Innovative tech solutions– from 3D printing to project management tools and drone-based monitoring systems– are revolutionizing the way architects work. These tools allow them to optimize their workflows, increase ROI and communicate better with clients. Since the advent of the smartphone, app developers have been rolling out small, nimble tools that tackle all sorts of problems professionals encounter on a daily basis, both in the studio and on the construction site.

These 10 apps for architects have proven to be extremely useful across different aspects of the profession. They are intuitive, enhance collaboration and can integrate well with the most popular design software solutions used in the AEC industry.

Best Mobile Apps for Architects List:

#1 MagicPlan

MagicPlan makes augmented reality work to an architects’ advantage by allowing them to create accurate floor plans without the use of measuring tape, pencils, or paper. The app assembles a floor plan in a matter of minutes. All that is required is that the user stand and point a device toward the space that needs measuring. Users can also export these drawings as a PDF, JPG, or DXF and share them with collaborators. The app also includes tutorials on how to use it effectively and get fully adjusted to it.

#2 Autodesk Formit

Autodesk created Formit as part of the company’s Revit software package. The app allows architects to use real-world site information during the early design stage of a project. Formit is an intuitive, easy to use mass-modeling application helping designers make informed decisions while accessing site and climate data. It allows designers to sketch proposed design options that can be compared with program requirements and then shared with the project team for continued collaboration through Autodesk® 360. The Pro version allows users to build larger models and includes built-in Solar Analysis. FormIt started life as an iPad application, but is now available on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and in the web browser.

#3 iRhino 3D

With iRhino 3D, architects can view models created in Rhino 3D on the go. It allows users to view native Rhino 3DM files on their iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, pan, zoom, and rotate using typical commands. By using the navigator, they can scroll through thumbnails and quickly jump to different models, showcase them to clients and colleagues and save views as images for markup and emailing. You can load Rhino models from websites, Google Drive, Dropbox, email attachments, or from iTunes.

#4 BIMx

BIMx is GRAPHISOFT’s mobile BIM communication tool for viewing ARCHICAD models on smarphones and tablets. Architects can use this free app for Android and iOS to share designs, view them in 2D and 3D, or in virtual reality on the iPhone where the Google Cardboard is supported. BIMx Viewer allows users to download models from other sources or from the BIMx community site through iTunes to the iPad.

#5 Morpholio Trace

Morpholio Trace is perfect for architects who love to create quick sketches with the intelligence and accuracy of CAD. The app allows them to draw on top of imported images and templates, add comments and annotations, and quickly visualize ideas. It provides instant scaling, allows users to create custom entourage, landscapes and graphics, and send or print packages. It includes the ScalePen, a patent-pending technology that checks the drawing scale and zoom level continuously to automatically assign a calibrated set of technical pens. The result is simple but powerful – an array of perfect pen sizes that dynamically responds as you move around, through and into the drawing.

#6 IrisVR

With virtual and augmented reality tool gaining popularity, this new technology has also become a medium that is transforming the way the AEC industry communicates and creates designs. Tech startup IrisVR, which develops virtual reality software for professionals in the AEC industry, has already developed two useful pieces of software: Prospect, which instantly and automatically converts 3D models into fully navigable VR experiences for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets, and Scope, an app that allows you to view rendered 360° panoramas with a Google Cardboard, GearVR, or other mobile VR headset.

#7 Storyboard VR

Storyboard VR is a free prototyping and visualization tool that allows users to pull in, arrange, scale and animate simple 2D assets. Architects can upload transparent drawings and environment maps from existing sketching tools to Storyboard VR and use the app to get feedback early in the design process. It also features a VR version of PowerPoint which creates slides for effective presentation purposes.

#8 Pair

Pair (formerly Visidraft) is a tech startup that built an app which allows architects to drag-and-drop 3D models of consumer furnishings and appliances into their designs using iPhones or iPads. The firm built Pair using their proprietary computer vision and augmented reality technology that makes the app different from its AR competitors. Architects and consumers can physically walk around a virtual 3D product like it is in their home, office space or design.

