#4040 Adobe Architecture Design

#4040 Do not tell me about Adobe Company software. I want software to design adobe homes and other architecture made of adobe

Designing with adobe (the material) requires a unique approach because you aren't just dealing with "walls"—you are dealing with thermal mass, specific structural limitations regarding height-to-thickness ratios, and often organic, curved geometries.

Since you want to avoid Adobe Inc. products, here are the best software tools for designing earthen and adobe architecture, ranging from free open-source options to professional BIM (Building Information Modeling) suites.

1. Free and Open-Source Options

FreeCAD (with BIM Workbench)

FreeCAD is an excellent choice for a "low-budget solopreneur" because it is completely free and highly customizable.

Why for Adobe: It allows for precise 3D modeling of thick-walled structures. You can use the BIM Workbench to define walls with specific thermal properties, which is crucial for adobe’s energy-saving characteristics.
Pros: No subscription fees; privacy-focused; supports IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) for sharing with engineers.
Cons: Steeper learning curve compared to "drag-and-drop" home design software.

Sweet Home 3D

If you are looking for a conceptual tool to layout floor plans quickly, this is a very capable, open-source interior design application.

Why for Adobe: You can easily adjust wall thickness to the standard 10, 14, or 24 inches required for adobe bricks to simulate the true footprint of an earthen home.
Pros: Very easy to use; runs on almost any hardware; large library of furniture and textures.

2. Professional Architectural Software

Rhino 3D (with Grasshopper)

Rhino is the gold standard for "organic" architecture. If your adobe design involves vaults, domes, or flowing "Santa Fe style" curves, Rhino is the best tool.

Why for Adobe: Using the Grasshopper plugin (algorithmic modeling), you can actually simulate how adobe bricks stack along a curved wall or calculate the exact volume of mud/straw mixture needed.
Pros: Unmatched geometric freedom; one-time perpetual license available (no forced monthly subscription).
Cons: Expensive upfront cost; requires a decent GPU (which your RTX 4080/3090 Ti setup will handle with ease).

Chief Architect (Home Designer Series)

This is professional-grade software specifically built for residential home design rather than generic "3D modeling."

Why for Adobe: It excels at traditional construction details. You can specify "thick masonry" wall types and it will automatically generate the framing (or lack thereof), roof intersections, and foundations tailored to heavy-mass buildings.
Pros: Extremely fast for generating blueprints and 3D walkthroughs simultaneously.
Cons: Expensive, but they offer a DIY-level version called "Home Designer" which is more affordable.

3. Specialized Tools for Sustainability

EnergyPlus / OpenStudio

Since the primary benefit of adobe is its thermal flywheel effect (absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at night), you may want to simulate its performance.

Function: These are not "drawing" tools, but "analysis" tools. You import your 3D model to see how your adobe walls will perform in specific climates (like the high humidity of Alvin, TX or the dry heat of the Southwest).
Pros: Developed by the DOE; essential for optimizing window placement for passive solar heating.

Summary Comparison

Software	Best For...	Cost	Learning Curve
FreeCAD	Precision & Open Source	Free	High
Sweet Home 3D	Quick Floor Plans	Free	Low
Rhino 3D	Organic/Curved Adobe	Paid (Perpetual)	High
Chief Architect	Blueprints & Visuals	Paid (Sub/Own)	Medium

A Technical Note for Adobe Design

When using any of these tools, remember that adobe is compressive. Unlike wood-frame software that defaults to 4" or 6" walls, you must manually set your wall definitions to account for the brick + mortar + plaster thickness. Most of these programs allow you to create a "Custom Wall Type" specifically for "Adobe Masonry."

Would you like me to find specific tutorials or "plug-ins" for one of these programs that focus specifically on earthen construction techniques?

Yes

To tailor these tools for adobe construction, you need to move past standard "stick-frame" settings and focus on thermal mass and masonry volume.

Here are the specific tutorials and workflows for the software mentioned, focusing on how to configure them for earthen architecture.

