The building in 3D
Draw the building on its plot, wall by wall and level by level. See it in 3D with its roof, site, neighbours, stairs, facade and garden. Cut it open, check the sun at any hour and walk in from the gate. Print the A3 drawing set, open the architect's IFC model beside it and make lifelike photos in the browser.
PLANSScale only
Built and checked on a test building and in a headless browser on demo copies of our test systems. Not yet tried at a customer.
Why it matters
On most sites the building lives in the architect's files, and the contractor's software only holds PDFs of it. The QS counts from the drawings by hand, the client cannot picture the elevation, and every change means another round of drawings. Here the building is drawn in the same product that runs the site. Its plot, setbacks and FSI are worked out as you draw. The same model gives the A3 drawing set, the BOQ and the 3D views the client sees in a meeting. An interior firm on SmartMy Interiors can fit out the same rooms without drawing them again.
The problem it solves
- The client cannot picture the elevation from a PDF, so changes come after the slab is cast.
- Your engineer redraws the same plan for the estimate, the site and the client meeting.
- Nobody checks the setbacks, ground coverage and FSI until the plan goes for approval.
- The architect's BIM model sits on one laptop, and the site team never opens it.
How it works
- Open the project and press Building in 3D at the top of the form. A project with no building gets one named after the project, with a ground floor.
- Start with Plot: the plot's shape, the sides on a road, the way the front faces and the setbacks. Save it and read the plot area, buildable area, ground coverage, total floor area and FSI.
- In Rooms > Model, draw the walls point to point, typing lengths such as 4500 or 15'6". Add doors and windows on a wall, then slabs, columns, beams and the roof. Rooms are worked out from the walls.
- Add levels, repeat a typical floor, and place stairs, railings, facade items, the garden and the compound wall with its gate.
- Look at it in 3D: lift levels off as a dollhouse or cut it at 1.2 m. Set the sun to a date and hour, or walk in from the gate and up the stairs.
- Print the A3 drawing set or issue it as the next revision. Press Photo for a lifelike picture for the client, and open the architect's IFC model in the same view.
Everything it does
The plot
- Rectangle or any shape side by side; road sides, the way the front faces, and setbacks
- Numbers: plot area, buildable area inside the setbacks, ground coverage, total floor area and FSI
- Place the building by distances and turn, or fit it to the setbacks; a compound wall with its gate
Drawing the building
- Walls with thickness, height, curve and sloped top, rising to another level for double height; curtain walls
- Doors, windows, fixed glass and open arches with square, arched or round tops
- Slabs as floor, roof, balcony, chajja, landing or loft, with holes; columns and beams
- Roofs in nine styles, from hip and gable to Kerala two-tier and flat with parapet, with tiers and dormers
- 15 elevation presets such as fins, louvres, jaali and portico; Form and Sweep for your own shapes
- Chajjas over every opening of a level in one step; storage lofts; solar panels with kWp
- Services: electrical, plumbing, gas and heating points laid by room rules, lines routed and sized
- Facade finishes and grooves; typical floors repeated; lengths in mm, m or feet and inches
Outside and the site
- Stairs (straight, L, U, spiral, floating, lift shafts), railings, facade items, the garden and pools, gates and site structures, each from its catalogue
- Site with latitude, longitude, north and neighbours as blocks with their height
Views
- 3D, Plan, Wall, Walk, Level and Site; outside on or off; roof off; Cut at 1.2 m
- Levels: lift any level off, or Look in with everything above lifted
- Sun by date and time for the site's latitude and longitude; day or night; picture quality
- Walk from the gate with the arrow keys or W A S D; the stairs take you up and down
- A compass on the 3D view and the plans
Drawing set (A3)
- Floor plans, four elevations and sections A-A, B-B and your own C-C, with a title strip, area statement and joinery schedule
- Issue Drawings keeps each revision (R0, R1 ...) with what changed
The IFC model and photos
- An IFC file from Revit, ArchiCAD or Tekla on the building, shown in the 3D view with storeys and IFC types to show or hide
- Click an element for its name, type, storey and properties; very large files are slow
- Photo: the view path traced in your browser, no AI credits; 256 samples and 6 light bounces on Best to start with
Not built
- Sloping ground and civil works such as roads and bridges: the site is flat
- Structural design: no loads or steel are worked out
- A dormer does not cut the roof face under it; a groove is drawn flat
- Dragging stairs and garden things in 3D: they are placed by numbers or by clicking the plan
- The 3D view on the client portal or in the phone app
Who uses it
Design engineer or architect's assistantSets out the plot, draws the building level by level and issues the drawing set.
