Guides & tutorials

Plain-English, step-by-step. No BIM or real-estate-finance background needed — each tutorial takes about five minutes.

👋 Brand new? Open the live demo or the desktop app and take the built-in 60-second tour (the ? button, top-right). Then come back here for the deep dives.

Lifecycle coverage: one IFC model spans acquisition to turnover — One IFC model spans the whole lifecycle — the tutorials below follow it left to right.

Getting started 1 · Explore a model 2 · Generate from zoning 3 · Underwrite a deal 4 · Run a project 5 · Hand it over Glossary FAQ

Getting started — three ways to run it

🧊 Try it in your browser (nothing to install)

Open the live demo, switch to the Model workspace, and pick a sample from Open ▾. The viewer runs entirely in your browser on bundled models.

💾 Free desktop app (full platform, offline)

Download the installer for Windows, macOS, or Linux. It's the whole platform in one app — no login, no Docker. Your data stays on your machine.

🐳 Server stack (teams)

For multi-user use, run the Docker stack — see the README.

Tutorial 1 · Explore a model

Learn to move around a 3D building and read its data.

Open the app and make sure you're in the Model workspace (top bar).
Click Open ▾ → BasicHouse (or any sample). The building loads in the viewer.
Orbit by dragging, pan with right-drag, zoom with the wheel. Click ⤢ Fit to recenter.
Click any element — its properties open on the right. Every element has a permanent IFC ID.
Use the left rail: the tree (spatial breakdown), layers (show/hide by type), and ⊙ Isolate / ⊞ Show all.
Try Section (cut through the model) and Measure (distances/areas) from the toolbar.
Need other formats? Open ▾ → Open mesh / point cloud… loads OBJ/STL/PLY/glTF meshes and PCD/XYZ/LAS/LAZ point clouds as reference overlays. Tap 📱 Share via QR to open the project on a phone or tablet.
Layer & coordinate models (Navisworks-style): each reference model has a ⛭ align panel (offset / Z-up flip / scale / move-to-point). Add discipline IFCs in the Coordination & QA panel (＋ Add discipline IFC), then 🔗 Federated clash finds cross-discipline conflicts and files them as issues on the model.

There's nothing to "save" — the model is read from its IFC file. Edits you make (Tutorial 4+) are written back to IFC server-side, keeping every ID stable.

A dimensioned floor plan generated from the model — The same model also generates 2D drawings — dimensioned plans, sections, elevations, PDF sheets.

Tutorial 2 · Generate a building from zoning ⭐

The headline feature: turn a lot + zoning rules into a real building and a first-cut deal.

Go to the Finance workspace → Proforma tab.
Find the 🏗️ Generate from zoning panel. Enter your lot (width × depth or area), FAR, setbacks, and a height limit.
Tick the options you want: structural frame, unit layout (apartments on a corridor), facade envelope, service core.
Click Estimate yield to preview the program (floors, units, GSF) and a starter proforma — instantly, without saving anything.
Happy with it? Click Generate IFC model + apply. It builds a real IFC building, publishes it to the viewer, and loads the numbers into the live proforma.
Switch to the Model workspace to see your generated building. Open Test Fit (back in Finance) to compare unit-mix schemes or ⚡ Optimize for the highest-yield layout.

A building rises floor by floor from a zoning envelope, then the deal is underwritten — Zoning in → a real IFC building rises → the deal is underwritten.

Inputs to an IFC massing model and acquisition proforma

💡 The building is real openBIM — it flows straight into drawings, takeoff, the estimate, and the deal. One input, the whole chain.

Tutorial 3 · Underwrite a deal

Build the cost budget, balance the capital, and produce an investor package.

In Finance, open the cost budget panel. Add line items by category — acquisition, hard (construction), soft (design/fees) — as $/unit × quantity, with a contingency %.
Click Apply to proforma — the budget rolls into the deal's cost tree.
Open Sources & Uses to see the capital plan (debt sized to your LTC/LTV/DSCR, plus equity).
Tune the drivers (rent, exit cap, hold). Watch the returns bar — IRR, equity multiple, yield-on-cost — update live. Guardrail badges flag anything outside market ranges.
Click 📄 Investment memo or 📊 Pitch deck to generate a polished PDF from the live numbers.
Once the job is live, track the capital: the developer dashboard reconciles the GC's GMP to your underwritten hard cost (one click to sync), models construction-loan draws (equity-first, with interest accrual), and exports a lender draw-request PDF. The portfolio view rolls returns up across every deal.

Modeling something unusual (e.g. on-site solar or a vertical farm)? The ⚡ Specialty panel adds those economics — and their revenue is automatically risk-adjusted so the IRR stays honest.

Tutorial 4 · Run a project (GC portal)

Manage construction — works even with no model loaded.