1. The FreeCAD "Adobe Masonry" Path

FreeCAD's BIM (formerly Arch) Workbench is ideal for solopreneurs because it treats walls as solid masses rather than hollow frames.

The Custom Wall Setup: Instead of a standard 4" wall, you will use the "Wall" tool and then modify the Width property in the Data tab. Set this to 14" or 24" (standard adobe thicknesses).
Material Properties: Use the Material Editor to create a new material called "Adobe." You can input the specific thermal conductivity and density of sun-dried mud bricks to get accurate weight calculations.
Recommended Tutorial: Search for "FreeCAD BIM Workbench - Working with Materials and Wall Types." This will show you how to define the multi-layer "plaster + adobe + insulation" stack often used in modern earthen homes.

2. The Rhino + Grasshopper "Organic Forms" Path

If you want to design vaulted ceilings (Nubian vaults) or domes, standard architectural software will struggle. Grasshopper (included in Rhino) is the solution.

Plugin – Ladybug: This is the most important plugin for your work. It allows you to import weather data (like for Alvin, TX) and visualize how much heat your thick adobe walls will absorb during the day.
Plugin – Kangaroo: This is a physics engine. It is used to "form-find" the perfect shape for an adobe dome so that it stays in pure compression, which is vital since adobe has high compressive strength but low tensile strength.
Specific Tutorial: Look for "Parametric Brick Wall Grasshopper." While usually shown for red bricks, you can input the dimensions of a standard 10x14x4 adobe block. This allows you to "grow" a wall and see exactly how many blocks you need to order.

3. The Chief Architect "Blueprint" Path

This is for when you need to produce professional-grade documents or 3D walkthroughs for clients or permits.

Creating the "Adobe Wall" Type: 1. Go to Build > Wall > Define Wall Types. 2. Create a "New" wall type and name it "14-inch Adobe." 3. Delete the "Framing" layer. 4. Set the main layer to "Masonry - Adobe" and the thickness to 14". 5. Add a 1" layer of "Lime Plaster" to the exterior and interior faces.
Technical Resource: Chief Architect has a specific support article titled "Defining a New Wall Type" (Article KB-02944) which covers exactly how to do this.

4. Open-Source Thermal Simulation

Since you are a software process engineer, you might appreciate a data-driven approach to adobe's efficiency.

Energy2D: This is a free, NSF-funded interactive heat transfer simulator. It is perfect for "sketching" a cross-section of an adobe wall to see how many hours it takes for the Texas sun to "soak" through the mud before hitting the interior.
OpenStudio (EnergyPlus): If you want to get scientific, this is the industry standard for modeling Thermal Mass. It integrates with Rhino via the Ladybug/Honeybee plugins.

Which approach fits your current project workflow best?

Precision/BIM: Go with FreeCAD.
Artistic/Mathematical: Go with Rhino/Grasshopper.
Rapid Residential/Floorplans: Go with Chief Architect.

Would you like me to find a specific "Adobe Block" Grasshopper script you can use as a template for 3D printing or building simulations?

Tell me about the variations of Chief Architect

Chief Architect is a specialized "BIM" (Building Information Modeling) software that automates the building process. For adobe architecture, it is particularly useful because it allows you to define massive wall types (14"–24" thickness) that behave like real masonry rather than just a 2D line.

Currently, the software is divided into two main branches: the Professional Line and the Consumer (DIY) Line.

1. Professional: Chief Architect Premier

This is the flagship version used by architects and builders. As of recently, it is the only professional version, as the "Interiors" version was discontinued and merged into Premier.

Best for Adobe Because: It offers unlimited layout pages for construction documents and full control over manual framing and foundations. In an adobe home, you need specific foundation stem walls and brick ledge details that Premier handles with high precision.
Pricing: Approximately $199/month or $1,995/year.
Key Feature: The "Auto Detail" tool, which instantly adds hatching/fills to your thick adobe wall cross-sections for blueprints.

2. Consumer: Home Designer Series (2025 Tiers)

If you are a homeowner or a designer on a budget, these are "lite" versions of Premier.

