Should you sell Floor plans online?

The internet has made distribution of ideas and concepts frictionless, easy to circulate and floorplans happen to be no exception.

The seller does not need to be present for the transaction to happen. The cycle is 24/7 which makes this very efficient and cheap process.

On the other hand, Is this what we really want? Because the discipline of Architecture is specific to a site (i.e location of the project), client needs, Regulations that govern that site, and the environmental factors of the landscape like wind, vegetation and climate.

So why would an Architect want to sell plans online?

Arguably over 90% of Houses built around the world get built without a professional architect, so why not make professional plans accessible cheaply to the general population.

Also It is a source of passive income for the Architect, allowing them to operate remotely and automate business. I can’t forget that feeling when I made my first sale of a floor plan on the internet:

If we were to compare the construction industry to adjacent industries like Fashion, Tech or Automotive industry, None of them ever makes a very personalized product. The clothes, shoes and even the cars are not made custom for you, so one can argue, why not make some floor plans or house products and ship them cheaply?

For some real estate developers who add value to our society by creating homes usually know what plans tend to sell in the societies they have created before, so why not make more of what already works for people?

But there is a catch here too?

We cannot just go around comparing Architecture to clothes, watches and cars, because clearly the house is a much more expensive investment any human can make if we talk luxuries. So you actually want it done right.

When selling online, most clients you are trying to reach do not really understand plans, so they cannot tell a good one from a bad one for them.

And worse still, lots of plans available on the internet are really trash: In terms of principles of design like proportion, hierarchy of space, unity for harmony of design so they end up so dry and are void of a soul.

“We shape our buildings, then they shape us.” Winston Churchill. Are we contributing to misery in the world by copy pasting building concepts around, or by encouraging prefabricated units around the world? Like having the same unit in Kampala, India and New York?

So what is the Answer in all this?

There is no concrete Yes or No;

My belief is in the amalgamation of the two ideas,

To provide a system that allows for a scalable solution that takes advantage of the internet but also allows the Architect keep in touch with the client for clarity and customization of the solution to meet their needs, conform to local climatic conditions and also the Local Building Regulations

So imagine, If there was a single place on the internet where you would find the largest collection of Design plans and then also had a way to connect to the architect behind the work?

That would be such a valuable place in my opinion.

Speaking of value, If you have found this valuable, you can get in touch with me for one on one coaching services where I help you Upskill your Archicad proficiency here.

-Namara Allan.