ArchOne AI

Technology leaders from Flad Architects, NBBJ, and Stantec on how architecture firms move AI past experiments into governed, repeatable practice that augments professional teams.

How Leading Architecture Firms Are Moving AI From Pilots to Everyday Practice

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The client loves the scheme, then asks what the facade looks like in brick instead of stone, and the meeting stalls because the only honest answer is "let me render that and get back to you." Every architect knows that stall.&nbsp;
At AEC+Tech, we've watched the AEC tools we cover get very good at making the picture look real. What's changing now is where that picture sits in the process, moving from documentation into the decision itself.&nbsp;
For most of the last decade, progress in architectural visualization has been measured in image quality. Physically accurate lighting, richer material systems, and real-time ray tracing have closed much of the gap between a render and a photograph. What used to count as exceptional is now the baseline clients expect.
Rendering has improved fast. One part of the workflow has barely moved.
Design reviews still lean on static images, pre-rendered animations, and fixed camera paths. Those outputs record decisions well enough, but they sit outside the conversation. The moment a meeting turns toward a different material, a new lighting condition, or an alternate scheme, the presentation stalls while someone prepares fresh visuals elsewhere.
That gap matters more as practice becomes more collaborative. Clients, consultants, engineers, and developers now weigh in across the whole design process, not only at the end. Meetings have turned into working sessions where decisions take shape in the room. The way architecture gets presented has to keep up with that.
So visualization is starting to play a different part. Beyond the final picture, it is becoming a medium for discussion, comparison, and decisions made on the spot. The next step forward may be interaction as much as realism.
Every architect knows the moment a client asks to see it another way and the room goes quiet waiting on new visuals. D5 says 3.1 closes that gap, and will <a href="https://www.d5render.com/webinars/whats-new-in-d5-3-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prove it live on July 21</a>
<h2 dir="ltr">Answer "Can We See It Another Way?" On the Spot&nbsp;</h2>
This is the thinking behind <a href="https://bit.ly/d5-3-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D5 3.1.</a>
Plenty of tools compete on how convincing the picture looks. Fewer ask what happens to it once a room full of stakeholders starts pushing back.&nbsp;
The release starts from a practical question: how does visualization stay useful once the meeting starts?
D5's answer is Interactive Presentation, a workflow that lets architects organize a review like a slide deck while keeping the live project open behind it.
<figure class="image"><img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/764404fa-3db9-4d3c-b9ec-9e36afea816e.png" alt="Interactive Presentation enables real-time scene switching with slides and 3D triggers." width="1080">
<figcaption>Interactive Presentation enables real-time scene switching with slides and 3D triggers.</figcaption>
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Instead of preparing several image sets or separate animations ahead of time, teams can move between design schemes, materials, lighting, weather, viewpoints, and object visibility inside a single presentation. A question that used to interrupt the review can be explored right away. Real-time scene switching runs through slides and 3D triggers, so the flow of the meeting holds together.
The presentation becomes a working space for the design, one the team can steer as the discussion moves.
<h2 dir="ltr">Let Clients Walk the Space Before It Exists&nbsp;</h2>
Interactive Presentation sits inside a wider set of tools aimed at making review more interactive and easier to adapt to the room.
Stereoscopic Panorama brings depth-aware panoramic views to VR, which helps clients and project teams read scale, materials, and how spaces relate to one another. Better VR navigation and controller handling make VR walkthroughs steady enough for everyday reviews rather than occasional demos.
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Spatial Tour has moved along too, with faster scene generation, smoother transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces, and dollhouse views that make it simpler to move through a complicated project.
These tools sit alongside still renders and animations and widen the options, so a team can pick the right way to explore a design based on the audience, the project stage, and what the review needs to settle.
<h2 dir="ltr">Start Seeing the Design the Moment You Model It&nbsp;</h2>
The quality of any review depends on everything that happens before it.
As visualization gets pulled deeper into design work, architects increasingly want to test ideas while those ideas are still moving, instead of waiting for documentation to finish. In that sense, presentation begins earlier than the slide deck. It begins when a team first tries out form, light, material, atmosphere, and how a space feels to move through.
In practice, the visual thinking usually happens long before anyone opens presentation software, and tools have been slow to meet designers there.&nbsp;
That continuity reaches past D5 Render itself. After its earlier <a href="https://www.aecplustech.com/tools/sketchup">SketchUp</a> release, D5 Lite now works inside Rhino and <a href="https://www.aecplustech.com/tools/revit">Revit</a>, bringing real-time visualization into more of the tools architects already use. Designers can preview materials, lighting, and visual direction without leaving the modeling environment, which supports quicker exploration during concept work, massing studies, facade development, and iterative testing.
<figure class="image"><img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/faae324a-8c58-4578-aac2-06f9faac39b1.png" alt="D5 Lite: Visualize projects directly inside Rhino, Revit and Sketchup" width="1080">
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Start in D5 Lite, finish in D5 Render, without switching tools
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D5 Lite is built for that early work, making design decisions more visual from the start. When a project needs higher-end imagery, animation, or an interactive presentation, the work carries on into D5 Render. Paired with Cloud Collaboration, distributed teams can review and share work with less reliance on manual file swaps or local hardware, which keeps things continuous from concept through client review.
<h2 dir="ltr">Photoreal That Holds Up When Clients Look Closely&nbsp;</h2>
As presentations get more interactive, the visuals behind them matter even more. A live scene only works if it holds up when someone leans in.
D5 Render 3.1 adds a set of production-focused improvements that strengthen realism while keeping real-time response.&nbsp;
<figure class="image"><img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/84679fde-46df-4239-985d-65e93278fb1f.png" alt="ACEScg Color Space preserves richer HDR color detail and supports professional ACES workflows" width="1080">
<figcaption spellcheck="false" data-qb-tmp-id="lt-926652" data-gramm="false">ACEScg Color Space preserves richer HDR color detail and supports professional ACES workflows</figcaption>
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The move to an ACEScg working color space brings in a production-grade color pipeline, the kind used in film and visual effects, which improves color consistency across visualization and post-production. HeightField Tracing gives displacement materials richer surface relief without adding geometric weight, so brick, stone, and timber keep convincing physical depth even in large scenes.
<figure class="image"><img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/196052f2-45b2-4577-a1c1-32e97aa7bc83.png" alt="Seasonal Vegetation lets foliage and branch structure change by date, previewing all seasons in one scene" width="1080">
<figcaption spellcheck="false" data-qb-tmp-id="lt-626429" data-gramm="false">Seasonal Vegetation lets foliage and branch structure change by date, previewing all seasons in one scene</figcaption>
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Landscape work gains more nuance through Seasonal Vegetation, which lets foliage and branch structure change by date and previews a full year of a planting scheme in one scene. A run of smaller refinements rounds it out, including Custom Pivot, MeasureLine, improved City Generator controls, smarter Auto Exposure, and wider Gaussian Splatting support. Each one trims repetitive adjustments and keeps production moving.
It adds up to one point. An interactive presentation is only as good as the rendering underneath it, and that rendering has to hold both fidelity and speed at once.
<h2 dir="ltr">From Better Images to Better Decisions&nbsp;</h2>
Architectural visualization has spent years chasing realism. That work continues, though realism on its own no longer defines the field.
As projects get more collaborative, the ability to move between options, respond to feedback, and explain a design in context is becoming just as important. Presentations are becoming part of the design process itself.
<blockquote>
"The tools we end up writing about at AEC+Tech are rarely the ones with the longest feature list. They're the ones that change how a decision gets made."&nbsp; &mdash; Niknaz Aftahi&nbsp;
</blockquote>
D5 3.1 reflects that direction. It builds presentation into the design work, making visualization a place where ideas can be explored, compared, and refined with the people in the room.
Whether this turns out to be the next phase of the discipline is still an open question. The goal is clearly shifting, from producing better images toward better conversations about the work.
The biggest change in D5 3.1 sits outside the render itself. Visualization now stays in play through the whole conversation, long after the image is done.
<h2 dir="ltr">See it live&nbsp;</h2>
D5 will demonstrate the 3.1 workflow in a live webinar on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC, hosted by Jeff Espinoza, D5's Director of Customer Success and Services. The session covers D5 Lite for Rhino and Revit, Interactive Presentation, VR review, Stereoscopic Panorama, ACEScg, HeightField Tracing, and Seasonal Vegetation.
You can register using&nbsp;<a href="https://www.d5render.com/webinars/whats-new-in-d5-3-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this webinar page</a>, and anyone who registers but cannot attend will receive access to the recording.
To learn more about D5 Render, visit their <a href="../../../tools/d5-render" target="_blank" rel="noopener">page on aec+tech&nbsp;</a>or explore the latest features on the official <a class="_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu18uv _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _ect4ttxp _syaz13af _1a3b18uv _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik18uv _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm18uv _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://www.d5render.com/" href="https://www.d5render.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">D5 Render website</a>.
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<img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/b02023eb-2713-4ea3-a35f-e0c2bb302c00.png" alt="" width="160" height="160">
Niknaz Aftahi is the founder of AEC+Tech. This article was produced with materials from D5 as part of a partnership, and independently edited for the AEC+Tech community.
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D5 Render