#9 Drone Deploy

Drone Deploy is an app that allows architects to collect aerial construction site data and images using drones, upload imagery to create accurate, high-resolution maps and 3D models for detailed analysis, manage hundreds of users and connect teams with one-click collaboration and admin tools. Project monitoring thus becomes easy and consistent, with the app helping to improve site planning and quality control, managing assets, and reducing risk on the job site.

#10 ArchiSnapper

Archisnapper is an app for iOS and Android devices which allows users to create and access field reports and punch lists on the construction site, as well as to photograph, draw, sketch, annotate and add comments. It streamlines the creation and organization of construction site data that typically requires the use of several devices and cumbersome processes. With ArchiSnapper, architects can automatically generate and edit field reports and share them with their collaborators and clients.

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Let us know which of these apps for architects do you find most useful, or if you think we’ve missed other important ones you can’t do without.

The post 10 Best Apps for Architects That Make Life Easier appeared first on Archipreneur.

Over the last decade the AEC industry has seen an emergence of multidisciplinary, tech-savvy firms that are changing the way we design, build and collaborate. These ambitious enterprises are tackling an array of issues that often hamper progress and growth, whether it’s through streamlining workflows, using new media tools or experimenting with new construction methods.

We’ve compiled an eclectic list of 7 most noteworthy tech-oriented startups that are already making an impact on the AEC industry.

Top 7 Architecture and Tech Startups

Flux.io

Flux is a platform that allows AEC professionals to design and build eco-friendly homes by drawing on big data. Architect Michelle Kaufmann teamed up with three ex-Google employees to create this innovative Google moonshoot that applies artificial intelligence to help build architecture that’s durable, environmentally friendly and responsive to users. Kaufmann led several enterprises before founding Flux. She developed a successful business based on building prefab houses inspired by Eichler’s postwar tract housing projects and designs by Charles and Ray Eames. The firm suffered greatly during the 2007 housing market crash, after which she joined Google X as a consultant.

The main idea behind Flux is to radically lower the cost and improve the quality of building worldwide. It’s a platform that allows all members of the building-making community to seamlessly share data. Its first product, Flux Metro, gathers information about zoning and local ordinances. It also provides cloud-based collaboration between contractors, engineers and architects and simplifies file transfers and data conversion. In 2015, the company raised $29 million in Series B funding co-led by Temasek and Surbana Jurong Private Limited.

UpCodes

UpCodes is a platform that makes it easy for architects, designers and engineers to research building codes and requirements in order to make code compliance easier. This includes codes at the federal, state and local level, as well as specific codes in areas like plumbing, electrical wiring and fire safety. It is accessible via website and mobile app and currently provides resources for 40 U.S. states and has grown to over 44,000 monthly active users, which include architects, engineers, building inspectors and homeowners. UpCodes streamlines codes into a library, described by the company as “the most advanced search engine built for the construction industry”.

Prior to starting UpCodes, brothers Scott Reynolds and Garrett Reynolds worked in architecture and software engineering, respectively. Renowned firms like Foster + Partners, FxFowle, and Skidmore, Owings & Merril use UpCodes. The startup is currently taking part in Y Combinator based in Silicon Valley.

RateGravity

Two ex-community bankers launched a Boston startup that matches homebuyers with low-interest mortgages, while cutting out the middle man. The tool uses an algorithm to calculate what kind of mortgage or loan homeowners are eligible for. RateGravity streamlines the decision-making process for people looking to buy real estate or refinance their homes. It connects them to a number of lenders and eliminates the need for a salesperson for a fee that’s much smaller than that which loan officers usually get.

The company recently raised a financing round of over $2 million, with investors like Evertrue co-founder and CEO Brent Grinna and BOSS Syndicate, an AngelList syndicate run by Cambridge venture capital firm Accomplice. According to BostInno, RateGravity has connected over 150 people with $40 million in approved mortgages over a single year. The service is on its way to revolutionize the way real estate works, and we’re excited to see how they do in the years to come.

