Submission booklets and presentations
Placing images, drawings and text in the template, checking requirements, exporting PDFs.
- Today
- several days
- With AI
- a few hours
AI for Architecture Firms: Workflows That Save Days of Work
We build AI into your existing workflows through MCP connectors. Your team describes a task in one sentence, and the assistant carries it out in the model or the layout. That takes days to weeks of routine work off each team member per project. On-premises or via cloud AI, legally sound, following DIN, ÖNORM and SIA, and BIM-ready.
Your teamA task in plain language
AI assistant + connectorsOn-premises on Mac Studio or via cloud AI · You decide what the assistant may do
SketchUp
Rhino
Archicad
Vectorworks
Blender
InDesign
Illustrator
Your models and files stay on your computers.
Time savings
Less routine, more time for architecture.
Much of the work in an office is repetition: transferring data, checking, formatting, exporting. That is exactly where the workflows step in.
Area schedules and checks
Evaluating rooms, summarising them to standard and checking them against the requirements.
- Today
- days per issue
- With AI
- at the push of a button
Options and renderings
Calculating and comparing options and rendering them as a series with fixed views.
- Today
- days per round
- With AI
- overnight
Model clean-up before handover
Aligning classes, layers and component data, preparing IFC for consultants.
- Today
- days before each stage
- With AI
- hours, including review
Over a project, that saves each team member days to weeks. Time that goes back into design, coordination and quality.
Basics
What a connector does in everyday practice.
A connector links the AI assistant to a program. Instead of producing text someone has to transfer by hand, the assistant works directly in your files.
One assistant for every program
Instead of buying a separate AI tool for each program, one assistant works with all seven. Workflows run from design all the way to the finished submission booklet.
Work directly in the file
The assistant creates options, checks rooms and areas, renders views or places images in the layout. Your team sees the result immediately in the program they know.
You stay in control
You decide whether the assistant may only read or also make changes. Changes can be confirmed beforehand, and every step can be traced afterwards.
Your office standard and your codes
Layer structure, room data, title block, house colours and the standards of the project country are built in. Results look as if your team had made them.
Programs
AI for Archicad, Vectorworks, SketchUp, Rhino, Blender and Adobe.
We set up connectors for the programs your office works with. For Vectorworks, we developed our own connector.
Developed in-house by JF Agency
Design & BIM
Vectorworks
Vectorworks is the core design tool in many German-speaking offices. We built our own connector for day-to-day practice: from a tidy model and the area schedule to the finished sheet layout.
- Organise and clean up classes and layers to your office standard
- Evaluate rooms and areas to DIN 277, ÖNORM B 1800 or SIA 416
- Fill sheet layouts, title blocks and drawing lists automatically
- Prepare models for IFC handover to consultants
Assign every element on the ground floor to the classes of our office standard and show me what could not be assigned.
Design & massing
SketchUp
For quick massing studies and client meetings. Site dimensions and key figures turn into comparable options within minutes.
- Generate massing options from site, density and number of storeys
- Create scenes and views for presentations
- Compare areas and volumes per option
- Pass models on to Rhino or Blender
Create three massing options with 5 storeys on the 32 × 18 m site and set up a view from the south-west for each.
Free form & façade
Rhino & Grasshopper
For complex geometry and parametric design. The assistant runs through options without anyone touching the script.
- Run through façade or form options automatically
- Evaluate areas, volumes and component lists
- Clean up and consistently name inherited models
- Export data for model making and fabrication
Calculate the façade with louvre spacings from 30 to 60 cm in 5 cm steps and compare louvre count and shading.
Design & BIM
Archicad
Widely used across Europe. The assistant takes over the checking and maintenance in the model that otherwise costs hours before every submission.
- Check room data and summarise areas by use
- Set component data for many elements at once
- Find missing information and duplicate elements
- Prepare IFC for consultants and update drawing lists
Check all rooms on the ground floor: where is the use missing or the area below 8 m²? List the rooms by number.
Visualisation
Blender
Competition-quality renderings without licence fees. The assistant handles the steps between model and finished image.
- Import models and assign materials from your library
- Set the sun position for location, date and time
- Render image series with fixed cameras and formats
- Create shadow studies and camera flights
Set the sun for the project site on 21 June at 4 pm and render our three standard views at 3,000 px width.
Layout & submission
Adobe InDesign
Submission booklets, competition boards and brochures. The assistant fills your templates and handles the legwork before every deadline.
- Create pages from your templates and place images and drawings
- Pull captions and key figures from spreadsheets
- Check competition requirements: format, page count, font sizes
- Export PDFs for print, web and anonymous submission
Build the A3 landscape submission booklet from the renderings and the drawing list using our template, 12 pages max, with no reference to the office.
Diagrams & graphics
Adobe Illustrator
Pictograms, diagrams and drawing presentation. The assistant creates graphics from your data in your office's style.
