Interior designer Tola Ojuolape demonstrates how to apply materials and finishes to a project using SketchUp in the second part of her Design Workshop, produced by Dezeen for the software brand.

Ojuolape designed a 3D model of the library specially for the workshop, which is the third video in Dezeen and SketchUp's series of filmed Design Workshops.

The series features leading designers describing how they created interior environments using the brand's 3D modelling software.

The second part of Ojuolape's Design Workshop focusses on materiality and finishes, following a first part that explored themes of narrative and experience.

Ojuolape's practice is known for its use of earthy, tactile materials. "Materiality is really important in everything that we do as a practice," she said in the video workshop, which was filmed at Dezeen's offices in London.

"We love warm comfortable interiors, and we're always looking at tactile finishes and referencing different colourways to get the perfect aesthetic," she continued.

During the workshop, Ojuolape discussed how SketchUp can be used to visualise a space with a rich use of materials, demonstrating how real world textures can be imported into the software and applied to surfaces.

She also demonstrated how SketchUp's Ambient Occlusion feature can be switched on to visualise 3D models with shadows, highlighting the dimensions of a space and the relationships between different objects.

Elsewhere, Ojuolape shows how SketchUp allows a model to be viewed with different states of lighting.

Ojuolape is a multi-disciplinary designer based in London and founder of eponymous practice Tola Ojuolape Studio. At the 2023 Dezeen Awards, she was shortlisted for emerging interior designer of the year and was a judge.

Among her previous projects is the Africa Centre, for which she worked with architecture studio Freehaus to give a lacklustre office building in Southwark has undergone a vibrant makeover.

Ojuolape's Design Workshops follow a two-part instalment hosted by Uchronia founder Julien Sebban, who explained how he used SketchUp to create a fantasy bar interior.

SketchUp is 3D design software used to model architectural and interior design projects, product designs, civil and mechanical engineering and more. It is owned by construction technology company Trimble.

Dezeen collaborated with the brand last year on Climate Salon, a podcast series exploring the role that architects and designers can play in tackling climate change.

Partnership content

This video series was produced by Dezeen in partnership with SketchUp. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.