A new feature on the University’s website will allow people to see campus in 3-D.

Powered by Google Earth, the University’s 3-D Campus is now accessible to the public. The tool allows students to see the campus in a virtual map, complete with clickable links and detailed animations of all buildings on campus. The map also includes a timeline option that allows viewers to see the changes made to campus over time. The map is available, but downloading Google Earth is required first.

“It’s more of a visual … an enhanced visualization,” said Data Hub and Resource Center Manager Daniel Lemmerbrock.

The University uploaded the feature in August and began advertising it on the home page in February. The map received 3,400 Web hits in February alone.

The site is intended as a “prospective tool” for new students to the University and high school seniors considering attending the University. The interactive map can be used by students to become familiar with the campus before visiting, Lemmerbrock said.

“Prospective students are so technologically literate now,” Lemmerbrock said. “[This] shows we’re committed to utilizing technology. It shows we’re serious about having visualization tools.”

The 3-D Campus is also a tool to use as a campus map and to learn about buildings, Lemmerbrock said.

The site is used by the University’s architects when planning new construction. It was used back in 2009 when the University’s Master Plan was drawn up, which detailed “major renovations” on academic buildings and residence halls, according to President Carol Cartwright on bgsu.edu/masterplan.

Intern Suzan Sontag said even alumni can use the map.

“All you have to do is jump online,” Sontag said. “You gain a unique perspective [of campus].”

Sontag and Lemmerbrock just completed work on new buildings on campus, including the Stroh Center and the Wolfe Center. They will soon begin working on the upcoming dining halls.

Lemmerbrock began work on the project in 2007. Since then he has been working with interns to create the map. Using the Google program SketchUp, he created 3-D models of the buildings which he later “texturized” with actual photographs he took in March 2009. He took over 10,000 photographs, capturing every angle of all 87 buildings to ensure each made it onto the map.

After that, he uploaded all the 3-D designs to Google Maps.

Lemmerbrock waited until each building was complete before allowing access to the site.

“We wanted to have the complete campus done,” Lemmerbrock said.

The University is one of the first universities with a complete 3-D map on Google Earth. The majority of colleges are not on Google Earth, but some that are include Miami University and Western Michigan University, Lemmerbrock said.

Being one of the first universities with the 3-D map “gives us the edge,” senior communications director David Kielmeyer said. He said he is always looking for ways to promote the University.

The 3-D buildings on University’s campus are the only models on Google Maps in the city of Bowling Green. The map also includes the building located at Levis Commons in Perrysburg.

Small features are still in the works. Lemmerbrock will be adding the University’s seal, located on Wooster Street, and the fountain, located in front of the Administration Building, to the map.