Winnipeg in 3D

One of the things that I have recently been dabbling with a bit is building 3D models using Google's SketchUp software. Other than making it fun and very easy to build 3D models, one aspect that I really like is the ability for anybody to be able to contribute geographically-located models of real buildings into Google Earth.

Obviously, exploring your own home city/town/village is something that a lot of people who use Google Earth or Maps do, and being able to explore 3D models of buildings that you may or may not be familiar with only makes the experience that much more cooler.

Google Earth's 3D buildings layer only had two models for Winnipeg though, and since Winnipeg is a medium-sized city (pop. ~800,000), I really didn't expect very much. Searching Google's 3D Warehouse for more Winnipeg-related 3D models also didn't locate very many results... there were several good models, however they were either not geographically placed, or too broad and not detailed enough, or too simple, and of no real public significance (i.e. private residences). There wasn't even a Winnipeg collection under the "Cities in development" collection (which is Google's official collection of 3D model collections), whereas collections exist for some smaller Canadian cities & towns. I would presume that 3D models belonging to any "official" collections would have a significantly increased chance of being placed into Google Earth's 3D Buildings layer.

It might be naïve to think that an indicator of a city's importance or skilled population is somehow correlated to the number of 3D models available for it in Google Earth, but I figure that for a city the size of Winnipeg, there have got to be some people out there who would volunteer to contribute... from the standpoint of potentially increasing worldwide exposure and interest in a modest city like Winnipeg, I figured that I might as well be one to do so, even if it's just something that I can only do in my spare time. The way I look at it, it could be considered a leisure activity like playing video games, only you end up producing things that are interesting, useful, contributes to the collective knowledge of humankind, and you learn a potentially useful skill like 3D modelling in process.

All that being said, here is my collection;

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
by ahsy
A collection of model structures located in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and its environs.

Here are some of the models that I have created so far:

Canwest Global Place by ahsy CanWest Global Place is an... View in Google Earth

270 Sherbrook St Winnipeg MB by ahsy An improved model of a... View in Google Earth

Upper Fort Garry Gate by ahsy Fort Garry also known as... View in Google Earth

Winnipeg Esplanade Riel Pedestrian Bridge by ahsy An improved and geo-located... View in Google Earth

Winnipeg Chinatown Gate by ahsy Winnipeg's Chinatown gate... View in Google Earth

Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre by ahsy The Winnipeg Chinatown... View in Google Earth

I will be submitting my Winnipeg collection to Google once there are a few more "high quality" building models added, and I think the collection meets the all of the qualifications that are necessary for inclusion. Hopefully we will soon be seeing more of this beautiful city in Google Earth for people from all over the world to explore and enjoy.