Fabric for architecture students

Site photos, precedent studies, drawings, regulations, design references, moodboards, model photos, lecture slides, theory readings, studio feedback. Architecture is one of the most visually intensive subjects, and the material spans images, documents, drawings, and recordings. The precedent you photographed on a site visit is in your camera roll. The regulation is in a PDF. The feedback from the crit is in your memory. The reference that would connect your concept to a precedent is in a folder from last semester that you haven't opened since.

Upload your materials to Fabric. The AI assistant knows your design brief, your precedent studies, and your past projects. Visual search finds similar references across your library. The canvas is your digital pin-up board. "Find precedents with a similar material palette to my current project." "What did the tutor say about the massing in the last crit?" Answers from your actual work.

An AI tutor that knows your design context

The AI assistant works from your briefs, precedent studies, lecture slides, theory readings, and project feedback. Ask it to find precedents that relate to your current concept. Ask it to recall what was discussed in a studio crit. Ask it to connect a theoretical reading to your design approach. The tutor knows your projects because it's read your project files.

Visual search and precedent discovery

AI search finds visual references by colour, composition, materiality, and description. Similar search lets you drop in a photo and find everything visually related across your library: material samples, building photos, precedent images, sketches. The explorer surfaces connections across projects and semesters.

Search by colour to find every reference in a specific material palette. Describe what you're looking for in words: "concrete and timber with natural light" returns matching references from everything you've saved.

Canvas for studio work

The canvas is an infinite spatial workspace for pinning up references, arranging precedents, and developing design concepts visually. Drag material from your library. Add live embeds from Figma, Google Maps, and YouTube. Use it as a digital pin-up board for crits, a moodboard for a project, or a spatial thinking tool for design development. Real-time collaboration supports group studio work.

For the full visual reference workflow, see moodboards and inspiration.

Record crits and lectures

AI voice notes record and transcribe studio crits, lectures, and tutorials. The tutor's feedback, the visiting critic's perspective, the theory lecturer's argument, all captured and searchable. When you're developing a project and need to revisit what was said in the crit, search for it. See lecture notes.

Capture references everywhere

Photograph site conditions, material samples, and buildings on the mobile app. Save references from the web with the web clipper. Everything feeds the same searchable library. Annotations let you mark up drawings, site photos, and precedent images with notes.

Get started

Upload your briefs and precedent studies and get a tutor that knows your design context. Try Fabric free.

See also: Fabric for students. Studying and exam prep. Design projects. Moodboards. For practising architects, see Fabric for architecture studios.

Comparing tools? See the best AI study app and the best moodboard app.

FAQs

Can I search for visual references by similarity?

Yes. Similar search finds visually related material across your library. Drop in a photo and find everything with a similar look.

Can I search by colour or material?

Yes. Search a colour or describe a material palette and AI search finds matching references.

Can I use the canvas as a pin-up board?

Yes. The canvas is an infinite spatial surface for arranging references, drawings, and notes. Use it for crits, moodboards, and design development.

Can I record studio crits?

Yes. AI voice notes record and transcribe crits, lectures, and tutorials. Search the feedback by concept.

Can the AI connect theory to my design?

Yes. The AI assistant works from your theory readings and project files together. It can connect a theoretical argument to your design approach.

Is my data private?

Yes. Fabric uses AES-256 encryption and is CASA Tier 2 compliant. Your data is never used to train AI models.