Architectural Modeling in SketchUp: Push/Pull, Sections and Scenes

SketchUp’s official help documentation explains how to create volumes, make sections and save presentation views in an architectural model. This guide starts with basic massing edits using Push/Pull, then prepares plan and interior views with section planes, and finally organizes these views in scenes for presentation. The documentation notes that SketchUp 2027 combines the Windows and macOS interfaces for toolbar layouts; it does not specify a particular version for the other features.

1. Create or remove volumes with Push/Pull

1. Identify the face you want to edit in the model. Select the Push/Pull tool or press P. If the face is difficult to select, first select it with the Select tool, then use Push/Pull.

2. Click the face and move the cursor to increase or decrease the volume. Click again to finish. For an exact distance, type the value in the Measurements box and press Enter before selecting another item.

3. Double-click another face to repeat an extrusion. To add the same extrusion on top of an existing one, hold Ctrl on Windows or Option on macOS while double-clicking.

4. Push a face into the model to create a doorway, notch or angled roof cut. Stop at the desired depth to remove only part of the volume. To remove the material completely, continue until SketchUp displays the “offset is limited” message.

To create an opening that passes all the way through, the pushed face must be parallel to the face on the opposite side of the model. If lines divide the opposite face, delete them before creating the opening. When a curved face is pulled with Push/Pull, the result is a surface entity made up of many small faces, even if it appears smooth.

2. Create sections for plan and interior views

1. Before adding a section plane, open the group or component context where you want to place it. Make sure no other items outside that context are selected or open.

2. Select the Section Plane tool or use Tools > Section Plane. Click a face to place the plane. To lock its orientation, hover over the appropriate face and hold Shift. Use the arrow keys to orient the plane normal to the default axes: up for blue, right for red, left for green, and down for a direction parallel to the face.

3. After adding the plane, enter its name and number. Change its position with the Move or Rotate tools. To reverse the cut direction, right-click the plane and select Reverse; to align the camera with the plane, select Align View.

4. You can create multiple planes in the same context, but only one section can be active at a time. Change the active plane by right-clicking it and selecting Active Cut, or by double-clicking the plane. Since groups and components create separate contexts, different contexts in the model can have separate section planes.

A horizontal section can reveal a floor plan. A vertical section lets you examine the interior volumes of rooms on stacked floors in the same view. The visibility of section planes and section cuts is controlled independently: use View > Section Planes to show or hide planes, and the Display Section Cuts tool to turn section cuts on or off.

To show a fill in the section, enable Section Fill in the Styles panel. A fill can be applied when the cut line forms a closed shape within the relevant group or component. To locate gaps, right-click the section plane and select Troubleshoot Section Fill. Save the relevant style to preserve the fill visibility for later.

3. Save views as scenes

1. Set up the camera before creating a scene, then choose the required style, fog, shadow and section view. Hide any geometry you do not want to show or adjust tag visibility.

2. Open the Scenes panel and click Add Scenes. Use Show Details to rename the scene, add a description and choose which properties to save.

3. Select the properties to store in the scene according to its purpose. Camera Location saves the viewpoint, zoom and field of view; Visible Tags saves tag visibility; Active Section Planes saves the active section planes. Style and Fog, Shadow Settings and Environment Settings can also store the relevant view settings.

4. Reorder scenes in the Scenes panel using Move Scene Up and Move Scene Down. To reorder scene tabs in the modeling window, right-click a scene and select Move Left or Move Right. Update the scene after making changes; if its thumbnail is also outdated, use Update Scene Thumbnail.

To show multiple interior sections in a presentation, save each view as a separate scene and check Include in Animation in the scene properties. This lets you choose which scenes to include in a presentation animation. The tab search in the Scenes panel can help you find a particular view.

4. Export a section and organize the workspace

To export a section drawing, first select the relevant section plane, then go to File > Export > Section Slice. The default file type in the file-type selector is .dwg. In Options, set the view to True Section (Orthographic) or Screen Projection, and adjust AutoCAD Version, Drawing Scale and Size, and Section Lines. Confirm the options, then click Export to finish.

If tools are missing from the workspace, open the View > Toolbars window. From there, you can show toolbars, create a custom toolbar or reset a customized one. Options to show large icons or tooltips are in the same window’s Options tab. According to the SketchUp 2027 documentation, a unified interface is available for Windows and macOS; the interface may look different in older versions of macOS. Other toolbars can be positioned at the top or bottom, while the Large Tool Set can only be docked on the left edge.

Common mistakes

• Not opening the target group or component context before adding a section plane can place the plane in the wrong location.

• Expecting Push/Pull to create a through-opening when lines are present on the opposite face can prevent the opening from being completed.

• Don’t assume Section Fill will automatically fill every section; the cut line must form a closed shape in the relevant group or component.

• Saving a view without checking the scene settings can mean the expected tag, section or shadow state is not stored.

• If you need to export an on-screen perspective section as a technical drawing, check the export option: Screen Projection includes perspective distortion, while True Section produces an orthographic drawing.

Impact on architectural and interior design workflows

This workflow makes it possible to edit massing, prepare a floor plan or vertical interior section, and bring these views into a presentation using scenes—all within the same model. By saving different camera and section states separately, interior designers and visualization teams can navigate the model more easily and present different views to project stakeholders. When exporting a section drawing, you also need to check the view type, scale and line options. The documentation does not provide information about hardware requirements or licensing conditions, so no assumptions should be made on these points.