A new year brings exciting updates to SketchUp, the design tool trusted by architects, builders, and creatives worldwide. The 2025 release introduces cutting-edge photorealistic materials, enhanced interoperability, and curated, configurable content—helping New Zealand professionals design with greater efficiency and realism.
Advanced Visualisation for Stunning Designs
SketchUp 2025 takes creative expression to the next level with new-generation visualisation tools. The introduction of Photoreal Materials and Environments provides designers with powerful, intuitive ways to elevate their projects. These upgrades are available across SketchUp for iPad, Web, and Desktop, as well as LayOut and 3D Warehouse, ensuring a seamless experience no matter where or how you work.
Photoreal Materials allow you to see and feel the authenticity of different materials, enabling better decision-making and enhancing client presentations. Together with the Ambient Occlusion feature from SketchUp 2024, these new tools offer a comprehensive suite for high-quality visuals.
Photoreal Materials: A Game-Changer
Bring your designs to life with Photoreal Materials, a new material library that accurately conveys texture, light absorption, and reflection. Instead of flat images, these materials integrate layered textures that replicate real-world surface effects like shine, roughness, and metalness.
With an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface, plus advanced controls for customisation, SketchUp 2025 serves as your go-to toolkit for stylised visuals, photorealistic conceptual design, and professional rendering workflows. Get started with the default Photoreal Material libraries, or browse 3D Warehouse for hundreds more.
Additionally, the new Generate Textures feature lets you create unique Photoreal Materials using generative AI. Simply sample an image or classic material and watch as SketchUp generates seamless, tileable materials with minimal effort. Your models have never looked this good.
Environments: Set the Mood with Realistic Lighting
Enhance your designs with realistic environmental lighting that interacts dynamically with Photoreal Materials. Environments use 360-degree HDR or EXR images to provide both a realistic skydome background and a natural light source, helping to achieve lifelike renders.
Using the new Environments Panel, you can control image angles, exposure, and reflections, fine-tuning the ambiance to suit your project. Browse 3D Warehouse for a library of ready-to-use Environments that complement your designs.
Better Data Management with Improved Interoperability
For Kiwi professionals working with BIM and collaborative workflows, SketchUp 2025 enhances IFC support for Pro subscribers, ensuring smoother import/export processes and preserving building information. Key upgrades include improved IFC class recognition, version preservation, and geometry optimisation—helping to reduce manual rework.
If you’re a Studio subscriber, updates to the Revit Importer UI provide greater control over what elements you bring into SketchUp, making it easier to collaborate with teams working in Revit. These interoperability upgrades streamline workflows across various platforms, ensuring better accuracy and efficiency for New Zealand’s design and construction professionals.
Access High-Quality Content with the SketchUp Content Library
Find top-tier design assets faster with the new SketchUp Content Library in 3D Warehouse. Featuring curated collections of configurable models, Photoreal Materials, and Environments, this library supports New Zealand’s most common workflows, from residential builds to large-scale commercial projects. Keep an eye out for regular content updates!
Live Components: Smarter, Customisable Design Elements
Live Components, SketchUp’s pre-built, configurable objects, are officially out of beta and now a full production feature. With over 200+ new and refreshed components available in 3D Warehouse, designers can easily adjust parameters like size, type, and material, creating customised elements that adapt to their project’s needs.
More Intuitive Workflows in LayOut
SketchUp 2025 makes transitioning from 3D modelling to 2D documentation smoother than ever. LayOut’s core tools now behave more like SketchUp’s, improving usability and consistency. Plus, LayOut viewports now fully support Environments and Photoreal Materials, ensuring visual continuity across your entire design process.
Experience the Future of Design with SketchUp 2025
This latest release empowers New Zealand architects, builders, and designers to create, iterate, and present with confidence. Whether you're designing a new home in Auckland, an office space in Wellington, or a commercial project in Christchurch, SketchUp 2025 provides the tools to bring your vision to life.
Upgrade today to explore the new features, and don’t forget to use the Extension Migrator for a hassle-free transition from previous SketchUp versions.
If you’re new to SketchUp, try our free trial or explore our subscription options to experience these game-changing updates firsthand.