The problem

Seven programs for one house.

Architect, engineer, energy consultant, installer, surveyor, builder: each in their own program, and none reads the others’.What passes between them is a PDF, redrawn by hand.Every change is a round of emails.

1 · The plot

Start at the plot.

Before you buy, draw the boundary.The zone, the setbacks, the coverage and the height limit come from the local code, so you see what may stand on it.The surveyor’s point list becomes the terrain the house will stand on.

2 · The walls

Draw the walls. The house follows.

Slab, ring beams, footings, waterproofing, roof and timber frame are derived from the walls, each sized from the textbook and editable.Masonry with external insulation, the way houses are built here.Not a timber template with the units swapped.

3 · The team

Every trade, one model, live.

The engineer, the energy consultant, the installer, the electrician, the interior designer, the surveyor, the gardener and the builder work in the same model over the internet, from their own offices, at the same time.From the first sketch, not after the architect is done.Each sees their own layer and everyone’s cursor.Built in, not a paid tier.

  • ArchitectDraws the walls. Everything downstream follows, and stays editable.
  • Structural engineerThe same walls and slabs, never rebuilt from a PDF.
  • Energy consultantU-values and the balance from the real build-ups, live.
  • HVAC and plumbingRoutes in the real slab and ceiling void. A clash shows at once.
  • ElectricianCircuits and sockets on the live plan, while the walls still move.
  • Interior designerIn from the first sketch: rooms, openings and finishes shaped together, not after.
  • SurveyorThe point list becomes the terrain. The house stands on it from day one.
  • GardenerOn the real plot from the start: terrain, setbacks, the house and its shadow as it takes shape.
  • BuilderQuantities and timber sizes derived, not re-measured.
4 · Energy

Energy from the same layers.

Every wall, roof and window carries its U-value from its build-up.Heat loss, q against qₘₐₓ, thermal bridges, summer overheating and the room loads are derived live, to the energy decree.No second layer database.Nothing typed twice.

5 · Quantities and rules

Quantities and checks, derived.

A bill of quantities in the local trade order falls out of the model: masonry by layer, concrete, timber by member.120 rules check setbacks, U-values, headroom, chimney heads and stairs, each citing the paragraph and page it comes from.Move a wall and everything follows.

6 · The permit

Then the permit.

Plans, sections, elevations, schedules, the energy calculation and the quantities on title-blocked sheets, in the local conventions, as PDF/A for the permit portal.Plans, sections and schedules are live today.Elevations, sheets and PDF/A are in design, not shipped.We will say when they are.

In design
From today

In the browser. Yours to keep.

Mac, Windows, Linux, nothing to install: open a link and you are in the model, 200 000 wall segments at full frame rate on an ordinary laptop.Your model is a readable log of your edits, not a sealed file.The price is not decided.Founding members keep theirs.

I work as

Draw the walls. The roof, dimensions and code checks follow.

We email you only about Monocad. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy

Seen in the app

Draw the walls. Roof, insulation, footings and dimension chains are derived, and stay editable.
Everyone edits the same plan at once. You see each cursor and every change as it happens.
Timber roof frame with a live section cut. Move a wall and the frame and quantities follow.
Rule checks that cite their source: plot setbacks, headroom, and more as you ask for them.

Today and next

Works today

  • Walls, openings, rooms, levels
  • Roofs with timber frame, thermal envelope
  • Sections and dimension chains
  • Rule checks with cited sources: zoning, energy decree, textbooks
  • Plot, setbacks and terrain from the surveyor's point list, DXF or LandXML
  • U-values, heat loss, thermal bridges, room heating and cooling loads
  • Bill of quantities derived from the model
  • Real-time multi-user editing, all in the browser

Built in Budapest

Monocad is built in Budapest, the city ArchiCAD came from, by a software engineer working with architects. Follow the build as it happens.

Questions

Will it produce the permit documentation?

Yes, that is the goal: the complete permit set of plans, sections, elevations, schedules, energy calculation and quantities derived from one model and exported as PDF/A. Plans, sections, dimension chains, schedules, the energy report and the bill of quantities are derived today; elevations, sheet layout and PDF/A export are in design. Founding members shape the local conventions it ships with.

Which construction systems does it know?

Today: masonry with external insulation (ETICS), reinforced-concrete slabs and ring beams, strip footings, waterproofing against ground moisture and groundwater, timber roof frames, stairs and shafts. The rules and catalogues are data, so other regions' systems and codes can be added without changing the program.

Is my work locked in?

Your model is stored as a readable log of your edits, not a sealed binary. Export to the common exchange formats is on the roadmap and is part of what the survey asks you about. The price is not decided yet; founding members keep theirs.