D5 Render 3.1 turns design reviews into live sessions. Interactive Presentation switches schemes, materials, and lighting on the spot; D5 Lite reaches Rhino and Revit. 

D5 3.1 Wants to End the "We'll Render It Tomorrow" Moment

<div><img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/5741b41d-2b98-40f9-9a96-00550e6d0a57.png" alt="InspectMind AI" width="1080"></div>
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<div>Most conversations about AI in construction start with speed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;How many hours did we save?&rdquo;</div>
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<div>&ldquo;How many pages could we review in minutes?"&nbsp;</div>
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<div>But a recent aec+tech conversation on AI-driven plan review made a more useful point: the tools save time, but the real reason to adopt them is risk.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0nEGFxC7as">This conversation</a> brought together Colton Johnson, Principal Engineer at Flint Engineering Company; Aakash Prasad, Co-founder and CEO of InspectMind AI; and Simon G. Solorio, President of Solorio Inc. Much of the discussion centered on InspectMind AI's plan-checking tool, though the takeaways apply to any firm weighing this kind of software.&nbsp;
In this article you&rsquo;ll see where AI plan review helps, where it falls short, and why a firm with weak internal processes will not get much out of it no matter how good the software gets.
<h2 dir="ltr">Reading a Pictorial Language</h2>
Plan review is not just about reading text. Construction documents carry meaning through symbols, callouts, line weights, and schedules that change from one project type to the next. An industrial set does not look like a large residential set. Every new hire has to learn how to read that visual system before they can review anything in it.
<blockquote>
"Construction documents are a language, and on top of that they're a pictorial language. You're relying on graphic and visual cues to display the information, translating heavy analysis and code requirements into those pictures."
&mdash; Colton Johnson, Principal Engineer, Flint Engineering Company
</blockquote>
Solorio described the second half of the problem: volume.&nbsp;
Even with tools like <a href="https://www.aecplustech.com/tools/revit">Revit</a> and virtual walk-throughs on Meta Quest headsets, engineers still check ever-changing building codes by hand and coordinate across disciplines. Holding hundreds of pages of drawings against dense architectural, structural, mechanical, and civil specifications is a cognitive load that does not scale. There is only so much one person can keep straight at once, and plan sets keep getting bigger.
That is the gap AI steps into. Not the design work or the engineering judgment, but the slow, repetitive cross-checking that wears people down and still lets errors slip through.
A Third-Party Reviewer That Works Through Lunch
<figure class="image"><img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/bb52d8a0-3272-45e5-b6a9-e96e1717194f.png" alt="Errors missed in review surface on site, where fixes cost most." width="1080">
<figcaption spellcheck="false" data-qb-tmp-id="lt-8150" data-gramm="false">Fig 2) Errors missed in review surface on site, where fixes cost most.&nbsp;</figcaption>
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AI is a third-party reviewer. It&rsquo;s not a replacement for the engineer or the plan checker, but an extra set of eyes that never gets tired and never skips a page.
Prasad said InspectMind AI can typically review a 100- to 200-page project in one to two hours. In that window it catches discrepancies between drawings and specs, flags cross-discipline coordination issues, and checks against selected/applicable codes and references. It surfaces a prioritized set of findings while the team continues other work.&nbsp;
InspectMind AI has flagged a water main running straight into a 12-inch concrete pipe. It has caught a storm sewer drawn with no slope, which means it would never drain. These are the errors that hide on page 140 of a set and get expensive once they reach the field.&nbsp;
<blockquote>
"This isn't replacing your own diligence or your own quality of work. It's a useful automated review tool that helps you reduce risk and liability and improve quality overall."
&mdash; Aakash Prasad, Co-founder and CEO, InspectMind AI&nbsp;
</blockquote>
The discussion was honest about the limits, too. AI still struggles to read the purely graphical parts of a drawing when there are no words or numbers to anchor it. That should improve over the next few years, but for now InspectMind AI is strongest where drawings, specs, and code references can be grounded and cited. Purely graphical meaning, where the intent lives only in the picture, is still an area where human review matters.
<h2 dir="ltr">From Months of Back-and-Forth to Days&nbsp;</h2>
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<figure class="image"><img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/c6175af5-f771-4066-a384-2d4991e7ce06.png" alt="InspectMind AI tags each finding by severity, discipline, and code." width="1080">
<figcaption>Fig 3) InspectMind AI tags each finding by severity, discipline, and code.&nbsp;</figcaption>
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A minor discrepancy on a drawing is not just a quality problem. It is a liability problem. Prasad pointed to ADA compliance as an example. A ramp drawn with a 2.2 percent slope instead of the required 2 percent maximum is a small number on a sheet and a frequent target for litigation. Catching it before construction starts is worth far more than the hour it saved.
The same logic runs downstream. Errors that survive review become Requests for Information (RFIs) and change orders once contractors are on site. Each one costs time and money and strains the client relationship. The financial case lives in catching those errors early.&nbsp;
A church project in California shows how that plays out. The design firm ran its full drawing set (architecture, civil, structural, and specs) through InspectMind AI before submitting to the city. The AI flagged around 300 issues. The team fixed them first. When the city's review came back, the comments were mostly minor, and the firm closed them out in days rather than the weeks or months a project like this can take.
That is the payoff that matters. Not the hours saved running the review, but the weeks of back-and-forth with the jurisdiction that never happened, and the rework that never reached the field.
Garbage In, Garbage Out Still Applies
