"Chief Architect helps us satisfy clients in a manner we never dreamed possible and have virtually instant feedback
on everything"
–John Manca
Blue Mountain Contractors, Inc.
Software for Design-Build Professionals
Actual Rendering Designed with Chief Architect
Chief Architect is specifically designed for the residential design and light commercial market. We have focused on making Chief Architect powerful and easy to use for the Design-Build professional – not the computer professional. With our Getting Started Guide, you can design your first house in 30 minutes.
- Easily design with 2D and 3D models
- Improve client communication and speed the design process
- Produce detailed, professional blueprints and plan sets
- Create complete cost estimates with the Automatic Materials List Generator
- Use powerful CAD tools to create custom details
- Generate landscapes and site plans
- Use built-in Automated Building Tools – roofs, stairs, framing and more
- Learn and design quickly. Includes over 80 how-to videos
Automatic and Manual Framing
Home Design and Remodeling
Perfect for residential or light commercial design, from concept to final plans. Make the most of your design time and win more business. Quickly place and arrange walls, windows, doors and architectural objects from a library of over 18,000 items to create a 2D plan view or 3D model in minutes. When the design is finalized, use the Materials List to help create your cost estimates.
Design with 2D and 3D Models
Turn concepts into realistic 3D models in minutes.
- Design in a 2D Plan View or 3D. Design in both 2D and 3D at the same time
- Use the 3D views and models to help communicate and illustrate the finished project to the client
- 3D models are automatic. To see a view, simply point-and-click the camera. Save any view as an image to e-mail or print
- Choose from several 3D tools including the Full Overview, Doll House™, Glass House™ and many more
- Create a virtual walk-through of the design
Detailed Plans and 3D Models
Automatic Building Tools
Use the powerful built-in Automatic Building tools to make the most of your design time. You will also find all the manual building tools to highly customize your design.
- Automatic and Manual Dimension Tools
- Automatic Roofs, including the One-Click Auto Dormer™ Tool
- Automatic Framing for walls, foundations and roofs
- Use Plan Check™ and the built-in ICC - Residential Code Checklist to check the designs against a comprehensive list of standard building codes
- The House Wizard™ provides a quick way to layout rooms
- Create terrains with custom elevations, place roads, sidewalks and driveways
- Complete kitchen and bath design tools. Easily use the Cabinet tools to create any custom kitchen
Cost Estimating
Chief Architect maintains a complete model as you design and will automatically create a materials list in a spreadsheet so that you can specify your costs.
Blueprints and Elevations
Powerful CAD Tools
Choose from over 3,000 built-in CAD blocks or use the powerful CAD drawing tools to detail your designs.
- A complete CAD tool set, including the Visual CAD Snaps™ to highly customize designs
- Choose from a Library of over 3,000 standard CAD blocks, customize for your designs
- Import AutoCAD® files or any DWG/DXF file to reuse design details
Plan Sets and Blueprints
Produce full construction documents with framing, electrical, plumbing, elevations, cross-sections and more.
- Create full working drawings with detailed plans, layouts and CAD details
- Print on your printer or use the built-in PDF print driver
- Choose from several sample plans and create your own sample plan portfolio
- Use the Layer Sets to turn on and off layers to easily create the exact view for your Plan Set
- Create landscape, plot plans or site plans