- Walk through each room of your house in turn. With our interior design software can take a virtual walk through of each room of your home as if you were actually there: specify the orientation of the sun, adjust the lighting, open doors, windows, etc. Thanks to the Sun Direction tool, you can also walk through your project at different times of.
- Send your model to your 3D printer cutter software; Client reviews 'Shapr3D is very integrated to my workflow. I start most of my projects and sometimes complete them entirely right in Shapr3D. For many of my architecture projects, for instance, I do my initial massing as well as a lot of thinking in Shapr3D.'.
- Lumion based fly through animations are based on SketchUp modeling with more limited custom work, lighting and reflections. Both levels of fly through animation can have Google Earth fly downs, call outs for interest points and project features along with music and voice overs included. Produced by Robert Becker Produced by Robert Becker.
10 essential pen-friendly Windows apps Put that slick Surface Pen to work with these ink-happy tools for your laptop-tablet hybrid.
Sometimes we want to change or redesign our apartment's interior, or maybe we bought a house and want to decorate it. Some people just want to play, try to design their ideal home and see how it might look.
In these cases, it might be very helpful to have a software tool that can help us create 3D maps of the changes in our home and what we could make better. Here are the best four tools which can help you in that.
1) SketchUp
Google SketchUp is a great tool for 3-D modeling. It is much more intuitive and easier to use than traditional CAD programs, and has been very popular.
In recent years, mainly thanks to the impetus given by Google to this fantastic tool, millions of people, professionals and amateurs, study, design and present their ideas in 3D. Designing with Sketchup is fun and dynamic. There are lots of free and editable objects that are available to use in our own projects and that can save us a tremendous amount of time.
Whether you're an architect, game designer, decorator, renovator, or simply want to simulate redecoration of your home with Sketchup, you will enjoy it.
2) SweetHome 3D
SweetHome 3D is an open-source software. It is for people who want to redesign their own homes. Users can arrange furniture in the house and see a 3-D version of how everything looks. There are additional 3D models to use, and one can create pretty realistic images of the house and all its parts.
3) 3D Home Design
3D Home Design has a free version of its powerful software which enables users to create 2D/3D professional plans for indoor and outdoor views. Graphics are pretty realistic and make working with this software very enjoyable.
4) Design Workshop Lite
This 3d model software has a very clean interface so it is easy to use. You can include different materials for the floors, walls and other parts of your home. There is an option to categorize objects, add phases and names. This tool is a good choice if you don't have much experience because it doesn't take so much effort.
5) My Virtual Home
This tool looks like a game for building homes. You can select standard room sizes and then add and move the furniture around, changing colours. This tool gives you an option to modify the home's exterior and garden. You can also take a virtual tour and change the furnishings and color schemes.
6) AutoCAD Architecture
This is software developed by AutoCAD and it is made for architect students and educators. You will need an educational license to use this software. It can be installed on a student's or educator's desktop.
7) FreeCAD Arch
You can produce 2D floor plans, structural elements, but you can also use it to create objects that have been created in other workbenches. The BIM workflow is very user friendly. Adobe software, free download for windows 7.
8) Dynamo
Dynamo is an open source software, and its community contributes to it by making it better. What is useful about this tool is that it automatically generated a lot of different geometries you can work on.
9) TAD: The Architect's Desktop
With this tool you can preview your design, zoom in anytime, control objects, make screenshots. Very accurate view results.
10) Planner 5D
Architectural Fly Through Software Free
Both 2D and 3D available, use custom materials and surfaces, snapshot feature available so you can take a capture of your design to look like realistic photo. Modify pattern, colors of the walls, floors.
11) Room Styler
Architectural Fly Through Software For Beginners
A very simple SD room planner. Drag and drop room shapes, manage lights, furnish your room, decorate the wall and more.
12) Ikea Home Planner
If you like to shop in Ikea, you probably know that you can use their home planner to test different furniture pieces or to see how the new kitchen would fit into your home. Furthermore, you will get a full list of products with the prices.
13) HomeStyler
2D and 3D design, real furniture products with 1:1 , walk-through experience , furniture library. They have online software and mobile apps so you can design your home on the go.
14) SmartDraw
This tools works similar to others. Once you finish your design you can export it to PDF, share it with others online or open it in MS Office. There are a lot of templates to choose from to save some time.
15) Home By Me
You can have 3 different projects for free. What is more, you can explore other people's projects to get some inspiration.
