Reimagining urban space vertically, leaving the ground floor to pedestrians and cyclists and imagining raised buildings that let people pass underneath: this is the idea behind the project of Raphaël Craveiro, winner of the SketchUp Design Sprint Challenge 2025, a contest promoted by the software application.

An architecture student at LISAA Paris, Craveiro convinced the jury with a three-dimensional model depicting a section of a residential building stretched above a street. Underneath run widened sidewalks and bike lanes highlighted by colorful signage.

The project is distinguished by a conception of urban space centered on coexistence, light mobility, and the integration of greenery. Each floor has plants and trees on the façade, designed to provide shade during the summer months. On the rooftop, a communal terrace houses a shared vegetable garden, while a system of adjustable wooden slats allows for modulation of natural light according to the season or time of day.

The intervention responds to the theme of the competition-"a space for 2050"-launched by SketchUp on the occasion of the software's 25th anniversary. Participants were required to design a space with an area of less than 46 square meters in just 60 minutes. Craveiro developed the entire concept within SketchUp, winning a $5,000 prize and an annual subscription to SketchUp Studio.

With a simple yet articulate approach, Craveiro's design envisions a compact and scalable response to the urban transformations expected in the coming decades: more density, more greenery, and an infrastructure designed for people before vehicles.