ENVELOPE

ENVELOPE, led by MIT’s Sarah Williams, developed a data-driven software under the auspices of SHoP. It mitigates the negative effects the spreading of information through the industry has on prices of real estate. It provides developers with privacy while they speculate, and analyzes zoning to help real estate professionals develop optimal solutions and predict development potentials.

The SaaS company, launched in late 2015, recently announced a $2 million round of financing by investors from the real estate and tech industries. It is also developing Camera, a data analysis program that provides real-time info on the state of urban infrastructure in order to facilitate the use of self-driving vehicles. The company seems to be at the forefront of adapting to the automation trend.

Black Spectacles

Marc Teer, licensed architect and former instructor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, founded Black Spectacles after going through various online learning resources himself. He realized that there was a business opportunity in tailoring specific lessons to architects. He first reached out to various industry experts in order to see if there is enough interest. After getting positive responses from some of the world’s leading architecture firms, Teer decided to create the Black Spectacles platform.

This 7-person startup targets specifically architects with its offering of classes for the industry’s most popular software and tools. The platform offers more than a dozen classes on different design tools, as well as a preparation course and test prep suite for the Architect Registration Examination, developed in partnership with the American Institute of Architects. The team behind Black Spectacles tries to simplify the workload and break down courses into smaller parts. Around 40 percent of the world’s top 50 architecture clients use the services provided by Black Spectacles.

Cover

Startup called Cover Technologies Inc., launched in 2014, designs and builds energy-efficient, affordable housing units using the firm’s proprietary building system and design optimization software. As dwelling units become increasingly popular, Cover’s software provides something other firms offering prefab units don’t–versatility– and eliminates the need for coordinating with architects, planning departments, and contractors. This brings modular architecture to a whole different level.

The software allows users to search for the types of accessory units they are permitted to build according to local regulations, and generate design options based on survey answers. Cover’s prefab homes and plans are currently available only in Los Angeles, but the firm is already taking reservations worldwide. They recently raised $1.6 million in seed funding from General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures.

Source – Architizer

Source is the new offshoot of Architizer, which started off as a community and portfolio site for architects and designers. Since its launch, 40,000 architecture firms have uploaded over 120,000 projects with an average price tag of $33 million. Its founders, Marc Kushner and Mathias Hollwich, built this huge database of projects and firms and are now developing what is touted as “the Amazon for architects”. Source aims to connect architects with product vendors and material manufactures in a large online marketplace.

Source has already garnered new investments from architects, including Bjarke Ingels and Jurgen Mayer H, and features renowned participants like Studio Gang and SHoPArchitects. Last year, Architizer received $7 million in Series A financing.

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What other architecture and tech startups do you think will make an impact on the profession in the coming years?

The post 7 Inspiring Startups Combining Architecture and Tech appeared first on Archipreneur.

Among the many communication channels architects use to reach out to potential clients and create a following, the website is arguably the most important one. With a plethora of website-building platforms and attractive themes available to architects, choosing the right one can become a headache. Solutions that strike the balance between beautiful design, streamlined navigation and affordability are rare, and those tailor-made for architects are even rarer.

Common Mistakes Architects Make When Creating A Website

One of the most common mistakes architects make when creating a website is opting for a template that lacks intuitive navigation. We’ve all seen website builder for architects that feature cool animated graphics and stunning visuals, only to see them turn into frustrating experiences after just a few clicks. Visitors end up spending little or no time trying to navigate the maze of information and rarely come back.

Another mistake is having a single URL website that doesn’t allow users to link back to specific projects. This means that bloggers and social media users can’t share specific links in their posts and tweets, but can instead only link to your homepage, thus forcing their audiences to hunt around for relevant information.

Most marketing efforts in architecture rely on great visuals. Firms hire professional photographers to capture images of their built projects and use engaging diagrams and 3D models to represent work in progress. All this effort can go to waste if not properly displayed, organized and optimized for online searches. There are two important aspects concerning images that need to be considered when designing a website. Firstly, it’s useful to have some text to accompany each image in order to make them more searchable. Another reason for adding text is providing useful information to journalists and bloggers who want to talk about your work. Images should also be large enough to be reposted in online magazines and platforms.