<figure class="image"><img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/88271371-af97-4945-8f3f-0a5ee2295ce9.png" alt="AI only reflects the inputs it gets." width="1080">
<figcaption spellcheck="false" data-qb-tmp-id="lt-415377" data-gramm="false">Fig 4) AI only reflects the inputs it gets.</figcaption>
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The strongest warning has always been against leaning on the tools too hard. The old 'garbage in, garbage out' rule still stands.
The software is powerful, but it sits on top of a firm's inputs, its standards, and the judgment of the people running it.
Solorio made the case for foundational knowledge. Junior engineers still need to learn the basics through hand calculations and free-body diagrams so they understand how loads travel and what a structural member is actually doing. Without that, an engineer cannot tell when the AI is wrong.
<blockquote>
"If you put in garbage, you're going to get out garbage, and that's still true with these new programs. If you put in something wrong, it gives you something wrong. You have to know the basics to know when it's giving you wrong information."
&mdash; Simon G. Solorio, President, Solorio Inc.
</blockquote>
Johnson framed the same idea as a sequence. He sees a working AI workflow as a three-tier system.&nbsp;
A firm establishes good internal processes first. Then it introduces standard automations. Only then does it put AI at what he called the tip of the spear. Skip the first two steps and there is nothing solid for the AI to stand on. When a firm's drawing standards and inputs are inconsistent, there is no realistic way to scale an AI workflow on top of them.
<h2 dir="ltr">Own the Output</h2>
Accountability is the other side of this. When an engineer signs off on a design, they own it, whatever tools helped produce it.
<blockquote>
"The motto we live by with AI is own the output. Just because you have a cool tool doesn't mean you get to say that the tool is the reason something was wrong. You own the output."
&mdash; Colton Johnson, Principal Engineer, Flint Engineering Company
</blockquote>
That has a practical edge. Johnson raised data security, pointing out that client information needs to stay protected under NDAs when a firm runs it through a third-party AI platform. Owning the output means owning the data path, too. Before uploading project documents, firms should evaluate the data path and the platform's NDA and security requirements. That is a question to settle before the first project goes up, not after.&nbsp;
<h2 dir="ltr">Built by the People Who Use It</h2>
The panel closed on what actually makes these tools better, and the answer was feedback from the field rather than anything happening in a lab. Solorio and Johnson both pointed to the value of a simple thumbs up or thumbs down on each flagged issue. That input teaches the model the difference between a real problem and an irrelevant false positive, which is the difference between a tool engineers trust and one they learn to ignore.
Because AEC technology moves quickly, the tools that respond to this feedback can change almost daily. Johnson offered an example from a job site. He floated the idea of having the plan checker automatically generate a targeted field observation checklist based on the specific materials and structural elements it found in the drawings. Within hours, the development team had piloted a connection between the plan checker and a site inspection app.
That speed of iteration is the point underneath the whole conversation.
The AI plan review tools that earn a place in AEC workflows will be the ones built and shaped by the people doing the work, not the ones that promise to do the thinking for them. The engineers on this panel were not looking for software to replace their judgment. They were looking for a reviewer that helps them protect it. That is a smaller promise than replacing an engineer, and a far more useful one.
&nbsp;
To learn more about InspectMind AI, visit InspectMind AI's <a href="../../../tools/inspectmind-ai" target="_blank" rel="noopener">page on aec+tech </a>or explore the latest features and request access on the InspectMind AI's <a class="_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu18uv _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _ect4ttxp _syaz13af _1a3b18uv _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik18uv _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm18uv _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://www.inspectmind.ai/" href="https://www.inspectmind.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">website</a>.
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Editor's Note
<img src="https://aecplustech-files.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/c3806924-0521-483d-b74d-a01f09ed330e.png" alt="Niknaz Aftahi" width="160" height="160">
This article was independently reviewed and edited by Niknaz Aftahi, Founder of AEC+Tech, drawing on InspectMind AI's product documentation, direct conversation with the panel participants, and hands-on knowledge of plan review and QA/QC workflows. Figures drawn from the panel rather than published material were checked before publishing.
&mdash; Niknaz Aftahi, Founder, AEC+Tech
&nbsp;
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InspectMind AI

AI plan review saves hours, but engineers say the real payoff is fewer lawsuits, cleaner permit reviews, and errors caught before they reach the field.

AI Plan Review Isn't About Speed. It's About Staying Out of Court.

Trimble selected 15 AECO startups for its 2026 0-60 Challenge, supporting AI, robotics, and interoperability integrations across construction workflows.

The Next Generation of AECO Innovation: Meet the 2026 Trimble 0-60 Finalists

Ideate StyleManager

Learn how Ideate StyleManager, Explorer, and BIMLink reduce Revit inefficiencies with automated QA/QC workflows, cleanup tools, and bulk parameter editing.

How Ideate Software Improves Revit Data Management and QA/QC

ARES Touch is a full-featured mobile CAD app that provides a complete set of 2D drafting and annotation commands. It's the perfect companion to quickly review a drawing shared in the cloud or received by email while on the go.

Team members at the jobsite can collaborate efficiently with colleagues back at the office

ARES Touch helps users work more effectively while on the jobsite or  in the field

ARES Touch works on Android and iOS tablets and smartphones

The ARES Trinity of CAD Software: Create and Modify DWG Files with Modern Collaboration Tools

ARES CAD Software: Top 10 Trinity Features Outperforming AutoCAD | Expert Review by Architosh

DWG Editing on Mobile: ARES Touch Makes it Quick & Easy!