- Generate area and use diagrams directly from spreadsheets
- Align line weights, colours and fonts to your office standard
- Prepare drawings graphically for presentations
- Export graphics in every format you need
Turn the area schedule into a use diagram in our house colours, with m² next to each use.
Workflows
From model to submission in one run.
The biggest gain lies between the programs. Three typical workflows as we set them up with offices. Each step can be approved individually.
Competition entry
Rhino → Blender → Illustrator → InDesignIn competitions, time usually runs short at the end. The assistant covers the stretch between design decision and finished submission booklet, so your team can spend longer on the design.
OptionsMassing or façade options according to the competition brief.
ComparisonAreas and key figures per option in a clear table.
RenderingsThe chosen option with your standard views and correct sun position.
DiagramsUse and circulation diagrams from the data.
BookletTemplate filled, requirements checked, anonymous PDF ready.
Pre-check before planning submission
Archicad or Vectorworks → check reportBefore submitting to the building authority, a structured look at areas, room data and model quality pays off. The assistant collects the values from the model and compares them with the requirements your team enters.
AreasArea schedule to the standard of the project country: DIN 277, ÖNORM B 1800 or SIA 416.
RequirementsComparison with the values from the zoning or development plan.
ModelMissing room data and duplicate elements are flagged.
ReportA short check report with locations goes to the project lead.
HandoverAfter approval, IFC and drawing list go to the consultants.
The pre-check replaces neither the professional review in the office nor the official procedure. It gives your team time for the questions that need experience.
Refurbishment and client presentation
SketchUp → Blender → InDesignFor period buildings and loft conversions, many small options are often coordinated with owners. The assistant keeps model, images and presentation in sync.
ExistingThe as-built model is organised to your office standard.
OptionsConversion options with an area comparison.
ImagesInterior and exterior views per option, lit identically.
PresentationA side-by-side of all options from your template.
Office knowledge as a skill set
Your design language as an AI skill set.
We translate your office's knowledge – design approach, design rules, details and standards – into a skill set for your AI assistant. The AI then works in your signature style instead of generically, including when building models.
From experience to skill set
Archicad · Vectorworks · Rhino · SketchUpMuch of what defines an office lives in the heads of experienced staff and in past projects. We make that knowledge usable for the assistant and permanently available to your team.
CaptureReview reference projects, detail catalogue, material palette, drawing standards and templates together with your team.
StructureThis becomes clear rules: proportions, grids, façade principles, materials and naming.
Turn into skillsThe rules become skills the assistant draws on for every task in your programs.
EvolveNew projects feed in. The skill set grows with your office and remains your property.
Office knowledge
What goes in
Design principles, proven detail solutions, materials and colours, sheet layout and office standards, plus the experience of your team.
Model creation
What the AI can do with it
Propose options in your office style, build and check models according to your rules, and bring new staff up to speed on how you work.
Data security
Secure, even offline
With local models on Mac Studio, the skill set runs fully offline in your office. With cloud AI, only under contracts that exclude training on your data. Your knowledge stays yours.
Your style stays your style: the AI does not design for you, it supports you in your own signature.
Standards DACH
Following the standards of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
We work for architecture firms in Berlin, Basel, Zurich and Vienna. The workflows follow the rules of each project country, so areas, drawings and costs fit without rework.
| Topic | AustriaÖNORM · OIB | GermanyDIN · HOAI | SwitzerlandSIA · eBKP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Areas | ÖNORM B 1800 Areas and volumes | DIN 277 Floor areas and volumes | SIA 416 Areas and volumes |
| Drawings | ÖNORM A 6240 Technical drawings | DIN 1356 Building drawings | SIA 400 Drawing preparation |
| Costs | ÖNORM B 1801-1 Cost structure | DIN 276 Building costs | eBKP-H Building cost plan |
| Services | Service profiles for civil engineers | HOAI Work stages 1–9 | SIA 102 / SIA 112 Services and phases |
| Building law | OIB guidelines, Vienna Building Code and state law | Building codes of the 16 federal states | Cantonal building law, harmonised building terms |
Standards texts are protected by copyright. We set up the checking rules based on the standards your office has licensed and agree them with you.
BIM-ready
Ready for BIM projects.
The workflows use open formats and fit into BIM projects to international standards. Your model stays usable for consultants and clients.
IFC · openBIM
Open exchange
Archicad, Vectorworks, Rhino and Blender exchange models via IFC. Structural, MEP and building physics consultants receive the same data, whatever program they use.
EIR · BEP
Checks before handover
The assistant checks models against the client's information requirements: missing data, wrong classification, incomplete rooms. Errors surface before they reach the consultant.
ISO 19650 · ÖNORM A 6241 · SIA 2051
Aligned with the standards
The workflows follow ISO 19650 and the national BIM guidelines in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, so they fit public tenders with BIM requirements.