A Website Builder Tool From Architects For Architects

A structured and easy-to-use website is the cornerstone of every architect’s business. Its technical, aesthetic and functional aspects will determine traffic, user engagement, and build a firm’s reputation. An ideal architecture website should let the work speak for itself and require minimum effort to maintain.

Monograph website builder for architects is a subscription-based website-building platform for architects that offers beautiful, responsive templates and a free concierge service. Unlike other website-building platforms like WordPress, Monograph Website is designed to be wysiwyg (“what you see is what you get”). While working in WordPress can be cumbersome an require programming knowledge, the Monograph Website backend shows the page you’re editing exactly as it will look when it goes live. The drag-n-drop interface makes it easy to edit content, choose fonts and arrange elements.

One of the best things about Monograph website builder for architects is the fact that it was developed by a team of architects turned entrepreneurs. Robert Yuen, Alex Dixon and Moe Amaya created Dixon & Moe, a boutique software development and design consultancy focused on building applications and digital products in the AEC industries. The agency’s first digital product is Monograph Website, an industry-tailored web platform, website builder and concierge service designed specifically for the architectural profession.

The available templates focus on the visuals and let your portfolio speak for itself. Each is search engine-optimized in order to maximize your web presence. You can simply drag and drop media, arrange, update and reorder content using the streamlined, intuitive editor. You can also monitor traffic and connect Google Analytics. The platform currently offers three gorgeous themes–Avant, Mezzanine and Meridian– with three more to come.

How To Turn A Slow, Difficult To Navigate Website Into An Effective Marketing Tool

Arkansas-based Modus Studio migrated to Monograph website builder for architects when their previous website became too complicated to maintain. The firm, which works across typologies and scales, from sustainable renovations and conversions to urban design and multifamily housing, built their previous website by themselves. The amount of coding necessary to keep things running smoothly eventually forced them to hire professionals. Nevertheless, the site became slower and more difficult to navigate, and turned from a useful marketing tool into a resource- and time-consuming chore.

Switching to Monograph website builder for architects allowed Modus Studio to use their website as an on-the-fly marketing tool to quickly show their work to potential clients. Their current home page has a simple grid layout that showcases a select number of projects which best represent their practice. They use the Avant theme with a clean, banded layout. Each clickable image leads to a project page with an image gallery, project description and essential info like project typology, location, completion date and photo credits.

“Our particular website design using Monograph Website has helped to quickly get the information that matters to potential clients”

“Our particular website design using Monograph website builder for architects has helped to quickly get the information that matters to potential clients,” said the architects. “Our philosophy, design team, projects, contact info…all of it flows to the user rapidly and in an organized manner,” they explained.

Among the many useful features Monograph Website offers, architects at Modus Studio have been most impressed with the streamlined way of adding content to their website and organizing it on the front end. “This reflects well on our level of organization. For example, if one of our designers has a meeting with a potential client or has a presentation to a particular group, we can promptly reorganize the content of the site to fit the theme of the day. Photos, sketches, and diagrams appear quickly and navigating through these in conversation is effortless. Since the website works so well, we’ve been able to turn all of our designers into potential marketers. If projects come up in conversation outside of the office, any one of us can quickly pull out our phone or tablet and get to the project type being discussed.”

“Since we began working with Monograph website builder for architects we have noticed that our target market seems to have a better, more complete understanding of our work.”

Monograph Website provided the firm with a level of consistency in marketing that resulted in considerably higher visitor engagement and stronger online presence. “Since we began working with Monograph Website, we have noticed that our target market seems to have a better, more complete understanding of our work.”

We interviewed Robert Yuen, Co-Founder of Monograph.io and Partner at Dixon & Moe as part of our Archipreneur Insights series. Check it out to learn more about how Yuen and his team mates develop innovative products for the AEC industry.

