How do you build an accurate digital twin of a real place when Google Earth and PlaceMaker are useless in Europe?
I work in events and make 3D renders with layouts and decoration placed into real-world city locations (SketchUp + V-Ray Pro). My goal is to recreate a real plaza/street as a digital twin that's as accurate as realistically possible, correct building proportions, textures, and measurements so my decoration mockups sit believably in the actual space.
I have basic experience with SketchUp, V-Ray, OpenStreetMap, and Google Earth.
The problem I keep hitting:
- PlaceMaker doesn't give usable results here in Europe (no high-quality 3D building data).
- Google Earth's 3D mesh for European cities is low-res / restricted due to permissions.
- So there's no ready-made accurate model to pull from.
What I'm trying to figure out:
- What's the best realistic workflow for this today?
- Is a genuinely accurate digital twin even feasible solo, or am I chasing something unrealistic?
- Should I use drone photogrammetry and/or Gaussian Splatting to capture the site, then rebuild/clean it in SketchUp? Or is there a better pipeline?
- Roughly how long should I expect per location?
- How do people get accurate measurements — laser measure + manual survey, total station, or pulling dimensions straight from photogrammetry?
My setup: MacBook Pro M4 Max, 64GB RAM, latest SketchUp + V-Ray Pro. I can capture my own reference (site photos + tape-measure dimensions — examples attached) and I'm open to learning/buying new tools if the workflow justifies it.
Any proven pipelines, plugin recs, or "don't waste your time on X" advice would be hugely appreciated.