🌍Lotuz Arch

Lotuz GISPlanning maps & terrain in SketchUp

Select a site on the map and get urban massing and terrain ready — place your project in real context instead of modeling by hand.

Requires: SketchUp 2025+ · Windows

How it works

Three steps, about a minute

No map account, no API key, no per-request fee.

01

Pick the area

Click on the map, or type the site latitude / longitude.

02

Set the radius

300–500 m is usually enough for one building. Expand later if needed.

03

Import

The plugin fetches data and builds layered massing.

Output

Each layer separate

Layer names ready to toggle for presentations — not one fused blob.

🏢

Buildings

Map-based massing; height from recorded storeys when available.

🛣️

Roads & sidewalks

Major and minor axes, sidewalks and curbs as separate types.

🌳

Trees & parcels

Parks, residential, commercial — classified from source data.

⛰️

3D terrain

Real elevation for slopes, or flat ground when you do not need it.

🛰️

Satellite imagery

Real basemap with selectable resolution to control file weight.

☀️

Real coordinates

Lat/long on the model so sun shadows match the site.

Controls

Heavy or light, your call

The same site can be rough massing for a camera view, or detailed for documentation.

Build modeFlat ground (fast) or real 3D terrain
Parcel detailRough 2 groups, or ~15 map land-use types
Road widthSingle plane · from source data · or custom
Sidewalks & curbsWidth in metres, corner radius
BasemapSatellite (pick resolution) or solid color
High-rise thresholdStorey count to split tall vs low buildings
Honest limits

Know this before you rely on it

  • !

    Data varies by region

    Dense city cores are usually complete; suburbs may lack buildings or heights. The plugin builds what the map has — it does not invent.

  • !

    Heights are estimates when missing

    If storeys are not recorded, the plugin estimates. Verify when you need drawing accuracy.

  • !

    Large radii get heavy

    Start at 300–500 m. Multi-kilometre areas are slow and bog SketchUp down.

  • !

    Credit the data source

    Data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL) — include “© OpenStreetMap contributors” when you publish images.