Also stay tuned for the upcoming Monograph Dashboard. Their second in-house software venture, Monograph Dashboard is a data driven platform designed to help architects and engineers understand and run their businesses more effectively, combining project planning and management with time tracking, forecasting, reporting and a lightweight CRM.

Learn more about creating a high converting website for architects here

The post Monograph: A Website Builder for Architects, by Architects appeared first on Archipreneur.

From being a novelty a few years ago, VR/AR solutions are slowly becoming a medium that’s transforming the way professionals in the AEC industry communicate, create and experience content. Offering a more immersive experience of architectural designs, but also products and areas related to space building, Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) tools are becoming an industry standard that offers rapid iterations and opportunity to refine designs in collaboration with clients and colleagues.

While Virtual Reality (VR) creates fully computer-generated and driven environments, Augmented Reality (AR) delivers virtual elements as an overlay to the real world. This is why, while leveraging the same type of technology, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are taking different paths to the end user as well as various industries. Also, VR is thought to be a tool better suited to architects, while AR will likely find more uses in construction.

Although both these groundbreaking technologies are exploding, they are still in an early development stage. In order to provide a more structured overview of the most interesting solutions out there, we compiled a list of VR/AR tools that best suit those working the in AEC industry.

#1 – ARki

ARki is a real-time augmented reality visualization service for architectural models. It incorporates AR technology into architecture by providing 3-D models with multiple levels of interactivity for both design and presentation purposes.

ARki can be used on any IOS/Android device. It simply overlays 3-D models onto existing 2-D floor plans, but also provides several other interactive functionalities, including real-time shadow analysis and material selection. Users can capture and record custom views of models in both movie and 3-D still format, and share their content via email or social media with a few clicks.

#2 – Storyboard VR

Storyboard VR is a free prototyping and visualization tool that can be used by architects, AEC professionals, artists and creators. It allows users to pull in, arrange, scale and animate simple 2-D assets. The creators of Storyboard VR, design firm Artefact, developed it for their own internal use for Virtual Reality (VR) projects they worked on. They created their own tool to quickly and easily prototype VR experiences.

You can create and upload transparent drawings and environment maps from your existing sketching tools to Storyboard VR, then select your assets and build a storyboard. The ease of use allows designers to share ideas and get feedback early in the design process. Storyboard VR also features slides – sequential scenes – providing something like a Virtual Reality (VR) version of PowerPoint.

#3 – Pair

Pair (formerly Visidraft) used proprietary computer vision and augmented reality technologies to build an app, which allows architects to drag-and-drop 3-D models of consumer furnishings and appliances into their designs using iPhones or iPads. Their online catalog of models and assets now features over 200 home and office furniture products from Fortune 500 manufacturers, with new products being added every day.

After launching their app, the firm saw that a large percentage of their growth was coming from furnishings and appliance manufacturers. What makes Pair different from other Augmented Reality (AR) solutions is their focus on products and consumers – it allows users to physically walk around a virtual 3-D product like it is in their home of office space.

#4 – SmartReality

SmartReality is an augmented reality mobile app that uses the mobile device’s camera to overlay an interactive BIM model over printed construction plans to create 3-D visualizations of projects. It allows users to zoom, expose structural layers with a touch, move through stages of a project over time and record images and video of their experience. Users can create a free account to upload 2-D plans and get matching 3-D plans and models for a quote.

The SmartReality app is also available in a VR version developed by the JBKnowledge Labs R&D team. This version lets users virtually walk through building models using virtual reality solutions like the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear and Google Project Tango.

#5 – Fuzor

Fuzor is a real-time rendering app that integrates with Revit. It uses the technology originally designed by Kalloc Studios for game design and offers a bi-directional live link with Revit, allowing users to move around, visualize, annotate, and inspect BIM information, while also syncing changes between the two tools.

The live link is what allows Fuzor to instantly update and reflect the modifications done in a Revit file. It supports various measurements, clash analysis, lighting analysis, color and visibility filters, cross section and section cut rendering, and walkthrough video rendering with BIM information embedded.

