Nordform for people building their own

You describe a building. Nordform draws it, using parts a factory really makes, and checks it against that factory’s own rules. You get a 3D model, a drawing sheet, CAD files and a material list.

What it is

Nordform is a website. You open it in a browser and type what you want: “a 6 by 8 metre timber house with a quiet place to work.” A design service reads that and proposes a change to the building. The language model never draws anything: it asks for a change the kit allows, and our own code makes the drawing, the same way every time. The design is then checked, and you see each result with the rule it was checked against.

Three words are used throughout the site. A kit is a factory’s building system written down: its parts, the sizes it allows and the rules for how they go together. A revision is one saved version of your design, named on every file it produces. A check is a test the kit defines, such as a span that is too long; it says what it looked at and what it did not.

What you do

1. Describe it. Write a few sentences, or start from an example design on the front page.
2. Look at it. The design opens in 3D in your browser: spin it, cut through it, read the plan.
3. Change it. Ask for a wider window or a longer room. Each settled change becomes a new version, and the old ones stay.
4. Check it. Run the kit’s checks as often as you like. They cost nothing.
5. Take it away. Download the files for the version you are looking at.
6. Ask a professional. If you want a person’s name on it, invite one and agree a price with them.

What you can design today

Kit houses run the whole path: a frame, checks, drawings and exports. Steel portal frames, fabric-covered halls, access platforms, welded skid frames, pipe runs and sheet-metal enclosures are further families. Each family carries its status word in the catalogue.

What you get at the end

• A 3D model you can turn around in the browser, and share as a link.
• A concept drawing set: a plan, elevations, a section and an isometric on A3 sheets, each with a title block, a grid and a scale bar.
• CAD files a builder or a drafter can open, in DXF.
• A BIM model in IFC 4.3, for anyone working in Revit, Archicad or a similar tool.
• A material list and cut list as a spreadsheet file.

Every download is read back and compared to the design it came from. If a file does not match, it is withheld. How that check works.

What it costs

Designing in the editor costs nothing: as many projects and versions as you like, and every check. Nothing is sold on this site, and there are no credits or plans to buy. Nordform takes on paid work as engineering assignments, quoted per scope; how an assignment is priced.

Scope

• Concept drawings. The drawing set describes the concept; a permit is applied for by your designer and decided by your authority.
• The frame. The model carries the frame members and their cut lengths. Joints, connections and fixings are detailed by your builder or engineer.
• Advisory checks. Checks are advisory. A structural calculation and sign-off come from a named professional, who says what their opinion covers.
• Local rules. Nordform holds written notes about the rules in the countries it supports, and the design service reads them. Whether your building is allowed on your plot is for your local authority.
• Building services. Heating, ventilation, electricity and drainage are designed alongside, by the people who install them.

What a change breaks goes into more detail.

Getting a professional to check it

You can invite an engineer or an architect to review one version. They quote you first, with the scope and the price written down, and you accept before any work starts. You get back a report in their name, tied to that version, with their limitations stated on it.

You invite someone you already know by their email address. A review stays with its version, and a new version gets its own review.

Start

Write your first brief on the front page and continue through a conversation about the family, location, construction system and context. Your answers become the starting concept in the workspace. How the engine works explains what happens between your sentence and the drawing, and the guides cover reading a drawing and choosing an export.