ARES Touch: Mobile CAD for Android and iOS to View, Create and Annotate DWG

ARES Touch

Work productively on mobile devices with tools tailored to smaller screens

MeltPlan is the AI-native planning engine for the built environment, built to help architects, engineers, and contractors plan projects better &mdash; earlier, faster, and with far more confidence. Construction planning today is still fragmented across disconnected tools, spreadsheets, PDFs, and tribal knowledge. Teams are forced to manually connect decisions across code compliance, estimating, scheduling, and value engineering, which leads to slow iterations, missed scope, costly rework, and avoidable project risk.
MeltPlan solves this by creating a unified planning platform that connects the four planning pillars that shape every project: code compliance, cost, schedule, and value engineering. Instead of operating like a black-box AI assistant, MeltPlan is built for accuracy and transparency. It understands real AEC context &mdash; including codes and standards, building assemblies and elements, quantities and scopes, and project-specific conditions. Every output is designed to be defensible, with clear assumptions, step-by-step reasoning, and verifiable sources.
At the core of MeltPlan is the belief that planning isn&rsquo;t just producing a schedule or an estimate &mdash; it&rsquo;s making the right decisions early, before mistakes become expensive field problems. MeltPlan helps teams move from &ldquo;searching and guessing&rdquo; to &ldquo;knowing and deciding.&rdquo;
Today, MeltPlan offers two core products:
<h3 data-start="1400" data-end="1417">Melt Code</h3>
Melt Code is the first building code research AI built to make compliance transparent and decision-ready. Instead of giving a generic answer, Melt Code provides project-specific compliance requirements along with a step-by-step reasoning trail and direct citations to every relevant code section. It also maps out Compliance Paths, guiding architects and engineers through multiple valid routes to compliance based on project variables like occupancy, construction type, sprinkler conditions, height/area thresholds, and fire ratings. Melt Code understands exceptions, cross-references, tables, diagrams, and code math &mdash; and can generate project-specific compliance illustrations to make requirements easier to interpret and communicate. It also includes workflow tools like Projects and Checklists, helping firms capture institutional knowledge and standardize compliance across teams.
<h3 data-start="2326" data-end="2346">Melt Takeoff</h3>
Melt Takeoff is an AI-assisted takeoff service designed for contractors and estimators who need speed without sacrificing trust. It combines AI vision for fast quantity extraction with onshore, field-experienced senior estimators who verify outputs and add detailed allowances for scope not shown on drawings. Melt Takeoff detects hundreds of building elements, flags drawing/spec conflicts, structures takeoffs in MasterFormat&reg;, UniFormat&reg;, or custom standards, and delivers interactive outputs with sheet-linked traceability and clean Excel exports. It enables faster bids, fewer missed scope items, and more confident pricing.
Together, Melt Code and Melt Takeoff form the foundation of the MeltPlan platform &mdash; a connected planning engine that brings clarity, speed, and trust to preconstruction decision-making.

MeltPlan

<h1 data-start="260" data-end="340">Ideate StyleManager for Revit: Clean, Standardize, and Optimize BIM Styles</h1>
<h2 data-start="347" data-end="390">Why Revit Styles Become a Hidden Problem</h2>
Managing styles in Autodesk Revit &mdash; including object styles, line patterns, materials, text types, and view templates &mdash; is one of those tasks that quietly affects every project. When unmanaged, styles accumulate from imported content, linked models, and copied elements, leading to bloated files, inconsistent graphics, and coordination headaches.
Over time, even well-structured projects can drift away from office standards without teams realizing it.
<h2 data-start="853" data-end="885">What Ideate StyleManager Does</h2>
Ideate StyleManager is a Revit plugin built to give BIM managers and architects greater control over project styles. Instead of manually hunting through settings or risking accidental deletions, users can analyze, merge, rename, and remove unwanted styles safely.
The tool makes it easier to clean up project files and enforce consistent standards across teams.
<h2 data-start="1256" data-end="1300">Safe Cleanup with Built-In Style Analysis</h2>
One of the biggest risks in Revit is deleting a style that is still in use. That action can trigger unexpected graphic changes throughout the model.
Ideate StyleManager addresses this with detailed usage analysis. Before merging or deleting a style, users can see exactly where it is applied. This visibility allows teams to consolidate duplicate styles, remove clutter, and align projects with office templates without compromising model integrity.
<h2 data-start="1759" data-end="1815">Improving Model Performance and Documentation Quality</h2>
Style clutter does more than create visual inconsistencies. It can also impact file size and model performance.
By reducing redundant definitions and maintaining consistent graphics, teams improve drawing clarity, coordination workflows, and overall BIM health. For firms working across multiple offices, maintaining a unified visual language becomes much easier.
<h2 data-start="2188" data-end="2225">Supporting Long-Term BIM Standards</h2>
Ideate StyleManager is not just a cleanup tool. It supports long-term BIM governance.
As projects grow in complexity and content libraries expand, style management becomes increasingly important. The ability to proactively monitor and standardize styles helps firms protect documentation quality from early design through construction documentation.
For teams focused on Revit efficiency and model reliability, Ideate StyleManager offers a practical solution for maintaining cleaner, healthier BIM environments.

<h2 class="PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer" data-section-id="13rhl3y" data-start="3142" data-end="3175">Champ Agents, powered by Wyatt</h2>
Champ Agents, powered by Wyatt, is Unanet's agentic AI platform designed to help architecture, engineering, and consulting firms turn their ERP and CRM data into actionable insights, recommendations, and automated workflows.
Rather than functioning only as a traditional chatbot, Champ Agents can work with business data across Unanet to help users analyze information, monitor conditions, identify risks, and take action.
<h3 data-section-id="13c37lm" data-start="3602" data-end="3639">AI built around AEC business data</h3>
Users can interact with Champ Agents using natural-language questions and requests. The platform can help project managers, finance teams, business development professionals, marketers, operations leaders, and executives access information more quickly without manually searching through reports or systems.
<h3 data-section-id="166ooyv" data-start="3950" data-end="3970">Key capabilities</h3>
<ul data-start="3972" data-end="4321">
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="awd8da" data-start="3972" data-end="4024">Natural-language interaction with ERP and CRM data</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="bd5dtz" data-start="4025" data-end="4055">AI-powered business analysis</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="nfqavn" data-start="4056" data-end="4089">Proactive monitoring and alerts</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="i9wuck" data-start="4090" data-end="4111">Workflow automation</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="1yptkoa" data-start="4112" data-end="4144">Project and financial insights</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="11wnnmg" data-start="4145" data-end="4180">Pursuit and pipeline intelligence</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="488hqp" data-start="4181" data-end="4209">Client meeting preparation</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="w69osz" data-start="4210" data-end="4249">Relationship and account intelligence</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="wamqn5" data-start="4250" data-end="4271">Risk identification</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="c4vek6" data-start="4272" data-end="4321">Interactive AI-generated applications and views</li>
</ul>
<h3 data-section-id="19akd3h" data-start="4323" data-end="4362">Designed for trusted enterprise use</h3>
Champ Agents is built around governed business data, with permission-aware access, source attribution, and human oversight. This helps firms use AI while maintaining control over how organizational data is accessed and interpreted.
<h3 data-section-id="wgwuyd" data-start="4597" data-end="4615">Why it matters</h3>
For AEC firms, the value of AI is not simply generating text. It is helping teams understand their own business data faster and act on it more effectively.
Champ Agents can help firms reduce repetitive work, identify important changes earlier, prepare for client and project decisions, and make ERP and CRM information more accessible across the organization.
<div class="tk0j8o1 _1ibi0s31a _1ibi0s3en"><a id="base-ui-:rn9:" class="wdbi343 wdbi341 _1ibi0s3ec _1ibi0s376" tabindex="0" role="button" href="https://unaverse.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MKTG/pages/2728591474" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Citation 1" data-label="1" data-base-ui-click-trigger="" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-expanded="false"></a></div>