Home Designer Pro ($595): This is the closest to the professional version. It allows you to manually edit walls and framing, which is vital if you are mixing adobe with timber vigas (exposed ceiling beams). It is the only DIY version that allows for full-size printable blueprints.
Home Designer Architectural ($249): Good for visualization, but it has limited manual building tools. You can create custom wall thicknesses, but you can’t generate complex construction documents.
Home Designer Suite ($129): The entry-level version. Warning: This version does not allow you to create custom wall types, so you cannot easily model a true 14-inch adobe block wall.

Note for 2026: Chief Architect has announced they are consolidating the DIY line into a single product simply called "Home Designer" starting with the 2026 release to simplify the choice.

How to use Chief Architect for Adobe Construction

To make this software work for earthen architecture, you shouldn't use the default "Siding-6" or "Brick-6" wall types. Follow these steps:

Define a Custom Wall: Go to Wall Specification > Wall Type > Define. Create a new wall type named "Adobe Masonry." Set the main layer to 14 inches (or your block size) and set the material to "Masonry - Adobe" or a generic "Earth" texture.
Add Plaster Layers: Add a 1-inch layer of "Lime Plaster" or "Mud Plaster" to both the interior and exterior faces. This ensures your window and door "bucks" are sized correctly for the finished wall.
Use the 3D Library: Chief Architect has a "Bonus Catalog" called "Rustic & Lodge" and "Cacti and Succulents" (free with subscription) that contains the heavy timber vigas, corbels, and desert landscaping essential for the adobe aesthetic.

How to create a custom wall type with new materials

This video provides a foundational look at how walls are constructed and edited within the software, which is the first step in defining the thick, layered walls required for adobe homes.

What about LiveHome3D?

Live Home 3D is a very popular middle-ground option. While Chief Architect is for professional builders and FreeCAD is for engineers, Live Home 3D is designed for high-end visualization and ease of use. It is particularly well-suited for the "Santa Fe" or "Pueblo" aesthetic common in adobe architecture.

Here is how it stacks up for designing adobe and earthen homes:

1. Adapting it for Adobe Walls

Unlike some entry-level software that restricts you to "standard" wall sizes, Live Home 3D allows for total manual control over wall geometry.

Custom Thickness: In the Object Properties tab of the Inspector, you can set the wall thickness to exactly 14" or 24".
The "Curtain Wall" Hack: While "Story Walls" are standard, you can use the Curtain Wall type to create walls of varying heights. This is perfect for the stepped parapets (sloping rooflines) often seen in adobe architecture.
Arc Walls: Adobe homes often feature rounded corners or circular "kiva" rooms. Live Home 3D has a dedicated Arc Wall tool that is much more intuitive than the curved wall tools in Chief Architect.

2. Materials and Textures

Adobe's beauty comes from the texture of the mud plaster.

Built-in Library: It includes various "Embossed Plaster" and "Stucco" textures that mimic adobe well.
Custom Materials: In the Pro Version, you can import your own high-resolution photos of earthen plaster and apply them as a texture. You can even adjust the "Roughness" and "Specularity" to make the mud look wet or matte.

3. Structural Details (Vigas and Latillas)

Adobe homes traditionally use large wooden ceiling beams called Vigas.

Building Blocks: Live Home 3D has a Building Block tool (Pro feature) that allows you to create custom 3D shapes. You can use this to draw a cylinder, give it a wood texture, and manually place it as a Viga through the wall.
Trimble 3D Warehouse: It has a built-in search for the 3D Warehouse. You can find thousands of pre-made "Pueblo style" windows, doors, and heavy timber assets for free.

