Space planning software: one sentence in, a dimensioned layout out
Space planning software in CivilOS starts from a sentence: 30 x 50 ft plot, road on south, 3 BHK, 2 floors, car parking, pooja room, furnished. From that it draws a dimensioned layout — hatched walls, door swings, tagged openings, a north point, a room schedule and an area statement — using a rule engine built from the National Building Code of India 2016 and the standard planning references. No AI is involved in the drawing; every room size has a rule behind it that the Design Guidelines tab will show you.
It runs in the browser on a Free plan, and it is written for everyone who has to lay out a space: the owner planning a house, the student learning what a good plan contains, the contractor who needs a first layout for a quotation, and the architect who wants an audited starting point in a minute rather than an afternoon.
What you can do
| Feature | What it does | Export / status |
|---|---|---|
| Brief in one line | Plot, road side, floors, rooms, toilets attached or common, parking, pooja room, furnishing — parsed from plain words, or filled in a form | — |
| Rule engine | Room sizes from the guidelines, placement against road and light, walls, openings, a shared vertical core across floors | — |
| Working drawing | Hatched walls, door swings, tagged doors / windows / ventilators, dimension chains, north point, opening schedule | PDF · DXF |
| Schedules | Room schedule with clear sizes; area statement by profile (residence, office, warehouse) | |
| Audit | The plan checked against the guidelines, with the issues listed and fixes offered | On screen |
| Design Guidelines | The rules and their sources, searchable by the word a draughtsman would type | On screen |
| Hand-over | Interior Studio at eye level, BIM Studio in 3D, DXF to any CAD | DXF |
Arithmetic, with its sources shown
A generated plan is only worth having if you can see why it is the way it is. The engine's rules are written out in the Design Guidelines tab — the ten steps in order, where each guideline comes from, and the eight works it is built on, credited by name. Search for a word and the guidance narrows to it; search for a word that is not there and the tab says so rather than inventing a match. The audit that runs on every plan uses the same rules, so a plan that passes the audit passes for a reason you can read.
A drawing, not a diagram
The output is meant to be read as a drawing: walls hatched, doors swinging the right way, every opening tagged and listed in a schedule with its size, dimension chains along the plot, a north point. Furniture is opt-in, because a layout full of beds nobody asked for reads as a proposal about the client's furniture rather than about the building. Multi-floor briefs share a staircase and a vertical core, so the upper floor is the same building.
How to start
- Open Space Planning and type the brief in one line, or fill the form.
- Press Design my plan. The layout, the room schedule and the audit appear together.
- Read the audit and apply a fix, or change one thing in the brief and try again.
- Print or export — a PDF with the schedules, or a DXF for CAD.
- Carry it on in Interior Studio or BIM Studio, on the same project.
What CivilOS does not do
- Not an architect. A first layout with its audit, for a licensed professional to develop; not a submission drawing.
- No structural design. Walls are planned, not designed; columns, beams and footings are the engineer's.
- No municipal bye-law engine. NBC guidance is applied; local bye-laws vary and must be checked by you.
- No AI drawing. On purpose — the engine is arithmetic so every room has a rule behind it.
- No elevation design in this module; Create Your OWN Plan draws a schematic front elevation.
Where a browser tool fits
Full architectural packages exist for the finished design: bye-law compliance for a named municipality, working drawings, structural coordination and the submission set. That is the architect's tool and the architect's work.
The layout conversation before it — what fits on this plot, which way should the rooms face, is 3 BHK on two floors realistic here — is where a fast, audited, honest engine in a browser is worth more than the full package, and where most people are when they start.
Open Space Planning free → one sentence, one dimensioned layout, one auditFrequently asked questions
Is this free space planning software?
Yes, to start. Create a free account (no card) and the Free plan opens every module, including Space Planning and Design, with a monthly allowance; prints carry the CivilOS letterhead. Pro, Max and Enterprise Seats plans add more hours and generations and put your own letterhead on every print. The Training Corner, Knowledge Library and Feedback are free without limit.
How does a plan come out of one sentence?
The brief is parsed for the plot size, the road side, the number of floors, the rooms and what they need (attached toilets, a pooja room, parking, furnishing). A rule engine — arithmetic, not AI — sizes the rooms from the guidelines, places them against the road and the light, draws the walls and openings, and audits the result. What you see is what the engine drew, with its reasons.
Where do the rules come from?
From the National Building Code of India 2016 and the standard planning references — Time-Saver Standards, the Metric Handbook, Architectural Graphic Standards, Building Construction Illustrated, Residential Interior Design, Laurie Baker's writings and Applied Vastu Shastra — each credited by name in the Design Guidelines tab, which is searchable.
Does it replace an architect?
No. It produces a sound first layout with its dimensions and its audit, which is the starting point of a design conversation, not the end of one. Municipal submission, structural design and the final drawings are a licensed professional's work.
Can I take the layout further?
Yes. Open it in Interior Studio to walk it and choose finishes, in BIM Studio for 3D and a sun study, or export the DXF into IndoCAD or any CAD program. The room schedule and area statement print with the drawing.
Do I need to install anything or create an account?
No installation: CivilOS opens in an ordinary browser on a laptop, tablet or phone and can be installed as an app from the sidebar. A free account is needed to open the engineering modules; it takes a minute and asks for no card.
Draft for checking. Every safety-critical output of CivilOS is a preparation document. Drawings, quantities, rates, programmes and inspections must be verified, and the result signed off, by a licensed professional before they are issued, tendered, built or paid against.