16) Blender
Another open source software for 3D modelling, rigging, redendering, simulation and even video editing and motion tracking.
17) Libre CAD
LibreCAD is a free Open Source CAD application that works on Windows, Apple and Linux. This software has a big community that provides you with support and documentation.
18) OpenSCAD
And the last but not the least, OpenSCAD tool that makes solid 3D objects, worth a try. It is free to use and you can install it on any operating system.
If you are a professional architect or an architecture student that is looking for ways to make your work in designing much easier, there are architectural design software that can meet all your needs. You can use these software to help you in your projects and even in starting to design your future home. These software can help you in making a 2D or 3D designs and mostly have automatic feature to make designing easier. They come in many types that suit the designer's needs. There are even software that can be used by beginners and those who have little experience in architectural designs and some have sophisticated features that require an experienced architect to operate and understand the software. In this top 10 list, we feature the best architectural software that is easy to use and understand for all aspiring designers and students that are only beginning to explore the designing world.
10. Microstation
There are many people that use this software because of its stability when it comes to the platform that they can work on unlike other software. They also find it easier to use. There are some problems with using this software, it is its compatibility and it may cause some workflow problems to the user. Some of the images that are from an AutoCAD can't be viewed in Microstation. This results in seeking help from an architect to do the bindings or do the necessary changes on your own.
9. SketchUp
After Google purchased the rights of this software, it software is now becoming popular and known to users. This software allows the user to quickly and easily make 3D building designs. Though the features that it has may be as sophisticated as you can find in other software, its price is reasonable especially if you don't need a sophisticated software in the first place. This software is a great deal for students that are looking for software that can generate 3 dimensional designs in short amount of time and for people is just starting on their architectural careers.
8. Revit Architecture
This is a software is built for building information modeling or BIM, which is the key for a sustainable design. The changes that you will make will be automatically coordinated throughout the project that you are working in. This will help you in making a consisted and complete project. The features are easy to understand to help you start a complete, consistent and error free designs. You can you this software in Windows Vista and XP.
7. Softplan
This is easy to use software that you can use on all your designing needs. It also support building information modeling that gives a complete documentation, 3 dimensional designing capabilities, list of materials and real time cost estimate repots. The changes you will do on your design will automatically coordinated throughout the project that you are working on. This is the best choice when you are working on residential and commercial designs.
6. Autodesk Revit
This software works in ways that can that architects and designer needs. By doing so, this can make it easier for designers to make high quality designs that are accurate. This design software also support the building information modeling workflows which means that you can also get and analyze each concept, meet all your goals throughout the design, documentation and the overall construction of the project. This is a standalone application and is the best solution if you are looking for functionality. It also comes in different editions that have specific features that can meet all your design needs.
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5. Vectorworks Architecture
It may not be as simple to use as the other software, but through its complicity the designer can produce extraordinary results and generate exceptional projects. The long and sometimes frustrating hours that you will have in learning will all be worth it, especially when you can already make fast and unique designs after some time. This software also supports building information modeling. It is actually an easy to use application when you get used to it. It is the software that is suitable for those with experience and those who want to have the best results. It is not recommended for first timers in architectural design.
4. AutoCAD Architecture
AutoCAD Architecture is a version AutoCAD that is created especially for architects. It has features that allow architects to do a more efficient drafting, creating designs and documents that are familiar to them. They have the same platform as AutoCAD that will make it easier for experienced architects to understand. There is a free trial version that you can try before you purchase this product. This AutoCAD package is tailor-made for an architect that is enough reason to get this software.
3. Punch Software
This self-entitled America's#1 Home & Landscape De sign Software is an application that combine NexGen power with the stunning realistic photographic quality from LightWorks that will allow the architect or designer to generate realistic and great residential designs on their own or for their clients. They have packages that can meet the architects' needs when it comes to design. The software is compatible with Windows and though it is pricy, it can always produce the great results.
2. Chief Architect
This is professional design software that can help generate 3 dimensional designs. It has automated tools that can make home design and remodeling easy. This is the software that most architects prefer to use in 2D or 3D architectural design because it is easy to use and can still give the results that they want.
1. ArchiCAD
This is an all-in-one software that you can use in 2D and 3D projects. It can also be used by first time designers and architecture students. It is user friendly that first time designers and architects can easily maximize the software's potentials. It also has almost all the features the other applications have, but they can never top the efficiency of this software.
