Appearance
Facade aspect (Exterior 3D styling)
The Facade aspect is where you author the architectural exterior of the house directly in interactive 3D: front elevation styling, entrance compositions, window sunshades (chajjas), balcony railings, parapets, and facade cladding.
Working on the facade in 3D
Facade editing works against the live 3D view of your house. There are no 2D keyboard shortcuts; you select exterior elements and choose styles in the right Inspector panel.
You can apply treatments across different scopes:
- Facade-wide: Applies universally across all exterior elevations.
- Specific Elevation: Targets Front (Road side), Rear, Left, or Right elevation.
- Storey Scope: E.g. Ground Floor entrance porch vs First Floor balcony.
- All Exterior Windows: Applies consistent window trims and sunshades in one click.
What exterior elements can I customize?
| Exterior Feature | Options & Treatments | Impact on Model & Outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Entrance Composition | Modern porch canopy, stone portal frame, double-height entrance columns | Appears in 3D, Elevation views, and Schedule of Finishes |
| Window Treatments & Chajjas | Box projection frames, RCC slab sunshades, sloped terracotta louvers | Flows into Envelope Schedule and RCC concrete take-off |
| Balconies & Railings | Toughened glass railing, vertical MS grill, stainless steel balustrade, masonry parapet | Quantified in running metres (Rmt) in BOQ |
| Parapet & Roof Coping | Standard 1.0 m terrace parapet, decorative brick jali, metal pergolas | Quantified in masonry and plaster area |
| Wall Cladding & Textures | Exposed brick tile, stone cladding, wooden louvers, texture weather-coat paint | Feeds external finish takeoff and material statements |
How do I apply cladding or a finish zone?
Cladding and finish zones are facade pieces authored directly on the 3D house, so the finish follows real reference lines (plinth, floor and slab levels, opening jambs) instead of a drawn rectangle:
- In the Facade aspect, open the Add tab.
- Choose Cladding / finish zone. For one band around a complete storey, choose Horizontal course and pick the storey instead.
- Pick the zone on the 3D house between the highlighted elevation reference lines; zones can span floors and group several bays.
- Preview, then apply. The zone's finish layers drive the rendered appearance and the exterior finish quantities; assign materials in the Finishes aspect.
Every applied piece, including zones, stays editable under Applied facade pieces.
How do I get exterior design ideas (AI inspiration)?
The Facade panel's Ideas control opens a large gallery and turns a short brief into finished-house design inspiration for this house. Each idea is an image, a name, and a few style points — nothing is applied to your model.
- Switch the facade view to Spatial — ideas are generated from the current Spatial view of the house.
- Check the location row at the top. The country is India; an optional place steers the suggested materials to suit the climate.
- Write a brief (up to 4,000 characters) — the look you want, materials, entrance treatment — or start from a suggestion.
- Optionally pick up to two Style chips and up to three Needs chips (West sun, Street privacy, Monsoon, Low maintenance, Ventilation, Night look). Every idea answers each need you pick.
- Choose Generate. Jodu returns up to three ideas, one per budget tier — Economy, Standard, Premium — each an image, a name, and 3–5 short points. The house's massing, roof form, openings and entrance stay fixed; ideas redesign chajjas, parapets, window frames, fins, screens, canopies and railings along with finishes and colours. Generating takes about a minute; cards fill in as images finish.
How do I compare, vary, retry, or remove an idea?
- Click an idea's image to enlarge it. Drag the Original / Idea slider to compare it with the 3D view it came from (press C to jump to half way).
- Choose Variation on a ready idea for another rendition of the same design — different light, tones and planting.
- Choose Alternative on a ready idea to add a different idea in the same tier from the current view.
- A failed image offers Retry, which regenerates only the image and keeps the idea's name and points.
- Choose × to remove an idea.
- Up to 12 ideas are kept per project in a gallery. View model lets you check the house, then Return to ideas restores your brief and gallery. An Earlier version badge means the model has changed since an idea was made.
How do I use a design from an image?
