Free Architecture Tools

These are the free architecture tools we have built for the jobs that come up again and again in practice and in the studio: reading a site and its climate, setting up drawings, checking code numbers and pricing the work. Every tool runs in your browser, needs no account and lets you export the result for a board, a drawing or a spreadsheet.

They are made for the early stages, when you need a reliable first answer quickly. Each page explains the method behind the numbers and where its limits are, so you know when to hand the question to a consultant or a full simulation.

Climate and site

• Sun path diagram generator: Draws the path of the sun across the year for any latitude and reads out solar altitude, azimuth, sunrise, sunset and day length. Export the chart as SVG, PNG or CSV.
• Wind rose generator: Makes a wind rose for any location from NASA POWER hourly wind, an EPW file or your own CSV, with 8 or 16 directions, speed classes and calms.
• Climate graph generator: Draws a climograph of monthly temperature lines and rainfall bars from NASA POWER or an EPW file, in °C or °F.
• Bioclimatic chart generator: Plots the twelve months of a site on the Givoni or Olgyay chart, so you can see which passive strategies its climate supports.
• Daylight factor calculator: Estimates the average daylight factor of a room with the BRE formula and checks window to floor and wall ratios, the room depth rule and the no-sky line.

Drawing and documentation

• Structural grid generator: Draws a dimensioned column grid with labelled bubbles and checks each bay against typical spans for concrete, steel and timber. Export DXF, SVG or PNG.
• Hatch pattern generator: Sets brick, tile, herringbone or dot sizes, previews them to scale and downloads an AutoCAD .pat file, a Revit fill pattern or an SVG tile.
• Title block generator: Lays out an architectural title block on ISO, ARCH or ANSI paper, with a revision table, north arrow and sheet numbering. Export SVG, PNG, PDF or DXF.

Codes and planning

• Parking lot layout generator: Fills a rectangular site with stalls at 90, 60, 45 or 30 degrees, numbers them, adds accessible spaces and exports the plan as DXF.
• Occupant load calculator: Works out gross or net occupant load under IBC 2021 and 2024, then the stair and door egress width and the number of exits each space needs.
• Plumbing fixture calculator: Counts the water closets, lavatories, drinking fountains and service sinks an occupancy needs under IPC 2021 Table 403.1.

Practice

• Architect fee calculator: Prices a fee as a percentage of construction cost, by the hour or with HOAI 2021, splits it by AIA or RIBA stage and exports a payment plan.

Frequently asked questions

Are these architecture tools really free?

Yes. There is no signup and no paid tier. Each tool runs in your browser, and the ones that fetch climate data take it from public sources such as NASA POWER.

Can I use the output in my own projects?

Yes. The exports are yours to put on a presentation board, in a drawing set or in a report. Check code results against the edition your jurisdiction has adopted before you rely on them.

How accurate are the results?

Each tool page describes its method and the checks behind it. The tools are meant for concept and early design work, not to replace a code consultant, an engineer or a full daylight or energy simulation.