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Step 1
Get the architectural plans for the White House. These are easily obtained online from the White House Museum.org website itself or from other sources, such as the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) (see Resources). Save them to your computer's hard drive as JPEGs.
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Step 2
Open Google SketchUp. Select the 2D human figure you see in the scene and delete it. Change the View to "Top." Then select "File" and click "Import." Browse to JPEG plan you have for the first floor of the White House and select it. Now use the mouse to add the image to the ground plan.
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Step 3
Select "Windows" and click on "Layer" to open the Layer panel. Create a new layer. Select the Line tool (it has a pencil on it) and use it to trace the outline of the first floor. Select the "Push/Pull" tool and use it to raise the first floor to the correct height (this information should be on the plans).
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Step 4
Change the view back to "Perspective." Select the top polygon and delete it. Now, still using the underlying plan as a reference, use the Line tool to draw the inner walls. Then use the Push/Pull tool to raise these to the correct height as well.
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Step 5
Use the same method outlined in steps 2 through 4 to create the other floors. Then use the "Move" tool to stack the floors. Create the roof by using the Line tool to recreate the top polygon. Then use the "Inset" tool in concert with the Line and Push/Pull tools to create the shape of the roof.
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Step 6
Select the "Paint Bucket" tool. In the dialog box that opens, browse through the categories to select a material or color you would like to use in your model. Then click on the wall or surface you would like to apply it to. Repeat this process for all the surfaces you want to apply textures to.
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Step 7
Click on the "Get Models" icon at the top. This will take you to the online 3D Warehouse where you can select from thousands of models to add furnishings, doors, windows, and other props for your 3D White House model. Save your work and export it as a "Wavefront OBJ" for use in other 3D programs.