- Choose Design → Upload image, or Use in Design on an idea. You can also resume an existing piece from Assets → Drafts.
- Use Detect pieces to find suggestions, Draw a box around your own selection, or Use the whole image. Add the pieces you want to work on.
- Describe what to preserve in the input below the reference, then choose Capture this piece. Known size accepts real measurements; missing lengths are estimates. Adjust selection edits the crop numerically.
- Compare the captured reference with the 3D result. Choose Accept and choose placement when the shape is right. Capture again changes its construction; Change dimensions rebuilds a new version for review.
- Choose where it belongs on the house and Preview on this house. A valid 3D preview brings the house forward with Apply to the house and Adjust placement. Applying creates an undoable model edit.
Save to My Assets is optional. You can apply an accepted version without saving it to the library. Change how it is built offers available fitting alternatives; any omitted detail is shown before you apply. Some gate proposals have a textual preview only and explicitly say that the gate is not drawn.
If a capture fails, your reference and earlier results remain available. Technical details shows the original error for diagnosis.
Frontage detection and road orientation
The Facade aspect automatically detects your building's primary frontage based on the Road side set in Site setup (Front, Rear, Left, or Right). Ensure your road orientation is set so entrance canopies and front balconies align correctly with the front approach.
Porches and balconies
- Positioning: Ground floor porch footprints and upper balcony boundaries are drawn in the Shell aspect or selected via the entrance handoff banner (Choose the porch for this entrance).
- 3D Treatment: Once placed in Plan, switch back to Facade to select railing styles, column capitals, roof fascia, and lighting fixtures.
Slab extensions and caps
Choose Slab extension, then choose One edge or All exterior edges. Select the storey and slab. For one edge, select its highlighted edge run. For all edges, one width extends the slab's complete outer perimeter. The width is measured from the current slab edge, which may already reach beyond a wall. Set Dropped fascia above zero for a narrow downward edge detail. Preview before applying. If another extension covers the slab perimeter, update or remove it under Applied facade pieces first. Use Projection slope for a gentle tilt of the entire extension. Choose Gentle down, Level, or Gentle up, or enter a signed angle in degrees: positive lowers the outer edge and negative raises it. The slab thickness stays constant; the dropped fascia remains a separate setting.
How do I shade a window with a chajja?
A window hood (chajja) is a facade piece anchored to one window's head, so the shade follows the real opening:
- In the Facade aspect, open the Add tab and choose Window hood / chajja.
- Click the window on the 3D house — the hood preview anchors at its head.
- Pick a size — Compact, Standard, or Deep shade — or tune the projection, thickness, side overhang, and vertical offset.
- Choose Add 1 shade. The applied piece stays editable under Applied facade pieces.
A hood shades one opening; it is not a balcony slab or roof cap.
How do I add a decorative pier or pilaster?
A decorative pier is a solid, non-structural member that stands proud of an exterior wall face — for example beside the entrance:
- In the Facade aspect, open the Add tab and choose Decorative pier / pilaster.
- Click the exterior wall face where the pier should stand, then accept the resolved placement — a region previews at the default size (0.25 m wide, 0.20 m proud).
- Choose Preview on house to see the full-height pier in place; adjust the member centre, width, projection, and top/bottom offsets as needed.
- Choose Add facade piece. The pier stays editable under Applied facade pieces.
A pier is a facade member only — it is not a Structure column or wall.
Why nothing happened
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Frontage unresolved" | Building shell is open or plot road side is unset | Close exterior walls in Shell and select Road side in Site setup |
| 3D preview is blank or building | Facade mesh is generating in the background | Allow 2–3 seconds for the interactive preview to render |
| Window shade style did not apply | Scope was set to a single window | Select All windows on this level or All exterior windows in the scope dropdown and click Apply |
Related
- Plan aspects — overview of all Plan aspects
- Shell aspect — drawing external walls, porches, and balconies
- Finishes aspect — exterior paint and cladding material rates
- 3D House — client presentation renders and GLB export