Concrete

1. American Concrete Institute [20151128]

2. Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association Architect and Engineer resources. [20151128]

3. International Concrete Repair Institute [20151128]

4. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute [20160206]

Copper

1. Copper Development Association [20230806]

Curtain Walls

1. SkinTec current monthly publication of the Advanced Technology Studio of Enclos. [20150130]

Doors

• 1. BHMA Certified Products Directory from the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association. [20151128]

  2. I Dig Hardware blog. [20140804]

Electrical

• 1. NECA National Electrical Contractors Association home page. [20221028]

     • NEIS National  Electrical Installation Standards
       [20221028]

Fire

1. NFPA National Fire Protection Association home page. [20140804]

• 2. NFPA Documents.  Free versions are available online after registering. [20140804]

Glass

• 1. USGlass digital magazine. [20161111]

  2. Glazing and Winter Comfort Web Tool by Payette [20170128]

Gypsum Products

• 1. USG The Gypsum Construction Handbook [20131123]

  2. USG Design Studio [20120926]

Masonry

• 1. NCMA National Concrete Masonry Association. [20160915]

  2. Technical Notes on Brick Construction The Brick Industry Association. [20160915]

  3. MIA The Masonry Institute of America [20160915]

Mechanical

1. 1. ASHRAE Mechanical. [20111030]

   2. ASHRAE Glossary [20120610]

Sheet Metal

1. 1. SMACNA [20111103]

Stainless Steel

• 1. BSSA British Stainless Steel Association. [20160903]

  2. SSINA Stainless Steel Industry of North America. [20160903]

Steel Framing

• 1. CEMCO steel products: framing, lath, and more. [20230306]

  2. SFIA Steel framing guide. [20111118]

  3. SSMA Steel Stud Manufacturers Association [20121005]

Stone

• 1. Building Stone Institute Natural stone info for the design community and end user. [20141116.]

Structural Insulated Panels

• 1. SIPA Structural Insulated Panel Association [20111010]

Structural Steel

1. 1. AISC American Institute of Steel Construction.

• Modern Steel magazine & news
  [20240201]

1. 2. AISC Shapes Database [20120112]

   3. AISI American Iron & Steel Institute [20111118]

   4. STINA Steel Tube Institute of North America [20120414]

Wood

• 1. AF&PA American Forest & Paper Association. Wood products. [20151109]

  2. American Wood Council (AWC) Structural wood. [20151109]

  3. National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) [20221005]

  4. Wood Products Council (WoodWorks)

     •  Design & Tools.
       [20160201]

  5. The Woodwork Institute and North American Architectural Woodwork Standards (NAAWS). [20220420]

Accessibility

1. Federal ADA Home Page [20161111]

2. Federal ADA 2010 Accessible Design Standards [20161111]

3. California Accessibility Provisions [20161111]

4. CASI News Certified Access Compliance Institute news. [20161115]

5. United States Access Board [20170620]

Building Codes by State

• 1. International Code Council [20170306]

Building Databases

• 1. archello international buildings/products/materials. [20220718]

  2. The Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. CTBUH news updates this past week. [20220718]

  3. SkyscraperPage map published by Skyscraper Source Media. [20131224]

Building Product Search Engines

• 1. Arcat building product information. [20140903]

  2. SPOT by UL [20221003]

  3. Sweets building product information. [20140903]

Designing for Worst Case Scenarios

• 1. AIA Hazard Mitigation Design Resources [20170620]

General References

1. 1. ASTM Standards News [20220705]

   2. Bridging Institute of America [20160901.]

   3. Hermathy's Ten Rules of Fire Endurance Ratings posted for reference by the International Code Council. [20211101]

      • Dr Tibor Z Harmathy tribute by Springer Link [20211103]

   4. NRCA Roofing. [20111117]

   5. Portland Cement Association 

      • Cement & Concrete FAQ's

   6. The Greenbook Committee standards for public works. [20150425]

   7. UL Services [20111025.]

   8. UL Fire Resistance Wizard 20121019.]

   9. US EPA Envirofacts Environmental information by site location/address. [20111017]

   10. US EPA Indoor Air Quality [20111030]

   11. Whole Building Design Guide [20111018]

Healthy Materials

1. Healthy Building Network Product Guide [20220908]

Insurance Providers

• 1. AIA Trust Insurer Database List and compare professional liability insurance providers. [20220127]

  2. RLI Corp - Architect professional liability insurance. [20131022]

  3. Hall and Company - Architect professional liability insurance. [20131123]

  4. Victor O. Schinnerer & Company Architect & Engineer professional liability insurance; and Risk Management Blog. [20160107]

Legalities

• 1. AIA Contract Documents [20230721]

     • "Learn" includes insight on subjects covered by the contract documents.

