Native ArchiCAD AI Visualization Plugin - Seeking Feedback

[mike_linespire]

Hey everyone,

I've built an AI archviz addon for ArchiCAD that is using the latest Google models. As primarily a building designer, I wanted an addon that streamlined creating the image directly in ArchiCAD and placing it on the coversheet layout for our projects without needing to export/import.

I've played around with these AI models from the start and always been disappointed that whilst they were impressive, they weren't accurate enough to share with clients (missing windows, roofline changes, wrong materials). The latest models from Google are the first time I've felt they are producing client ready images (9 times out of 10!).

I'd love some feedback on the tool so I've setup a free trial that includes 5 image generations (reach out and I can top you up with a couple of extras if you need them). I'm going to get a macOS version going as soon as I can too.

There is a before/after slider on the website where you can see how accurate the AI model is at matching the geometry of the ArchiCAD model

Operating system used: Windows

[PB]

Now that my curiosity is piqued, I've had a look through the current Enscape & Twinmotion websites. They are both adopting AI within their products. Nothing to see yet for Twinmotion and the Enscape AI generated landscapes look too "Midjourney" for my taste...again, not sure how consistency works across different views/renders for the AI generated input.

[mike_linespire]

Hey PB,

I think D5 are probably doing the most interesting AI tools at the moment. Their latest release can generate 3D assets from reference photos: https://youtu.be/Z3c7lDY98oY?si=A13Hxxgx4nDD0iJO&t=112

I would LOVE to be able to do something like this with Archicad GDL objects and maybe it will be possible in the future.

I know what you mean about the "midjourney" look! Google really raised the bar with Gemini 3 Pro (particularly for archviz) but I'm sure the other models will catch up.

Thanks

[PB]

Thanks Mike.

Yes, D5 shows the way forward - sadly, Windows only…

[Aaron Bourgoin]

I recall when D5 launched, the developers explained that while they were interested in supporting the Mac platform they wouldn't until Apple. hardware was strong enough. I wonder what they think now.

[mike_linespire]

Hey Everyone,

Just an update to let you know the the macOS version is ready and up on the website (www.linespirereflect.com) if you'd like to give it a try. Took a fair bit longer than I thought to get a Apple Developer account so I could publish it. Also I've only been able to test this on a Intel-Macbook but it should be fine with the new Apple Silicone as well. Let me know if you have any issues.

In the mean-time I've also added a few new features to try:

-Before/After slider directly in the add-on so you can verify the accuracy of the produced image

-4k Upscale

-Updated the place on layout to work more intuitively

-Reference Image - you can upload a reference image that the AI model can use to copy lighting/materials/image style.

A couple of known issues:
-When using a reference image, the model can get confused and produce an amalgamation of your archicad view and the reference image rather than just copying the style/mood etc - Changing your archicad model to linework or whitemodel can help avoid this.

-When using the reference image, the final render will match the aspect ratio of the reference image instead of the archicad view. I'm working on a fix for this now. 

A massive thank-you to everyone that has tried it out and provided feedback. My next goals are to add an editing workflow for making small changes to the images after they are produced and to overhaul the UI to be more intuitive.

If anyone has any other features that like to see, I'd love to hear about it.

All the best!

Michael 

[rkres]

thats great, cant wait to try the new features out

[PB]

Many thanks for the heads-up: I'll give it a try this week...looking forward to seeing how it works...

[marcoariveross]

The creators of D5 were referring to the video card. They, like many others, take better advantage of ray tracing or patch tracing with NVIDIA's CUDA technology, and Apple doesn't use that technology (at least that's what I knew). AMD cards are cheaper and excellent graphics cards, but I think their technology still isn't quite up to par.