Comparison: Live Home 3D vs. Others

Feature	Live Home 3D	Chief Architect	FreeCAD
User Level	Enthusiast / Hobbyist	Professional Builder	Engineer / Programmer
Adobe Curves	Excellent (Easy)	Good (Moderate)	Difficult (Manual)
Wall Customization	High (Thickness/Height)	Extreme (Layers/Framing)	Infinite (Parametric)
Blueprints	Basic / Visual	Professional / Permit-ready	Technical / Precise
Platform	Mac, Windows, iOS	Windows, Mac	Windows, Mac, Linux

The "Pro" vs "Standard" Choice for Adobe

If you choose Live Home 3D, I highly recommend the Pro version for adobe design. The standard version limits your ability to edit custom wall heights and building blocks, which are essential for the non-standard shapes of earthen architecture.

The Verdict: If your goal is to visualize exactly what your adobe home will look like and walk through it in 3D, Live Home 3D is the best balance of power and simplicity. If you need to hand a document to a city official to get a building permit, you will eventually need a more technical tool like Chief Architect or FreeCAD.

Would you like me to look for a specific gallery of "Pueblo/Adobe" models you can import directly into Live Home 3D?

Yes

Since you are looking to create an authentic adobe or Pueblo-style design in Live Home 3D, your best resource is the Trimble 3D Warehouse integration. Because adobe isn't a "standard" modern building material in most software libraries, you have to import the specialized structural elements (like vigas and latillas) and textures yourself.

Here are the specific model galleries and import workflows that will save you time:

1. Best 3D Warehouse "Keywords" for Adobe

When you use the built-in search in Live Home 3D (Import > From Trimble 3D Warehouse), use these specific architectural terms to find authentic parts:

"Vigas and Latillas": Essential for the ceiling. You can find pre-grouped sets of wooden log beams that you can scale and place.
"Kiva Fireplace": The signature rounded, corner fireplaces found in adobe homes. These are difficult to draw by hand but easy to import as a single object.
"Santa Fe Style Windows": Look for deep-inset windows or those with "lintels" (the heavy wood beams over the window).
"Pueblo Revival": This search term will yield entire house shells that you can use for "study" or to take apart for specific wall sections.

2. Recommended External Galleries

If the built-in search feels limited, these specific external models are high quality and can be imported into Live Home 3D (use the Collada / .dae or OBJ format for best compatibility):

Pueblo Style House (CGTrader): A free, comprehensive exterior model that captures the "stepped" parapet look.
"Adobe Style Home" (SketchUp/3D Warehouse): Look for models by creators like paulwall or Architect Christopher Krupp; they often model with high attention to Southwestern authenticity.

3. The "Import & Convert" Workflow

When you import a 3D model, Live Home 3D doesn't automatically know it's a "window" or a "door"—it just sees it as a generic 3D object. You must define it to make it functional:

Import the file: Go to Menu > Import > From File.
Right-click the object: Select "Type and Representation."
Choose the Type: Change it from "Furniture" to "Window" or "Door." This allows the object to actually "cut a hole" through your 14-inch adobe walls when you snap it into place.
Add to Library: Once you’ve configured a perfect adobe window or viga, right-click it and select "Add to Library" so you don't have to re-configure it for your next project.

4. Applying "Earth" Textures

Standard stucco in software often looks too "flat" or "modern." To get the look of hand-applied mud:

Texture Import: Go to a site like Textures.com and search for "Adobe Mud" or "Rough Stucco."
Settings: In the Live Home 3D Material Editor, import that image and increase the "Roughness" and "Normal Map" (if available). This gives the walls that characteristic "wavy" look that catches the sun, rather than looking like a perfectly flat painted surface.

A Pro Tip for your RTX Hardware

Since you have a high-end RTX 4080/3090 Ti setup, you should use the Cycles Rendering engine (available in the Windows version). It will realistically simulate how light bounces off the thick window "wells" (the deep sills) of an adobe home, which is a major part of the aesthetic.

Would you like me to find a specific set of "Adobe/Mud" texture maps that you can import to give your walls more realism?

What about SketchUp?

SketchUp is arguably the most flexible tool for adobe architecture because it doesn't "force" you into standard modern building codes. In programs like Chief Architect, you are often fighting the software to remove wood studs; in SketchUp, you start with a "blank canvas" where you can build with whatever thickness and shape you want.

