Useful Apps for AEC Industry Professionals
Whether you're looking for help with your sketches, wanting to redecorate a room, looking to gain additional knowledge in the field, or seeking an easy way to organize your team, we've highlighted an app that will help you achieve your goal.
In-Field Apps
Concrete and Agg Calculator
With the Concrete and Agg Calculator app, professionals can get help calculating how much concrete and aggregate is needed to complete a project. There are approximately a dozen of different use cases with concrete slabs, footing, walls, steps, curbs, and columns being among them. Download for Apple | Download for Android
Fieldwire
One of the newer construction apps, Fieldwire offers an abundance of features. Some of the popular uses of the app include using the plan viewer which allows you to access your plans offline, exporting blueprints to pdfs, and tracking tasks for the project as well as costs. Download for Apple | Download for Android
Sun Seeker
You've likely heard the horror story of the "walkie talkie" building that reflected the sun rays onto nearby cars and burned them. Well, in order to avoid an issue like that from arising with your design, you can go to the proposed site of the project and use Sun Seeker which lets you know the solar path, summer solstice paths, and the sunrise and sunset times. Download for Apple | Download for Android
Design Apps
Stencil
When designing with repetitive elements such as trees, you can now use the app Stencil which allows you to digitally repeat the design. This takes the effort out of having to sketch each tree individually yet still offers customization as each time you move the stencil, you can colour it in differently. In the video above you can see how Stencil is used and get a further understanding of how helpful it becomes for the design process. Download for Apple
Morpholio Trace 2.0
Looking to use a preexisting building in your new creation? It's easily done with Morpholio Trace which allows users to draw on top of imported images or background templates. All you'd need to do is take a picture of where you imaging the building design and then begin drawing. You can also easily share comments, ideas, and the drawing to others. Download for Apple
Continuing Education Apps
Udemy
If you're looking for an opportunity to learn online, then Udemy is a solution. The app features a number of construction courses in subjects such as electrical system design, construction delay analysis, and more. Each course features about two dozen lectures, can be viewed offline, and can be adjusted for learning at your own pace. While the app is free to download, the courses have fees associated with them. Download for Apple | Download for Android
Learning Architecture
The Learning Architecture app covers 22 topics of Principals of Town Planning and Architecture in detail. Though not intended to replace traditional learning methods (ie going to class), it is useful as a review before exams and for preparing for interviews. Among the 22 topics covered in the application are: neighbourhood planning, zoning, design of school, and design of hospitals. Download for Android.
Interior Design Apps
Rommle
For those interested in planning out the interior design of a room before moving furniture or ordering supplies, the RommIe app allows you to design your room in 3D on your phone and then experience the design visually in augmented reality. View the tool in action in the video above. Download for Apple | Download for Android
RoomScan Pro
While not as visual as RommIe, this app lets the user generate a floor plan for a room quickly and easily. All the user has to do is tap their phone to each adjacent wall and then the app automatically generates a floor plan of the room. While fast for a room layout, it's still not ideal for drafting an entire floor plan for a house since on average the plans are accurate within about half a foot. Download for Apple
Organizational Apps
SimpleMind
With SimpleMind you can quickly make a simple mind map from a text list. This will help you with organizing a project and meeting deadlines (provided you actually add them to the map). Download for Apple | Download for Android
Trello
Imagine Pinterest but having the advantage of adding notes on images, creating text documents, and tracking the activity of everyone in the group. Trello is a free way to visually organize your project and collaborate with your team members in one easily accessible location. It also works on desktops. Download for Apple | Download for Android
Asana
If you're wanting to easily keep track of the progress from a team involved in your project, then Asana is the answer. You can visually see a bar graph from each department that indicates how close they are to achieving their goals. Comments are also allowed so you can see project managers weighing in on the success of their team. Download for Apple | Download for Android
Have other apps you like to use? Share them with us in the comments below.
cover photo © unsplash