Click ＋ New in the top bar to create a project (no IFC needed).
Go to the Construction workspace. You'll see the dashboard and a catalog of modules (RFIs, submittals, change orders, daily reports, inspections, safety…).
Open RFIs → ＋ New, fill in the subject and question, and save. Use the workflow buttons (submit → respond) to move it along.
Explore Board (kanban), filters, and the Related panel on a record (it links RFIs → change events → CORs automatically).
Use Schedule for CPM/critical path, the takt chart, and the ⏱ 4D sequence slider to scrub the build in the viewer.
Open Schedule → Budget for the project GMP: it assembles automatically from your cost codes, committed subcontracts (buyout) and GC/GR staffing, plus overhead / fee / contingency. Each line carries budget → committed → actual → forecast (EAC) and the variance, and reconciles to the prime contract. A cash-flow S-curve spreads it across the schedule.
See cost on the model (5D): click any element for its 5D readout (cost code, budget, progress), or open the cost / progress heatmap to color the whole model by spend or % complete.
Bill the owner: generate the pay application (G702/G703) PDF from the Schedule of Values — it draws straight from the budget lines, with retainage and stored-materials handled.
Ask the "Ask AI" box plain-English questions like "what's overdue?" or "are we over budget?"

Working with a team? Invite members from the account menu and give each a capability role (viewer → admin, gates what they can edit) and a party role (GC, Owner, Owner's Rep, Consultant, Subcontractor — sets their default view and who can move a workflow forward).

A Gantt schedule generated from the project's activities — Schedule views (Gantt + line-of-balance) generate from the project's activities.

Tutorial 5 · Hand it over (turnover)

Close the project out and produce the handover package.

Work the Punchlist: open an item, mark it ready, attach a photo, then verify (verification requires the photo — an evidence gate).
Record commissioning, as-builts, warranties, and the completion certificate.
Export COBie (the standard facilities-handover spreadsheet), the QTO, and a one-click turnover package (as-built IFC + COBie + closeout docs).

Glossary — plain English

IFC	The open file format for building models. The platform's "source of truth" — every record points at an element's permanent IFC ID.
BIM	Building Information Modeling — a 3D model that also carries data (materials, costs, properties), not just shapes.
FAR	Floor Area Ratio — how much building floor area zoning allows per unit of land. FAR 3 on a 10,000 sf lot ≈ 30,000 sf of building.
Setback	How far a building must sit back from the property lines.
Massing	The basic size/shape of a building before detailed design — what "generate from zoning" produces.
Proforma	The financial model of a development — costs in, rent/sale out, returns calculated.
Hard / soft costs	Hard = physical construction. Soft = design, fees, permits, financing. Roughly 70–80% / 20–30%.
Sources & Uses	Where the money comes from (debt + equity) vs where it goes (land + construction + soft costs).
NOI	Net Operating Income — rent minus operating expenses. The basis for value.
Cap rate	NOI ÷ value. Lower cap = higher value. Used to estimate sale price at exit.
IRR / Equity multiple	IRR = annualized return %. EM = total cash back ÷ cash in (e.g. 1.9×).
Yield on cost	Stabilized NOI ÷ total project cost — the developer's "did this pencil?" number.
RFI	Request for Information — a formal question to the design team during construction.
Pay app (G702/G703)	The standard monthly billing forms a contractor submits for payment.
GMP	Guaranteed Maximum Price — the capped contract sum: cost of the work + the GC's fee. The platform builds it up from cost codes, buyout and staffing, plus markups.
Cost code / SOV	Cost code = a budget bucket (often by CSI division). Schedule of Values = the billing breakdown the pay app draws from — here it's seeded straight from the budget.
Buyout	Awarding subcontracts against the budget. The difference between the budget and what you actually commit is buyout savings (or overrun).
EAC / forecast	Estimate At Completion — what a line will ultimately cost given progress and committed amounts. Drives the over/under variance.
5D	The 3D model + time (4D) + cost. Click an element to see its cost, or color the model by spend or % complete.
Loan draw	A scheduled withdrawal from the construction loan to pay for work in place — modeled equity-first, with interest accruing on the balance.
Takt / Line of Balance	Scheduling where each trade moves floor-to-floor at a steady pace — the "assembly line" approach.
4D	The 3D model + time — scrub a slider to see what's built on any day.
COBie	The standard spreadsheet handed to the building's operator at turnover (assets, warranties, manuals).
Clash / IDS	Clash = two elements overlapping. IDS = a checklist your model must satisfy (data quality).

FAQ

Do I need Revit or any paid software?

No. The platform is open and IFC-native. Revit files (.rvt) need a paid Autodesk bridge; IFC and Fragments load free and offline.

Is my data private?

On the desktop app, everything stays on your machine. The server stack is self-hosted — you run it.

Can I use just one part — say, only the proforma or only the GC portal?

Yes. Create a blank project (＋ New) and use the Finance or Construction workspace on its own — no model required.

Can a team work on the same project?

Yes (on the connected/server stack). Invite members and give each a capability role (viewer → admin) and a party role (GC, Owner, Owner's Rep, Consultant, Subcontractor). The party role tailors their view and controls who can advance a workflow; the capability role gates what they can edit.

What does it cost?

The single-project desktop app is free with no per-seat license. A paid connected/cloud tier is planned.

How do I get help?

Re-open the in-app tour with the ? button, or file an issue on GitHub.