Champ Agents, powered by Wyatt

<h2 class="PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer" data-section-id="naw1wb" data-start="1585" data-end="1602">Unanet AEC CRM</h2>
Unanet AEC CRM is a customer relationship management platform purpose-built for architecture, engineering, and consulting firms. It helps business development, marketing, and leadership teams manage client relationships, track opportunities, coordinate pursuits, and improve visibility into the firm's pipeline.
<h3 data-section-id="xg7kn2" data-start="1917" data-end="1953">Built for how AEC firms win work</h3>
Unlike traditional sales-focused CRM platforms, Unanet AEC CRM is designed around the relationship-driven nature of AEC business development. It connects client contacts, project history, pursuits, proposals, opportunities, and marketing activities so teams can better understand where relationships stand and where future work may come from.
<h3 data-section-id="166ooyv" data-start="2299" data-end="2319">Key capabilities</h3>
<ul data-start="2321" data-end="2647">
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="1dmqafd" data-start="2321" data-end="2352">Client and contact management</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="1y972jd" data-start="2353" data-end="2387">Opportunity and pursuit tracking</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="1mwawh8" data-start="2388" data-end="2430">Business development pipeline management</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="i1s18k" data-start="2431" data-end="2468">Proposal and marketing coordination</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="1exbj2x" data-start="2469" data-end="2496">Relationship intelligence</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="1aln6rx" data-start="2497" data-end="2525">Project and client history</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="1ffpqpn" data-start="2526" data-end="2561">Activity and interaction tracking</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="xz8fei" data-start="2562" data-end="2588">Reporting and dashboards</li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" data-section-id="lgtq9y" data-start="2589" data-end="2647">Collaboration across marketing, BD, and leadership teams</li>
</ul>
<h3 data-section-id="wgwuyd" data-start="2649" data-end="2667">Why it matters</h3>
AEC business development information is often spread across emails, spreadsheets, individual team members, and disconnected systems. Unanet AEC CRM centralizes that information, helping firms improve collaboration and make more strategic decisions about where to focus their time.
The platform can help firms strengthen client relationships, improve pursuit planning, coordinate proposals more efficiently, and increase visibility into future revenue opportunities.

Unanet CRM AEC

Relationships  Features Understand and leverage your firm's relationships

Solibri CheckPoint is a browser-based BIM model checking platform that helps architecture, engineering, and construction teams improve model quality, coordination, and compliance&mdash;without heavy installs or steep training. Open a browser, review Revit and IFC models side by side, run standardized QA/QC checks (clash detection, data/property rules, clearances), and manage issues in one collaborative workspace that fits your existing CDE and project tools.
<h2 data-start="758" data-end="783">Why Solibri CheckPoint</h2>
<ul data-start="784" data-end="1370">
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="784" data-end="888">Zero install, fast adoption: Web-based model checking reduces IT overhead and speeds onboarding.</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="889" data-end="985">Native Revit &amp; IFC support: Review the same source data&mdash;no exports or lossy conversions.</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="986" data-end="1090">Standardized QA/QC: Enforce modeling standards with reusable rule sets, filters, and data views.</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1091" data-end="1208">Collaborative issue management: Assign, track, and resolve clashes/data issues with transparent audit trails.</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1209" data-end="1370">CDE-friendly: Practical integrations with Autodesk Construction Cloud and Procore keep models and issues in sync via direct connections or BCF.</li>
</ul>
<h2 data-start="1372" data-end="1391">Key Capabilities</h2>
<ul data-start="1392" data-end="1804">
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1392" data-end="1460">Clash detection &amp; constructability checks across disciplines</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1461" data-end="1541">Property/data validation to enforce BIM standards and naming conventions</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1542" data-end="1611">Clearance/free-space rules for safety, access, and operations</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1612" data-end="1702">Data Viewer to inspect quantities, attributes, and patterns alongside the 3D model</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1703" data-end="1804">Project Library to publish shared, repeatable templates (rules, filters, views) across projects</li>
</ul>
<h2 data-start="1806" data-end="1832">Integrations &amp; Workflow</h2>
<ul data-start="1833" data-end="2138">
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1833" data-end="1939">Sync models and issues with Autodesk Construction Cloud and Procore (reduce duplicate uploads)</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="1940" data-end="2021">Export/import issues via BCF to keep coordination moving across platforms</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="2022" data-end="2138">Fit lightweight checks into more milestones&mdash;from schematic coordination to preconstruction and punch-list closeout</li>
</ul>
<h2 data-start="2140" data-end="2155">Who It&rsquo;s For</h2>
<ul data-start="2156" data-end="2394">
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="2156" data-end="2237">Architects &amp; BIM Managers standardizing QA/QC and modeling best practices</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="2238" data-end="2319">General Contractors &amp; VDC Teams driving constructability and coordination</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="2320" data-end="2394">Owners/Consultants requiring transparent, auditable BIM deliverables</li>
</ul>
<h2 data-start="2396" data-end="2407">Benefits</h2>
<ul data-start="2408" data-end="2682">
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="2408" data-end="2474">Higher BIM quality with consistent templates and rule sets</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="2475" data-end="2544">Fewer rework loops thanks to faster clash and data validation</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="2545" data-end="2608">Lower overhead via web-based access and simpler rollout</li>
<li style="font-size: 15px;" data-start="2609" data-end="2682">Better traceability with centralized issue records and auditability</li>
</ul>
Learn more: <a href="https://www.solibri.com/checkpoint?utm_campaign=3706145-Solibri%20CheckPoint&amp;utm_source=AEC%20Tech">www.solibri.com</a>

