If you’re a civil engineer or just an ordinary man trying to design a house plan, you will need good architecture software for designing purposes. Architecture software is designed to make the work of civil engineers or construction designers easier.
This software can edit, track, or create excellent diagrams or floor plans that builders can convert into reality.
The best architecture software can even help you mimic a real-world building to test the building materials accordingly. Most civil engineers and building designers use this helpful feature to design monuments or buildings.
If you’re looking for such designing software, then look no further. Today, we list some of the great and free architecture software for architects.
Best Free Architecture Design Software
Although there is much software available for beginning buildings and other monumental ideas, this software is specifically designed for architects and civil engineers so that they can make the most of it—presenting the best architecture software for you!
1. My Virtual Home
My virtual home is an excellent software for preparing a home floor design map. It can create a floor plan in 3D and render it with walls, curtains, doors, bathrooms, etc. You have to make the layout according to your imagination, and the software will do the rest.
It is an outstanding solution if you want to know how your design will look in real life. So, if you have a floor plan in mind, check it out with the My Virtual Home app.
2. LibreCAD
Have you ever heard of Libre Office? Libre makes free open-source software, and LibreCAD is one of them! LibreCAD is an open-source 2D CAD application for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
It is based on Qt, a leading cross-platform application and UI development framework. With this software, you can make 2D floor plans with 100% measurement accuracy. Later, you can print them or share them with your designer.
3. SketchUp
SketchUp is a modern sketching app that allows you to make a rough 3D sketch of your home. The app is easy to use and has many tools for creating walls, windows, doors, curtains, etc.
The excellent part about SketchUp is that it also allows furniture. So you can also emulate how the floor plan will look after installing the furniture.
4. NanoCAD
NanoCAD is a free CAD program for architects that allows them to create 3D floor maps. You can also create floor maps and animate them to present to your clients.
NanoCAD is a lightweight package, so most architects use it to design buildings. It is ideal for small and large building projects and is available for Windows.
5. Revit Architecture
Revit is free software for skilled architects and design professionals. It offers robust features to create complex designs in less time. Revit even comes with a free subscription service ideal for civil students.
Accuracy is also a significant feature of this program. It can accurately make floor pans and building design dimensions without errors. You can design a structure, view it in 3D, or demolish the construction to see its effects.
6. DesignWorkshop Lite
This free software offers 3D design for home and floor plans and any landscape you want to convert into a realistic model. It supports many features such as elevation, lengthening, zooming in, projects, etc.
The great part about Design Workshop Lite is that it supports messages or annotations, which serve as information points on your projects. Multiple shapes are available, including circles, ovals, squares, rhombuses, etc., making the designing process much more manageable.
7. Blender
Blender is an Open-Source 3D modeling toolkit that can create interactive 3D applications, visual effects, animated videos, motion graphics, and more.
The 3D computer Graphic Software is reliable and flexible and supports several practical model creation and video creation tools. You can further enhance this software with other free community-developed extensions.
8. OpenSCAD
Another considerable open-source application for creating solid 3D CAD. OpenSCAD focuses on the CAD aspects rather than the artistic side of 3D modeling. It is a script-only tool and understands only its descriptive language.
You cannot interactively modify the parts using your mouse. Instead, you have to write specific scripts for them. Although this process seems quite time-consuming, it gives users total control over modeling. OpenSCAD is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
9. ArchiCAD Modelling
ArchiCAD is free, open-source software for designing architectural models. It provides the essential tools for 2D navigation, canvas modeling, sketch view, and more. ArchiCAD provides a very friendly platform for creating simulations and designing models.
Besides, users can seamlessly navigate through the programs, discover new tools, import/export files, and so much more. Different professionals and enterprises widely use it to create amazing designs with its dedicated modeling tools.
10. BRL-CAD
BRL-CAD is another mighty open-source, cross-platform architectural software. It has many advanced options, such as the analytical benchmark suite, geometry editing, ray tracing for rendering and analysis, and more.
Moreover, the best part is that it is completely free and supports Windows, macOS, Solaris, Linux, etc. Above all, BRL-CAD has been in service since 1979 and successfully delivers excellent service.
