Building a second career in architecture with Linus Fernström
Stora Höga, Sweden
When professional hockey player Linus Fernström sustained a career-ending injury, he used his long recovery time to pursue a new project: his family’s dream home. He used SketchUp to design his new home — and pave the way for a new career in architecture.
Linus’ family dream home (Photo by Calle Wärnelöv).
Midway through his hockey career, Linus and his family bought a plot with the plan to build a house and live there during the summers when Linus was off from hockey. Before they could finish their plan, Linus was injured and began a lengthy rehabilitation process. Since it would be some time before Linus could be physically active, he turned toward drawing the house his family had planned. He quickly moved from sketches to SketchUp and found not only a new passion but a new career in architecture.
The first project: a dream home
When Linus began designing in SketchUp, he had no training — just a lifelong love of and interest in architecture. He learned about how built structures come together by drawing in SketchUp. His design process involved experimentation, redrawing, deleting and starting over again, refining and adjusting until it was right. During this time, Linus found himself in a mode he recalled from his ice hockey career: a combination of joy and inner motivation.
Early sketches of Linus’ family home. Scroll to see another view.
After he finished his design, Linus had another new skill to learn: creating 2D documentation for permits. He read many books and learned to interpret building regulations, solve accessibility issues, and read site plans, then created 2D drawings in SketchUp. After he received the permits, he worked with a construction engineer to create finalized construction documents for the build.
Linus went to the construction site every day, learning how the drawings he created would dictate the work that the carpenters and construction workers executed. While it only takes seconds in SketchUp to Push/Pull a roof out for a more dramatic overhang, it can create a construction challenge. In situations like these, Linus learned that something that is easy to make in SketchUp may be challenging to build in real life.
Images showing the SketchUp model and the construction process. Scroll to see another angle.
Since it was his first design project and Linus had no formal training, he and his construction team ran into a few hiccups. Linus also worked through these issues in SketchUp and communicated solutions to the construction team in SketchUp. He learned the value of having detailed construction drawings and gained an understanding that what appears to be simple often requires advanced technical solutions.
“Some architects still draw in 2D, and I don’t understand that at all. If something goes wrong, you have to make many drawings, and it’s so much easier to be understood in 3D.”
—Linus Fernström
Kitchen details modeled in SketchUp.
Gaining recognition — and a new career
As longtime fans of Husdrömmar, a Swedish architectural design TV show with two million viewers that follows house projects from start to finish, Linus and his family decided to submit their home. He had little expectation that anything would come of it — after all, he wasn’t a professional architect or designer.
To his surprise, not only did his home get chosen for the show, but the host, Gert Wingårdh, an internationally renowned Swedish architect, ended the episode of Linus and his family with amazing words of encouragement. Wingårdh said Linus’ home was one of the best-executed projects the show had featured and that he believed there would be a big demand for Linus’ designs.
Still of Linus’ family in their home on Husdrömmar.
Wingårdh’s prediction was correct: right after the show aired, Linus started getting calls and texts from people who wanted help with their projects or who wanted to start new projects with him. What began as a way to fill his time while he looked toward an uncertain future became his new career.
Photograph of the completed home.
A grounded approach and an organized workflow
Because of Linus’ lack of formal training, he doesn’t approach projects with any preconceived design ideas in mind. From his years as a hockey player, he brings a team-centered mentality to every project. He relies on understanding the client and reading the landscape over the course of a couple of meetings. For him, the greatest measurement of success on a project is not the creation of an incredible design but a client’s happiness with their new home, giving them what they want but hopefully also what they didn't know they wanted.
He starts projects by situating them in their proper context, using Moasure to take approximate measurements and create a site plan. When he begins drawing in SketchUp, Linus is fastidious about keeping his model organized.
Modeling in SketchUp is like building a house —if you don't get the fundamentals and organization right from the beginning, you’ll have problems the whole time you build.
—Linus Fernström
When Linus began using SketchUp, he had yet to learn about the universe of SketchUp extensions that could supercharge his workflow. He relied on native tools, which could do almost everything he needed, though some tasks were faster than others. As he learned more about the SketchUp ecosystem, he started incorporating extensions into his workflow, which helped boost his speed, accuracy, and efficiency. Some of his favorite extensions include TopoShaper and Curic Scene Manager. Scene Manager is a must-have for Linus, as he can use up to 200 scenes to visualize everything he needs to know about a project.
For client communication, Linus mainly relies on scenes from SketchUp. Linus grabs models from 3D Warehouse to add furniture and other details to his projects to give his clients a sense of context and scale. The native SketchUp visuals are effective communication tools, but Linus will occasionally make a rendering with Twinmotion for clients who require a more detailed or realistic view of their future home.
Linus also started leveraging LayOut for all of his 2D documentation needs. He loves that he can quickly change his SketchUp model and send clear, up-to-date drawings to project owners and the construction team. The combined visualization power of SketchUp and LayOut helps Linus communicate his designs clearly with all stakeholders and allows for a streamlined workflow with the minimum of tools.
Advice from a self-taught architect
Linus working in his home. Scroll to see a view from the home’s interior.
When learning about architecture, Linus recommends immersing yourself in studies.
Think about architecture daily and study architecture whenever and wherever you are. If you’re in someone’s home or reading books — think, ‘How was this built? How could it be done differently? What would be the effect of any changes?’ Be curious and dare to ask a lot of questions.
—Linus Fernström
Linus is a big fan of SketchUp’s YouTube channel for learning modeling techniques. He also takes advantage of the helpful and welcoming community in the SketchUp forums. The lack of competition and the willingness of users to share their knowledge is something that Linus describes as the unique "SketchUp spirit."
Linus’ five tips for working in SketchUp
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SketchUp is smart. If any task feels cumbersome, there is likely a better solution — just Google it. You often find the answer and think, "Ahh, of course!"
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Use shortcuts like double-clicking, Alt, Cmd, or the Shift Key. Most tools perform a specific action that will save you a lot of time when repeating tasks by using these keys.
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Linus advises using the measuring tool a lot. Linus’ workflow basically consists of thinking, measuring, and modeling.
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Try to find a working method that suits you and refine it. Create preset templates with tags you mostly use, such as when drawing houses, so you don't have to spend time setting them up for each new project.
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When you have some free time, check out SketchUp resources, even if you’re not looking to solve a particular problem. Watching a 15-minute video on YouTube can lead to many new workflow insights.
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Portrait of Linus Fernström, architect.