  2. AIA Trust Legal database of Architect/Engineer law firms. [20220127]

     • AIA Trust pages updated in past 30 days. If no results, try Past Year instead. [20230721]

  3. EJCDC blog of the Engineers Joint Contracts Document Committee. [20221102]

(These are not software recommendations - use at your own risk. Architouie aims for mainstream tools, except when the goal is to be innovative.)

Drafting Software

1. Autodesk AutoCAD product page. [20240122]

   • Cost $490/year for AutoCAD LT or $1975/year for AutoCAD. [20240122]

   • System Requirements  [20240122]

2. Blender BIM [20240122]

   • Google results of "blender for architects" filtered less than one year old.

   • Blender product page.
     [20240122]

3. Autodesk Revit Product page. Consider "tokens". [20240122]

• 1. • Help: Revit LT [20240122]

     • Cost varies: $525/year for only Revit LT, not the Revit LT Suite, or $2835/year for Revit. Point cloud functionality in Revit LT is limited. [20240122]

     • System Requirements  [20200907]

4. Rhino 3d Home Page [20240122]

• • • Rhino News/Blog [20240122]

    • Cost $995 for Rhino.  No subscription.  Subsequent upgrades cost less than the initial license. Base price includes point clouds. [20240122]

    • System Requirements [20240122]

5. SketchUp Home Page. [20240122]

• • • The Official SketchUp Blog [20240122]

    • Cost $350 to $750/year for SketchUp Pro or Studio.  Only Studio handles point clouds. [20240122]

    • System Requirements [20240122]

Google Trends chart [20240122]

Collaboration or File Sharing Software

• 1. Bluebeam Studio provides online Sessions for real-time markups include security controls.  Bluebeam Projects for unlimited storage & sharing of many file types to unlimited users.  Team members on Windows may use Bluebeam Revu free to visit a Session or Project and add markups, even after their 30-day free trial expires.

     • Bluebeam Blog [20240122]

  2. Google Workspace begins at $6/user/month for 30 GB. [20240122]

360 Still or Video Cameras

• 1. Ricoh Theta [20221109]

2D Sketching & Drawing

• 1. Photo from mobile device, then use Bluebeam to sketch on the image. [20221109]

  2. Concepts cross platform digital sketching. Has layers and dimensions:

     • Cost

     • Features

     • Learn

     • News [20240705] 

  3. Morpholio Trace only runs on iOS. Has layers and dimensions. Basic is free, in-app purchases and advanced subscriptions required. [20240705]

  4. Paint.NET and be sure to install the plugins to open & save PDF files. [20221109]

  5. Photoshop Blog Use Photoshop for best quality renderings or complex photo editing tasks. [20221109]

  6. Sketchbook was free, then spun-off from Autodesk in mid-2021. Now costs $20 on PC. Mac and mobile are available too. [20221109]

3D Scanning Software

• 1. 3D Scanner App uses iPhone lidar to create 3D meshes.  Mostly free. Advanced features cost extra.  [20221109]

  2. Canvas via iPhone or iPad. $0.15/SF for scan to BIM or $0.10/SF for scan to CAD, or export and work with the scan yourself for free. [20221109]

  3. CloudCompare Open-source. Clean-up and register point clouds on your desktop. [20221109]

  4. Matterport depth camera and service.[20221109]

  5. RoomScan Pro uses iPhone/iPad lidar to create floor plans. Mostly free. Advanced features cost extra. [20221109]

  6. Pix4d Drone-based or ground-based photogrammetry software. [20221109]

3D Visualization

1. CGA Architect - Discover | Boards  [20221109]

AR/VR/MR Sketching
Since forever, architects hand-sketch using pen/pencil on paper or whatever.  Today, many architects also sketch on digital photos.  Next, architects will sketch in virtual, augmented, or mixed realities.  Here are software that possibly allow sketching in VR/AR/MR:

1. Arkio mostly modeling with some sketching. Cost is subscription-based. Iceland.  Blog [20221109]

2. Gravity Sketch Free for individuals. London. Blog. [20221109]

3. AR Sketchwalk is an augmented reality component of Morpholio Trace. Only on iOS. AR Sketchwalk User Guide.  [20230806]