Snaptrude is positioning itself at the vanguard of AI in the AEC world by embedding smart agents across the design continuum. In an interview with AEC Magazine, CEO Altaf Ganihar describes how his team is rolling out AI features that tie concept design, refinement, BIM detailing, and documentation into a cohesive pipeline.
The rollout is structured into four phases. First, Autonomous Mode lets users prompt the system (e.g., via RFP, spreadsheet, or project brief), and the AI generates a building massing or “working model” at roughly LOD 250–300 within minutes. The model respects adjacencies, zoning, climate inputs, and building codes, and even offers explanations for its decisions and presentation diagrams. In Phase 2 (refinement), architects can adjust geometry, delegate subtasks back to the AI (like adjacency checking or layout), and nudge the system toward preferred forms.
Phase 3 brings the work into a BIM-ready state. The AI helps populate details, choose components (say, fire doors, partitions, corridor walls), and ensure compliance based on metadata and past project patterns. The goal is to reach LOD 300 with structural and system-level logic in place. Finally, Phase 4 automates documentation: floor plans, views, diagrams, and other outputs are generated, though users retain control over layouts and overrides.
Throughout, Snaptrude treats each mode, programming, design, BIM, and presentation, as modular yet interconnected, powered by AI agents that balance speed, legality, geometry logic, and user intent. Ganihar describes the AI as a collaborator or “intern,” not a replacement: it offloads repetitive tasks so architects can do more creative work.
On risks like hallucination, Snaptrude uses layered AI models: one builds, another critiques; deterministic rules and geometry discipline help constrain errors. Claims of AI replacing architects are met with caution; Ganihar suggests a shift in business models (from subscriptions toward token-based access) and rethinking how architectural services are valued.
Snaptrude’s strategy is a bold one: blur the line between ideation and delivery, and embed AI at every step. If it works, it could change how architects conceive, iterate, and document buildings.