On-premises or cloud
Your AI in your own office or from the cloud.
You decide where the AI runs. We set up both options within a legally sound framework and connect them to the same workflows.
Local AI
Open models on two Mac Studio
Powerful open AI models such as Meta's Muse Spark Open run on two Mac Studio with M5 Ultra right in your office. No project data leaves the building, there are no per-request costs, and you depend on no vendor.
- Ideal for competitions and confidential projects
- Full data sovereignty on your own network
- Setup, maintenance and updates handled by us
Cloud AI
Claude and other providers
The most capable AI models, such as Claude by Anthropic, on a business plan. With a data processing agreement, no training on your data and, where possible, processing in the EU.
- Top quality for complex tasks
- Ready immediately, no hardware of your own
- Contracts and data flows documented under GDPR
Many offices combine both: confidential projects run locally, everything else via the cloud. The workflows stay the same for your team.
Security
AI in the office without giving up control of your designs.
Competition entries and client data are an architecture firm's capital. As a certified ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Lead Auditor, we set everything up so you can always show what happens to your data.
In the office
- Local
- The connectors run on your computers. Models and project folders stay in the office.
- Permissions
- By default the assistant may only read. You enable changes deliberately.
- Approval
- Changes to models and layouts can be confirmed beforehand.
- Audit log
- Every step can be traced with time and person.
- Mac
- On Mac workstations we roll everything out centrally via Mosyle MDM.
Legal
- GDPR
- Data flows and contracts are documented under GDPR and the Austrian and Swiss data protection acts.
- Providers
- Contracts that exclude training on your data, with EU processing where possible.
- AI Act
- Team training and proof of AI literacy, mandatory since February 2025.
- Copyright
- Clear rules on which designs and images may be used.
- ISO 27001
- On request, part of an existing or planned security management system.
Process
Built into your existing workflows.
Your team keeps working in the programs and templates it knows. We build the AI into exactly those workflows, starting with the one that costs the most time today.
Analysis
Workshop with project leads and CAD managers. We look at programs, templates and bottlenecks and choose the pilot.
Pilot
Setup for one program on a live project, with measurement of the time saved.
Rollout & training
Setup on all workstations, a task library with your office standards and team training.
Operation
Updates for new program versions and additional workflows as the need arises.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about AI in architecture firms.
Can the AI assistant work in our office style?
Yes. We translate your office knowledge – design principles, details, materials and drawing standards – into a skill set the assistant uses for every task. Options and models then follow your signature style. With local models on Mac Studio, this runs fully offline.
What is an MCP connector?
An MCP connector links an AI assistant such as Claude to a program such as Archicad or InDesign. Your team describes a task in plain language, the connector carries it out in the program and reports back. MCP is an open standard backed by many vendors.
Do the workflows follow German, Austrian and Swiss standards?
Yes. Area calculation, drawing conventions, cost structure and work stages are set up for each project country: DIN and HOAI, ÖNORM and OIB guidelines, or SIA. Projects in all three countries can be handled with the same tools.
Are the workflows BIM-ready?
Yes. All design connectors work with IFC, the open exchange format for BIM. Models can be checked against the client's requirements before handover, and the workflows follow ISO 19650 and the national BIM guidelines.
Is there a connector for Vectorworks?
Yes. JF Agency developed the Vectorworks connector in-house. It organises classes and layers to your office standard, evaluates rooms and areas, fills sheet layouts and prepares IFC exports.
How much time do AI workflows save an architecture firm?
Recurring work such as submission booklets, area schedules, render series and model clean-up often takes days today. With integrated workflows the assistant handles it in hours. Over a project, that saves each team member days to weeks.
Can we run the AI entirely on-premises?
Yes. Open models such as Meta's Muse Spark Open run on two Mac Studio with M5 Ultra right in your office, and no data leaves the building. Alternatively or in addition, we use cloud AI such as Claude on a business plan with a data processing agreement and no training on your data.
Does our design data leave the office?
The connectors run on your computers in the office. Models and files stay there; the AI assistant only receives the information needed for the task at hand, such as a room list. We use provider contracts that exclude training on your data.
Does AI replace design work or professional review?
No. The workflows take over repetitive work: calculating options, checking data, filling layouts, starting renderings. Design decisions, professional review and sign-off stay with the firm.
Where do we start?
With a workflow that costs noticeable time today, such as the submission booklet or the area schedule. After a pilot project you decide on the basis of real numbers how to proceed.
Local AI
Local AI, offline in your office
We also offer local AI models and set up the complete Mac Studio setup for you. The AI runs offline, and your data never leaves the office. It is the highest level of data security.
Next step
Which workflow costs your team the most time?
On site in Berlin, Basel, Zurich and Vienna or by video: in a free 30-minute intro call, we look together at where a connector makes the biggest difference in your office.
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Service
ISO 27001 certification
Information security as a trust signal for clients.