Model view IFC and Revit - Solibri CheckPoint

Solibri CheckPoint

Checking Revit models in the cloud with Solibri

Featuring Solibri at the AEC Innovate Conference

Solibri CheckPoint & the Future of AEC Model-Checking (2)

Acquisition of Xinaps and the rebranding of Verifi3D as Solibri Checkpoint

Solibri CheckPoint & the Future of AEC Model-Checking 

One Click LCA is the world&rsquo;s leading end‑to‑end sustainability platform, purpose-built for the construction and manufacturing sectors. Founded in Helsinki in 2001, the company has grown to a team of over 200 professionals across all continents and now serves users in more than 170 countries  At its core, this cloud‑based platform offers streamlined, automated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), enabling users to scientifically measure and reduce environmental impacts of structures, infrastructure, renovations, and manufactured goods. Beyond LCA and EPDs, it also supports assessments of circularity, life‑cycle cost, and biodiversity. A standout feature is its extensive global database with over 250,000&ndash;300,000 datasets&mdash;covering supplier-specific and generic material data&mdash;fully verified and regularly updated. This empowers users to make informed, data‑driven decisions. The platform supports over 80 compliance standards, including LEED, BREEAM, GRESB, CALGreen, and various country‑specific regulations. One Click LCA seamlessly integrates with more than 20 leading BIM and design tools, such as Autodesk Revit, Tekla Structures, Bentley iTwin, Rhino, and Grasshopper. This allows for real‑time feedback and early‑phase embodied carbon optimization&mdash;notably through its Carbon Designer 3D tool, which enables quick, BIM‑integrated carbon hotspot analysis and comparison of design scenarios. In some cases, Carbon Designer 3D helps identify carbon footprint variations up to 50% during conceptual design. Leading global players&mdash;including Skanska, WSP, Foster+Partners, Turner, ArcelorMittal, Arcadis, ARUP, Geberit, and Saint‑Gobain, among others&mdash;rely on One Click LCA to drive their decarbonization efforts. AECOM, for instance, equipped its ScopeX&trade; platform with One Click LCA to target a 50% carbon reduction across its projects. Its visibility among industry analysts reflects its market leadership: One Click LCA was featured in Verdantix&rsquo;s 2025 Buyer&rsquo;s Guide for LCA tools and is the first platform validated by RICS under its Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) programme. One Click LCA also makes parts of its platform freely accessible via its Planetary embodied&ndash;carbon calculator&mdash;a tool for benchmarking cradle‑to‑gate carbon impacts across building designs and supporting EPD usage worldwide. In summary, One Click LCA stands out with its: - Massive, high-quality global dataset (250&ndash;300k records) - Broad compliance across 80+ standards - Deep BIM integrations for early and ongoing carbon management - Recognition by major firms and standards bodies It remains the go-to platform for turning sustainability goals into measurable, actionable outcomes across construction and manufacturing value chains.

One Click LCA

Featuring One Click LCA at the AEC Innovate Conference

Featuring One Click LCA  at the AEC Innovate Conference

AI, Sustainability & Latest Tools for AEC

Sustainability Tools to Watch Out For in 2025!

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Why choose Ideate BIMLink?
Linking Revit and Excel with Ideate BIMLink enables you to export data from Revit to Excel, streamlining data management tasks and dramatically reducing the time they take to perform. By creating a bidirectional connection between the model and a spreadsheet environment, teams can extract large volumes of element data, edit parameters in bulk, validate information, and apply changes using Excel&rsquo;s powerful sorting, filtering, and formula tools. This eliminates the need to manually open and edit individual elements in Revit, significantly reducing repetitive work and the risk of human error.
Importing data from Excel back into Revit means that your models are instantly updated with approved changes, helping ensure they remain clean, coordinated, and accurate. Ideate BIMLink provides access to nearly all instance and type parameters, including many that are difficult to manage efficiently using native Revit schedules alone. This expanded access gives teams greater control over project data, improves consistency across models, supports internal standards, simplifies model auditing, and strengthens overall data governance practices. It also enables collaboration with stakeholders who may not work directly in Revit but can safely contribute through structured Excel-based workflows.
Boost the Power of Ideate BIMLink with Ideate Automation
Add Ideate Automation to your subscription* to reduce the cost of repetitive BIM tasks by letting them run in the background while your staff focuses on higher-value work. This scripting solution can be run manually or scheduled to operate at convenient times, providing just-in-time insight into key Revit model metrics while automating essential workflows such as:
Producing document issue records Exporting PDFs Exporting health check data Preparing COBie data drops Generating quantity takeoff data
By automating these recurring processes, teams improve efficiency, strengthen data accuracy, increase consistency, reduce risk, and deliver more predictable project outcomes without interrupting daily production workflows across projects.
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Ideate BIMLink - Overview on Data Management

Ideate BIMLink

System Group Lounge is a four zone corporate entertainment and amenity interior in Tehran, Iran, completed in 2020 and designed and visualized with 3ds Max and V-Ray.
<h2>Project Overview</h2>
System Group Lounge is an interior design project for a corporate entertainment and amenity floor in Tehran, Iran, completed in 2020. The scheme is organised as four distinct but connected environments: an entrance, a sports and games area, a restaurant, and the lounge itself. Design and visualization were carried out using 3ds Max and V-Ray.
<h2>Spatial Organisation</h2>
Splitting an amenity floor into four separated spaces rather than one open plan is the defining decision here. Each zone carries a different noise level and a different social register: an entrance that has to read as a threshold, a games area that is deliberately loud and active, a restaurant that needs to work at a fixed peak hour, and a lounge intended for quiet conversation or informal work. Keeping them separate lets all four operate at the same time without one compromising the others, which is the usual failure of single-volume staff amenity floors.
<h2>Material Language</h2>
The published imagery shows a restrained, warm palette applied to a conventional office shell: exposed brick used as a feature wall, timber flooring carried through the circulation, a ribbed timber ceiling with integrated linear lighting that reinforces the direction of movement, glazed partitions to keep daylight and sightlines running between zones, and saturated red upholstery used sparingly as an accent against otherwise neutral surfaces. The approach is typical of contemporary workplace amenity design, where the aim is to make a commercial interior read as hospitality without changing the base building.
<h2>Client Context</h2>
The project name points to System Group, known in Persian as Hamkaran System, which is Iran's largest private software development company. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Tehran, the group comprises 58 companies, has served more than 53,000 clients, and in 2011 became the first Iranian software company to list on the stock market. aec+tech holds no linked company record for this case study and the client relationship is not independently documented here, so this context is offered as background rather than as a confirmed commission.

