modelingacity.pdf > (http://corporate.emporis.com/pdf/databuzz/googlesketchup-modelingacity.pdf)

(the link on google is broken for some reason: http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en_uk/3dwh/photography_guide.html)

Let me know if you want some help, or need some reference. Started collecting and taking a bunch myself, specifically for Elliot towers / Jean Batten (which I had planned on modeling). Also got a bunch of arial shots that I had collected over time. Happy to send these to you.

(had started a thread on this here: http://www.cgnz.co.nz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=421)

I've had a go at texturing a few buildings, and I agree it isn't difficult - it's just a matter of getting the appropriate photos, which will take time and energy. But I am willing to give it a try. Problem is school starts next week, so I've not got much more time to work on this for now - it'll be back to slow and steady during the school term. And I'll be overseas for the first week of the next holidays, so that will take a bit out of it as well.

We'll see.

JW, your skytower is off (as you noted) its much taller. Westfield seems massive, it is noted how ever that it provide more office space than any other tower in New Zealand. I totally disagree about aiming for Sydney heights, I think we should. And 168m is not sydneyish, try 230 - 250m, thats more like sydney. Even Elloit at 218m isnt that tall.

Well like I said, I didn't build that Sky Tower. However, as far as it being off, it actually isn't. I measured it in Sketchup, it's bang on 328 metres. I think it just looks too short cos my Elliot Tower might be about 15 metres tall haha. My bad. Westfield was an estimate when I built it, it's the right height, but I'm not too sure about the length and width :P I just based it off of one small rendering that I found.

My Sydney heights thing was an exaggeration, and I totally agree that we should, but I think it's also all to do with how the city looks as a result of it. I mean, there's no point putting massive buildings on the skyline if it just makes the skyline look clumpy and frustrating.

But that's just in my opinion.

So tell me JW, have you started uploading ??

Not yet. My computer's away being repaired atm (blue screen of death turned out not be very fun at all :P) so I'm out of action for a bit. But I'm gonna go downtown in about twenty minutes to get some photos to use as textures.

Through my experience, you will nedd 20 minutes per building if you want to do thisw right.

Sorry guys, no major updates on this at the moment. There probably won't be any for a while either; I'm outta the country for the first half of the next school holidays, and I'm not sure I'll wanna spend the other half in my room making a 3D model, so there might not be any proper updates on this for quite a while.

Like I said, though, it's a long term project, so don't take it as me giving up entirely.

I still have every intention of finishing it.

you should ;)

Hey Joelio - I admire your enthusiasm - it's about time someone took on this project! well done, looks great so far.


Just a few questions:
- What are you using as a base? Just the aerial, or do you have property boundaries as well?
- What will you be using the model for, and will it be uploaded to 3D warehouse?

I'm not sure how accurate the google aerial is (maybe not so bad), but if you like I can give you the property boundaries.
To find the heights of the smaller buildings, try setting the shadows to the same time of day that the photo was taken (using known building heights as a guide), then you can raise/lower the smaller buildings until they cast the correct shadow length.

Or, for a more technical solution, perhaps ask council for their LIDAR data? You might get it for free if you say its for a school project or something :)
(LIDAR will give you accurate heights and locations of all features in the city..including buildings, trees, cars, ground surface, etc - but it can be a lot of work to figure out which is which).

Hi AK-Sam,

Well, as it is, I've just been using the Google Earth aerials for the base. I actually went into the council a few years ago to ask them for some building plans and I saw that they had a special program which they used to see proper, accurate aerials which looked pretty spectacular. Is this what you mean by property boundaries?

Other than GE, I've just used Emporis's building data for the heights of the major buildings, and the lowrises have just been scaled according to how they look in real life next to the accurately scaled buildings. Of course, this is also not entirely accurate, although I trust my judgement... somewhat. :P

Noob question: what is LIDAR? :lol:

The Alggi service (http://maps.auckland.govt.nz/Alggi/) from the ARC has all the property and elevation information available.

LIDAR points are generated when a plane (armed with laser survey equipment) flies over an area. The lasers sweep over the city and measure the heights of everything. What you end up with is a 3D model consisting of millions of points which can be used as a guide to model buildings, landforms & other features in 3D (accurate to within 0.5m).

By "property boundaries", i mean the edges of the sites, blocks and roads.. you can see this information in ALGGI and on Google Earth - but i don't think you can export the lines?
These boundaries are handy to line everything up & keep it in proportion - sometimes the aerials can be a bit misleading, especially when there's steep terrain involved.