Project manager or QSChecks the model, makes the BOQ from it and shows the client the 3D views.
Site engineerOpens the plans, sections and the IFC model to check levels and openings.
Construction AdministratorKeeps the Design Studio catalogues, rates and room service rules.
Where you use it
- Web: Construction Projects > Projects > the project > Building in 3D, Draw Rooms and Rooms
- Web: Construction Projects > 3D Design > Buildings in 3D > the building > Designer, Drawings (PDF), Issue Drawings
- Web: Configuration > Design Studio for stairs, railings, facades, garden and site structures; Configuration > Building Services
- Not on the client portal and not in the SmartMy Construction app
What you control
Settings
- Per building: outer wall thickness and colour, roof, title block, drawing number prefix (B-), Furniture on Plans (on)
- Per site: plot, road sides, direction, setbacks, latitude, longitude and neighbours
- Settings > 3D Photos: Photo Samples (256) and Light Bounces (6)
- Catalogue rates for every outside family; the starter rates are samples
- Room Service Rules, Service Point Types and Service Line Types for the services
Works with
SmartMy InteriorsAn Interiors project on the same building opens the same rooms in its 3D designer, so the house is drawn once.
Questions
Do we need an architect's software to use it?
No. You draw the walls, slabs and roof in the browser. If your architect works in SketchUp or a BIM tool, you can also bring their model in or send ours out.Does it check FSI and setbacks?
It works out the plot area, the buildable area inside the setbacks, ground coverage, total floor area and FSI from what you draw. It does not know your local bye-laws, so you compare the figures yourself.Can it do the structural design?
No. It draws columns, beams and slabs at the sizes you type. Loads, sizes and steel come from your structural engineer.Can the client see the 3D model on their phone?
Not yet. Show it in a meeting, send photos made with Photo, or share the drawing set PDF. The client portal shows site updates, variations and bills.What computer does it need?
A recent desktop browser. Drawing works on an ordinary laptop. Photos and large IFC files are faster with a good graphics card.Related features
DESIGN STUDIOBOQ from the 3D modelPress one button on the project and the building's 3D model becomes a draft BOQ, a section a trade, with quantities and your rates. The walls, concrete, roofing and glazing come from the elements drawn. The tiles, paint, false ceilings, points, stairs, facades and garden come from the finishes and the outside.DESIGN STUDIOSketchUp, IFC and DXF export and importSend the building to your architect, MEP consultant or BIM team as COLLADA, glTF, IFC or DXF plans of each level. Models made in SketchUp come back into the building's 3D view as reference models, and an IFC file opens as the building's IFC model. SketchUp's own .skp files are not read or written: save them as COLLADA or IFC in SketchUp first.DESIGN STUDIO2D drawings to 3D with AIUpload a floor plan or elevation as a picture, a PDF page or a DXF. The plan is read into walls, doors, windows, rooms and the roof; you check what was found and the scale, then press Build in 3D. The building opens in the designer, ready for its BOQ. A picture or PDF takes about 50 AI credits a drawing; a DXF is read without them.ESTIMATINGBOQ with versionsKeep each project's bill of quantities in the system, item by item, priced and tied to places and cost codes. Import it from the client's Excel, make it final, and when the scope changes start a new version: the old one is kept as Replaced. Site progress, the budget, work orders and client bills all work from the same items.ESTIMATINGPlan estimates, building packages and DXF readingPrice a client's house or building plan in minutes. Use your building package rate per m² or sq ft, or quantities worked out with your own norms and rates. DXF drawings are measured as they are added, and AI can read PDF and picture plans if you switch it on.
See your next site report on it.
Tell us what you build, how many sites you run and how your client hears about progress today. We will set up a project with you and send your first daily update.