Architectural design software enable users to virtually create spaces of any size and purpose without the help of a construction company. It is possible to draw a 2D drawing or 3D image of a house, apartment, office or playground using special design tools.
These architecture software assist in visualizing how a property will look after construction. This also applies to the remodeling of an apartment or the interior design.
Top 11 Free Architectural Design Software
SketchUp – For 3D designs
AutoCAD – To create representative drafts
Sweet Home 3D – Open-source interior design app
SmartDraw – For building diagrams and schemes
FreeCAD – Modular 3D parametric modeler with BIM tools
FloorPlanner – Easy 2D/3D floor plan drawing
Revit – Multi-disciplinary and collaborative BIM-approach
Blender – For 3D modeling and compositing
TAD: The Architect's Desktop – Open-source interior design app
My Virtual Home – 3D home design planner
actiTIME – Time tracking software with intelligent data
Based on availability criteria and architectural problem setting, here are various 3D architecture software including open-source, floor-planning, general-purpose CAD or BIM (building information modeling) in order to make your choice easier.
1. SketchUp
Vast marketplace of extensions
Videos creation, professional plugins
Layer management, animations and 3D models
Lighting effects, textures, customizable palettes
Offers exchange repository
The free version is basic, web-browser only
Recognition of uneven shapes and rendering
This architectural design software freeware operates from schematic design to construction documentation and serves as an intuitive CAD solution for creating and editing 2D and 3D architectural projects, interior models, furniture and landscapes. With the title blocks, users are capable of drawing plans, facades and sections, building details and completing them.
SketchUp provides numerous add-ons and a forum. It isn’t difficult to learn and generates clear 3D pictures. Each object, surface and material has a unique texture. Its straightforward interface will appeal to architects, designers, builders and engineers at any stage of construction design.
2. AutoCAD
Sophisticated architectural tools
Drawing documentation and annotation
Supports import of Revit grids
Styles browser and tool palettes
AEC object styles and database
Free only for students and teachers
Paid toolkits
AutoCAD is extensively used by specialists for effective development, creation of designs and standard documentation. You are unlikely to encounter compatibility problems unless you have used AutoCAD crack. If you start experimenting with layers and line weights, you will receive a decent project with standard drawing conventions and measurable design details.
Another version is AutoCAD Architecture, an integrated toolset adapted to the needs of the architect. The created drawings will demonstrate real behavior, will take shape and structure. This architecture design software free incorporates AEC objects (windows, doors) as design elements and employs them to create realistic and spatially oriented three-dimensional floor plans.
3. Sweet Home 3D
Measurements of fixtures
Multilingual, open-source, expandable via plugins
Print and export PDFs, bitmap, videos, 3D
Photorealistic images and videos with light sources
Update colors, texture, size, orientation of furniture
The scope and development of environments are restricted
Certain objects don’t match the current market
Sweet Home 3D is a free construction drawing software for interior design letting users view ready-made 2D floor plans in 3D for context and presentation. It is also the best interior design app that is perfectly suitable for designing interiors and creating home or office plans.
Users have an opportunity to produce photorealistic images and videos based on their plans and incorporate different light sources to simulate their surroundings under certain conditions.
It is possible to receive a furniture catalog, a list of home furniture, a house plan, and a 3D view of the house. Users can import a property plan or start drawing a new one, enjoy drawing walls or edit existing ones, add doors, windows and furniture. Besides, the software enables users to import additional 3D models from other sources and export plans to various widespread formats.
4. SmartDraw
Professional intelligent diagramming
Robust architecture design toolset
Rich architectural symbol library
Quick-start architecture design templates
Draw to any scale
Open license for Windows only or via a web browser
Many graphic images are highly specific
Verdict: In this free architectural drawing software, the emphasis is put on a swift and straightforward structural design process. It supports integration with plenty of well-known tools (Trello, Visio, Jira) for optimizing the workflow, as well as exporting drawings and plans to different formats for printing.
SmartDraw offers dozens of templates that can be modified and customized with thousands of ready-made characters for different design options.
Simple and robust charting lets users draw and print architectural and engineering diagrams at scale. Contractors and architects will find this software useful for creating diagrams, flowcharts, process maps, CAD and floor plans, project diagrams, graphs, organizational and network diagrams, wireframes, and all types of layouts. The creator of the organization structure offers an online floor plan for ease of use, sharing and collaboration.
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