System Group Lounge

<h3>Its AEC role begins after design authoring</h3>
For most architecture practices, 3ds Max is the visualization environment downstream of design development. A team may bring in a building model, clean the geometry, add entourage and context, create physically plausible materials, set cameras, and produce client-facing imagery. Autodesk describes 3ds Max as professional software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and design visualization.
<h3>Modeling depth is a reason to choose it</h3>
The modeling stack supports polygon and spline work, modifiers, high-quality Booleans, Smart Extrude, retopology, arrays, conforming, and other procedural operations. Autodesk&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.autodesk.com/products/3ds-max/product-details">current product details</a>&nbsp;also identify OpenPBR materials, OpenUSD workflows, rigging and animation, Python 3, and an extensive plug-in ecosystem. For architectural visualization, that range matters when imported BIM geometry is only a starting point: fa&ccedil;ades, furniture, landscape, fabric, and small construction details often need more control than the source model provides.
Non-destructive modifiers make iteration practical, but an undisciplined stack can become fragile. Studios benefit from naming rules, instances, layers or containers, consistent system units, proxy strategies, and a clear distinction between editable source assets and render-ready derivatives. Without those conventions, a visually convincing scene can be difficult to update when the design changes.
<h3>Revit and AutoCAD links need active management</h3>
A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aecplustech.com/tools/revit">Revit</a>&nbsp;model can be linked or imported into 3ds Max for materials, lighting, cameras, and final visualization. The same workflow accepts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aecplustech.com/tools/autocad">AutoCAD</a>&nbsp;DWG and DXF files. Autodesk&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/2025/ENU/3DSMax-Interoperability/files/GUID-3FFCAAFA-BD13-4D8F-833F-3F19E930A244.htm">File Link Manager guidance</a>&nbsp;covers managed links for RVT, DWG, DXF, and FBX data, while direct import binds converted geometry into the scene.
Linking can preserve a route for design updates, but it is not a substitute for coordination. Before refreshing a model, check shared coordinates, units, naming, material assignments, object grouping, deleted elements, and the view or geometry scope being transferred. Test the update on a controlled scene copy when significant material or modifier work depends on imported objects.
<h3>Arnold is integrated; alternative renderers remain common</h3>
Arnold for 3ds Max is provided through the MAXtoA plug-in and works inside the standard 3ds Max interface. It supports physically based materials, lighting, CPU and GPU rendering workflows, denoising, and production output. Autodesk&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/AR-3DSMax/files/arnold_for_3ds_max_arnold_3dsmax_html.html">Arnold user guide</a>&nbsp;should be checked for renderer-specific installation, GPU, and licensing details, especially for command-line or render-farm use.
Studios standardized on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aecplustech.com/tools/vray">V-Ray</a>&nbsp;can install it as a separate renderer for 3ds Max. Chaos documents CPU and GPU rendering, proxies, scatter, materials, lighting, and cloud services in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chaos.com/vray/3ds-max/features">V-Ray for 3ds Max</a>. Renderer choice affects asset libraries, shaders, farm configuration, staff expertise, and handoff compatibility; it should be a pipeline decision, not a last-minute image setting.
<h3>3ds Max 2027 is the current release, while 2026 remains a compatibility question</h3>
Autodesk&rsquo;s current release documentation identifies 3ds Max 2027. Its additions include Smart Bevel, custom-direction extrusion, Noise Plus, viewport improvements, OpenUSD updates, and an Autodesk Assistant technical preview. The&nbsp;<a href="https://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2027/ENU/?guid=GUID-7CC2F041-F797-4DB9-B2F9-326AAB994F37">3ds Max 2027 What&rsquo;s New page</a>&nbsp;is the right source for release-specific detail.
A production team may stay on 3ds Max 2026 while plug-ins, render nodes, scripts, and client deliverables are validated. Before upgrading, confirm the renderer build, asset-library tools, MAX-file exchange requirements, and whether collaborators must open the scene. Save controlled backups: native MAX scenes are version-sensitive, and a newer save can complicate work with an older installation.
<h3>Price depends on the access model and region</h3>
3ds Max is commercial Autodesk software available through subscription plans and Flex pay-as-you-go access. Autodesk displays pricing by region, term, currency, tax, and purchase context, so a fixed universal figure would age badly. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.autodesk.com/products/3ds-max/buy">official purchase page</a>&nbsp;is the appropriate source for a current organizational cost.
The free trial is typically 30 days. Eligible students and educators can receive renewable one-year access under the Autodesk Education plan, but that entitlement is for educational purposes rather than commercial production. Project leaders should budget for renderer licenses, plug-ins, asset libraries, storage, and render capacity as well as the core application.
<h3>Current deployment is Windows-based</h3>
Autodesk&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-3ds-Max-2027.html">3ds Max 2027 requirements</a>&nbsp;specify 64-bit Windows 11, a 64-bit Intel or AMD multicore processor with SSE4.2, 4 GB RAM minimum with 8 GB or more recommended, and 9 GB of installation space. Those figures are minimum entry points, not an ideal architectural-visualization workstation specification. Large scenes, high-resolution textures, GPU rendering, and multiple applications can require substantially more memory, graphics capacity, and storage.
There is no current native macOS edition. Autodesk also states that it no longer provides technical support for 3ds Max installations running on Apple hardware through virtualization. Procurement should therefore start with the exact release, renderer, plug-ins, graphics hardware, and support model&mdash;not just the base application requirement.
<h3>Best fit depends on the studio pipeline</h3>
3ds Max is a strong fit for Windows-based visualization teams that need deep scene editing, an established architectural asset ecosystem, Autodesk interoperability, scripting, and a choice of production renderers. It carries a steeper learning and pipeline-management burden than a lightweight presentation tool, and its subscription plus add-on costs can be material for occasional users.
Maya may suit studios centered on character animation or a Maya-led VFX pipeline, although both products cover broad 3D work. Blender offers a free, open-source, cross-platform suite and may be the better organizational choice where licensing cost, Linux or macOS support, or an open pipeline dominates. The practical decision rests on staff skill, required plug-ins, renderer and asset standards, file exchange, automation, and the type of imagery the team repeatedly delivers.

Explore Autodesk 3ds Max for architectural visualization, 3D modeling, rendering, pricing, free trials, system requirements, and Revit workflows.

