SketchUp to Revit Clean Import
SketchUp to Revit Clean Import translates a SketchUp Pro 2023+ .skp model into native Revit walls, floors, columns, and roofs instead of a single Generic Model import. The workflow walks the SketchUp tag and component tree, maps geometry into typed Revit categories with parameters, and is available now as a Labs engagement under MSA + Appendix.
- SketchUp tags map to Revit categories instead of one giant Generic Model.
- Layer, scene, and component conventions carry into Revit type catalogues for documentation.
- Re-imports on SketchUp revisions run as diff-only updates against the live Revit model.
From import-as-Generic-Model to translate-to-categories
Workflow today
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01
Designer ships SketchUp .skp
Week 0. The concept team locks a SketchUp Pro model and hands a .skp to the BIM group. The file usually carries ad‑hoc tags, scenes, and component names, but none of that structure survives the default import. The BIM lead now owns turning a visualisation‑grade model into something that can drive sheets, schedules, and permit documentation.
Week 0 -
02
BIM team imports — gets one Generic Model
Day 1. The BIM team uses SketchUp’s native Revit export or direct import and receives a single Generic Model or a handful of undifferentiated masses. Walls, floors, roofs, and columns are fused into one object, with no host relationships or room‑bounding behaviour. Schedules, view filters, and Revit detail levels cannot distinguish building systems.
Day 1 -
03
Manual rebuild begins
Week 1–3. Modellers trace over the imported mesh and rebuild the project as native Revit walls, floors, roofs, and columns. They re‑invent type naming and parameters as they go, often diverging from the firm’s standards used on Rhino massing to Revit documentation. Component conventions from SketchUp are lost, and every change in SketchUp restarts part of this process.
Week 1–3 -
04
Documentation lags concept
Ongoing. The Revit model stays 1–2 weeks behind the SketchUp concept, so sections, details, and schedules lag design decisions. Coordination with MEP and structural teams stalls because there is no reliable Revit host geometry. Import workflows for other tools, such as Rhino to Revit translation, end up more predictable than the SketchUp path, so teams quietly avoid SketchUp‑led projects.
Ongoing
Workflow with VitruAI
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01
Run the Interop Agent
Day 1, ~30 min. The Interop Agent reads the SketchUp Pro 2023–2025 .skp, walks the tag, layer, and component tree, and builds a mapping proposal from SketchUp conventions to Revit categories. It follows the same interop pattern used in the Interop Agent for Rhino–Revit and the firm’s existing SketchUp integration, so IT can review a single, known connector pattern.
Day 1, ~30 min -
02
Review the categorisation
Day 1. The workflow presents confidence‑scored mappings: tags such as “wall_ext_200” map to Revit Walls, “slab_L2” to Floors, and “roof_main” to Roofs. The BIM Manager reviews, locks, or remaps these suggestions, and can define rules for edge cases like curtain walls, site objects, or generic entourage that should remain as Generic Models. Each Beta deployment ships a per‑project accuracy report calibrated to the customer’s pipeline.
Day 1 -
03
Write into Revit
Day 1. Once mappings are confirmed, the agent writes typed Revit elements through the Revit API. It creates walls, floors, columns, roofs, and room‑bounding elements with firm‑standard type names and shared parameters ready for schedules. Host relationships and levels are respected where SketchUp geometry and elevations support them, aligning this workflow with other Revit‑first integrations already in use by the firm.
Day 1 -
04
Re-import on revisions
Ongoing. When the concept team updates the SketchUp model, the agent runs a diff‑only pass, comparing the new .skp against the last translated state. It updates, adds, or removes only the changed elements in Revit, preserving dimensions, tags, and sheet views wherever geometry is unchanged. This keeps documentation within single‑digit days of concept changes instead of the multi‑week lag of a manual rebuild.
Ongoing
SketchUp to Revit Clean Import — FAQ
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How is this different from SketchUp’s native Revit export?
SketchUp’s native export typically produces a single Generic Model or undifferentiated meshes that cannot participate cleanly in Revit schedules, filters, or room‑bounding. SketchUp to Revit Clean Import classifies geometry into native Revit walls, floors, columns, and roofs with parameters and host relationships wherever the source model allows. That puts this workflow in the same documentation‑grade class as the firm’s Rhino‑to‑Revit interop rather than a visualisation export.
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Which SketchUp versions are supported?
The workflow targets SketchUp Pro 2023, 2024, and 2025 where tag and component conventions are readable and stable. Models authored in SketchUp Free or older versions without consistent tag structure require a ~1‑day calibration pass to define naming rules and clean up layers. Each Labs engagement documents which SketchUp templates and version combinations are in scope before the first project run.
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Does this work for visualisation pipelines?
No. The SketchUp to Revit Clean Import use case focuses on documentation: SketchUp concept models turn into Revit native elements for permit sets and CD packages. Visualisation teams should continue to use their existing render tools and direct SketchUp exports for materials and entourage. This workflow sits alongside other documentation‑first interop paths such as Rhino to Revit translation rather than replacing the firm’s rendering stack.
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When does this ship as a productised release?
SketchUp to Revit Clean Import is available now as a Labs engagement under MSA + Appendix, where VitruAI co-builds the mapping rules against the firm’s SketchUp conventions. A productised release follows once three or more design‑partner deployments have validated the categorisation rule pack across different building types. Firms that join the Labs cohort influence supported edge cases, such as site objects and custom family targets, before general release.