For collaboration with construction sites, BIM Solution supports mobile devices BIM drawing visualization via Google Drive or Dropbox. Fuzor currently provides support for Revit, Archicad, Rhinoceros 3-D, Navisworks, SketchUp, FBX, and 3-DS files.

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What other Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) tools do you find interesting? Have you incorporated any of these in your workflow? Let us know about your experiences.

The post The Top 5 Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Apps for Architects appeared first on Archipreneur.

This week’s interview is with Gilad Rosenzweig, the executive director of DesignX – the venture accelerator of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, that we introduced to you in last week’s article “How Startup Accelerator DesignX Turns Architecture Students into Entrepreneurs”.

There has always been something of a gap between architectural education and practice. This is no secret for the architectural community and we have heard it in our interview series Archipreneur Insights over and over: both employers and students feel that architecture schools do not adequately prepare students for professional life.

The School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) at MIT is breaking this pattern with their newly launched entrepreneurship accelerator DesignX. It helps architecture students become archipreneurs while still at school by providing a platform for developing business models, pitching and funding projects.

Continue reading to learn how this program can help students make the critical leap from project to startup.

Enjoy the interview!

You are the Executive Director of the new MIT DesignX Accelerator. Could you tell us about the idea of DesignX, its focus and future goals?

DesignX is an accelerator for student-founded ventures in various fields of design and the built environment. It is a launching ground for new technology and platforms that improve the comfort, accessibility, and efficiency of buildings, places, and cities. Our goal is to be a nexus of technology, design, and planning.

How can students join DesignX?

Graduate and post-graduate students in the School of Architecture and Planning apply for our yearly cohort in the autumn semester. Students from other departments across MIT, as well as faculty, researchers, alum, and even unaffiliated members can join student-led teams.

Do you think that there’s a knowledge gap in architecture education? What do you think are the main weaknesses of the current educational model in architecture?

Architectural education often lacks two important components: business skills and openness to an entrepreneurial inventiveness that is not focused on singular design. Having said that, there are many programs, including ours here at MIT, that do support exploration into building technology and environmental systems.

How do you think architectural training helps students to create business ideas and found companies? What specific/transferable skills have proved the most useful?

Architecture students are always iterating, instructed to think outside the box and use their design skills to solve problems. These are in fact the core elements of a business startup!

The proliferation of “design thinking” tools and methodologies developed out of schools of architecture, industrial and graphic design. We just need to re-direct these inherent skills of designers toward the creation of new business and companies that can scale.

Do you have any advice for Archipreneurs who are interested in starting their own business?

Identify opportunities that are emerging and problems that need to be solved for which design can be part of the solution. Your expertise in understanding space, emotion, and the environment can be used to create innovative solutions.

How do you see the future of the architectural profession? In which areas (outside of traditional practice) can you see major opportunities for up and coming architects?

Architecture will always be central to the growth of cities, housing of people and celebration of life. However, the profession needs to be cognizant that the power of emerging technologies can disrupt the profession. Machine learning and AI will soon be employed for design decisions and production. Architects have the best experience and position to design the future of the profession itself. Architects will need to be creators of technology and the writers of code, not just the users.

About Gilad Rosenzweig

Gilad Rosenzweig is an architect and urban planner with two decades of experience in community development, urban tech, and the design of things big and small.

He is the executive director of DesignX – the venture accelerator of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning. DesignX launches new startups creating innovation in design, cities, and the built environment.

Prior to DesignX, Gilad founded Smarter in the City, a non-profit accelerator for high tech start-ups in Roxbury, an inner-city neighborhood of Boston. Smarter in the City supports entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities, connecting new startups to the tech sector and helping spur economic development in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

Gilad has worked on urban design and planning projects across the country, including district and master plans in Memphis, Reno, and across the greater Boston area. As an architect, he designed residential and commercial projects in Canada, Israel and the UK.

Gilad is a graduate of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Bartlett School of Architecture in London.

The post Closing the Gap in Architecture Education – Interview with DesignX Accelerator appeared first on Archipreneur.