Autodesk 3ds Max Software: Pricing, Features & AEC Uses

3ds max

<h2>What Is V-Ray?</h2>
V-Ray is professional rendering software and a physically based rendering engine developed by Chaos for creating photorealistic images, animations, and visualizations. Used by architects, designers, product developers, and VFX artists, V-Ray rendering software integrates with leading CAD, BIM, and 3D modeling applications, allowing users to produce high-quality renders while working within their preferred design environment.
Unlike real-time visualization tools, V-Ray focuses on production-quality rendering with advanced lighting, materials, ray tracing, and rendering controls. This makes it one of the industry&rsquo;s most widely adopted rendering solutions across architecture, interior design, product visualization, and visual effects.
<hr>
<h2>What Is V-Ray Used For?</h2>
V-Ray is designed for professionals who need accurate, photorealistic rendering throughout the design and visualization process.
It is commonly used for:
<ul>
<li>Architectural visualization</li>
<li>Interior rendering</li>
<li>Exterior rendering</li>
<li>Product visualization</li>
<li>Furniture rendering</li>
<li>CGI production</li>
<li>Visual effects (VFX)</li>
<li>Animation rendering</li>
<li>Marketing imagery</li>
<li>Competition presentations</li>
<li>High-quality still images</li>
<li>Production-ready renderings</li>
</ul>
Whether creating conceptual presentations or final marketing visuals, V-Ray rendering gives designers precise control over lighting, materials, reflections, global illumination, and image quality.
<hr>
<h2>Key Features</h2>
<h3>Professional Rendering Engine</h3>
At its core, V-Ray software is a professional rendering engine built for high-end visualization. It combines physically accurate ray tracing with advanced rendering algorithms to generate realistic lighting, shadows, reflections, refractions, and materials.
Because users have extensive control over render settings, V-Ray is suitable for both quick previews and production-quality imagery.
<hr>
<h3>V-Ray for SketchUp</h3>
V-Ray for <a href="../sketchup">SketchUp</a>⁠￼ is one of the platform&rsquo;s most widely used integrations and represents a major search intent for architects and designers.
The plugin enables SketchUp users to transform conceptual models into photorealistic visualizations while remaining inside the SketchUp workflow. Designers can edit geometry, assign materials, adjust lighting, and produce high-quality renders without rebuilding the project in a separate application.
For architecture and interior design firms, V-Ray for SketchUp combines SketchUp&rsquo;s intuitive modeling workflow with the advanced rendering capabilities of V-Ray.
<hr>
<h3>V-Ray for Revit</h3>
V-Ray for <a href="../revit">Revit</a>⁠￼ extends BIM workflows with professional rendering capabilities.
Architects and BIM professionals can render Revit models directly while preserving BIM data, making it easier to produce presentation-quality images throughout design development.
<hr>
<h3>V-Ray for Rhino</h3>
V-Ray for <a href="../rhino-3d">Rhino 3D</a>⁠￼ provides high-quality rendering for computational design, industrial design, product development, and complex architectural geometry.
The integration allows Rhino users to visualize NURBS-based models using advanced materials, lighting, and physically accurate rendering techniques.
<hr>
<h3>Support for 3ds Max and Other 3D Applications</h3>
Beyond architectural workflows, V-Ray integrates with 3ds Max, Blender, Maya, Cinema 4D, Houdini, and Nuke, making it a versatile rendering engine for architectural visualization, product rendering, animation, and VFX production.
Its broad ecosystem allows professionals to use the same rendering technology across multiple industries and creative pipelines.
<hr>
<h3>Physically Accurate Lighting and Materials</h3>
V-Ray provides advanced material creation tools together with physically accurate lighting simulation, global illumination, reflections, refractions, displacement, and realistic camera effects.
These capabilities help designers produce consistent, high-quality renderings suitable for presentations, competitions, marketing, and production work.
<hr>
<h3>CPU and GPU Rendering</h3>
V-Ray supports both CPU and GPU rendering workflows, allowing users to choose the rendering method that best matches their hardware and project requirements.
This flexibility makes the software suitable for everything from individual workstations to larger rendering environments.
<hr>
<h3>Production Rendering Workflow</h3>
Rather than focusing only on interactive previews, V-Ray is designed for production-quality output.
Users can generate:
<ul>
<li>High-resolution still images</li>
<li>Product renderings</li>
<li>Architectural visualizations</li>
<li>Marketing images</li>
<li>Animation sequences</li>
<li>Visual effects renders</li>
</ul>
Its rendering pipeline is built to balance image quality, realism, and performance across professional visualization projects.
<hr>
<h2>Pricing &amp; Free Trial</h2>
V-Ray pricing is available through subscription-based licensing offered by Chaos. Plans vary depending on the selected license and product bundle.
A V-Ray free trial is available for users who want to evaluate the software before purchasing a commercial license. For the latest subscription options, licensing information, and trial availability, visit the official V-Ray pricing page.
<hr>
<h2>Pros &amp; Cons</h2>
<h3>Pros</h3>
<ul>
<li>Industry-leading photorealistic rendering</li>
<li>Advanced lighting and material system</li>
<li>CPU and GPU rendering support</li>
<li>Broad integration with major CAD, BIM, and 3D applications</li>
<li>Flexible rendering controls</li>
<li>Production-ready image quality</li>
<li>Suitable for architecture, product design, and VFX workflows</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cons</h3>
<ul>
<li>Steeper learning curve than many real-time rendering tools</li>
<li>Rendering times depend on hardware and scene complexity</li>
<li>Advanced features may require significant rendering expertise</li>
<li>Commercial subscriptions may not suit occasional users</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2>Best Alternatives</h2>
The best V-Ray alternatives depend on your rendering workflow, preferred software ecosystem, and visualization goals.
Professionals often evaluate V-Ray alongside <a href="../enscape">Enscape</a>⁠￼ for real-time visualization, <a href="../lumion">Lumion</a>⁠￼ for presentation-focused rendering, and other rendering engines depending on project requirements.
Detailed comparisons between rendering platforms are best handled in dedicated comparison pages.
<hr>
<h2>Who Should Use V-Ray?</h2>
V-Ray is designed for professionals who need production-quality rendering rather than basic visualization.
It is particularly suitable for:
<ul>
<li>Architects</li>
<li>Interior designers</li>
<li>Product designers</li>
<li>Visualization specialists</li>
<li>BIM professionals</li>
<li>3D artists</li>
<li>VFX artists</li>
<li>Animation studios</li>
<li>Design-build firms</li>
</ul>
Organizations that require photorealistic rendering, precise material control, and professional visualization workflows can benefit from V-Ray&rsquo;s combination of rendering quality, software integrations, and flexible production pipeline.

Explore V-Ray pricing, features, free trial, and alternatives. Learn how V-Ray rendering software for SketchUp, Revit, Rhino, and 3ds Max creates photorealistic visualizations.

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