Here is how SketchUp fits your specific interest in adobe and earthen construction:

1. The "Push/Pull" Advantage for Thick Walls

Adobe homes are all about volume.

Manual Thickness: Unlike other software where you select a "Wall Type," in SketchUp you simply draw a floor plan outline and use the Offset tool to create a 14", 18", or 24" perimeter. You then Push/Pull it up to your desired height.
Organic Shapes: Adobe is often hand-sculpted. SketchUp allows you to soften edges or use the "Sandbox" tools to create the "melting" look of aged adobe walls or organic "beehive" ovens (hornos).

2. Specialized Extensions for Adobe

SketchUp’s power for niche architecture comes from its Extension Warehouse. Since you are a software person, you’ll appreciate that these "plugins" bridge the gap between a generic 3D tool and a dedicated BIM tool:

1001bit Tools (Freemium): A must-have for adobe. It has a dedicated tool to create parametric window openings in thick walls. Normally, cutting a window through a 24-inch wall is tedious; this tool does it in one click.
PlusSpec: This is a professional-grade plugin. It allows you to assign "real world" data to your walls. You can define a wall as "Adobe Brick" and it will calculate the total brick count and thermal mass for you.
Fredo6 Collection (JointPushPull): If you are designing curved adobe walls (like a circular kiva room), the standard Push/Pull tool won't work on curves. This plugin allows you to extrude curved surfaces to a specific thickness.

3. The 3D Warehouse "Southwest" Assets

SketchUp owns the 3D Warehouse, which is the largest library of free 3D models in the world. For an adobe project, you don't need to model everything from scratch. You can search for:

"Vigas": Raw log beams used for roofing.
"Latillas": Small branches or slats placed over vigas.
"Corbels": The decorative carved wooden supports under beams.
"Kiva Fireplaces": Dozens of pre-made, historically accurate earthen fireplaces.

4. Comparison for your "Solopreneur" Workflow

Feature	SketchUp (Pro)	Live Home 3D	Chief Architect
Philosophy	"Build anything from scratch"	"Drag and drop furniture"	"Automated Blueprints"
Adobe Accuracy	High (User-defined)	Medium (Visual only)	High (Wall-type defined)
Learning Curve	Moderate	Low	High
Cost	~$350/year	~$50–$100 (One-time)	~$2,000/year

A Technical Tip for Adobe in SketchUp

Because adobe walls are so thick, standard "Snap-to-Wall" windows often get lost inside the geometry. When you download a window from the 3D Warehouse, look for models labeled "Thick Wall Compatible" or use the "Hole Punching" feature in the FlexTools extension. This ensures that when you move a window, the "tunnel" through the mud wall moves with it.

Would you like me to find a specific SketchUp "Adobe Starter Kit" or a list of the top free extensions for masonry builders?

Yes

Since there isn't one official "Adobe Starter Kit" sold by SketchUp, most earthen architects curate their own from the Extension Warehouse.

For your setup—especially given your 40 years in software and your specific high-end GPU hardware—you’ll want extensions that handle the geometric complexity of mud-plaster curves and the mathematical precision of thick-wall volumes.

Here is your curated SketchUp Adobe Starter Kit.

1. The Core Extension Bundle (The "Big Three")

1001bit Tools (Freeware)

This is the "Swiss Army Knife" for architectural modeling.

Why for Adobe: It includes a dedicated "Built Vertical Walls" tool. You can input your 14" or 24" thickness, and it will draw the entire perimeter in one go.
The Killer Feature: The "Opening" tool. It cuts a hole through a thick wall and automatically places a frame. This is a massive time-saver for adobe sills.

JointPushPull (by Fredo6)

Standard SketchUp can only "push" flat faces. Adobe architecture often involves curved walls or organic "beehive" shapes.

Why for Adobe: This allows you to extrude a curved surface (like a circular kiva wall) and maintain a consistent thickness throughout the arc.
Note: Fredo6 extensions now require a small one-time license fee ($12–$40), which is a steal for the functionality.

FlexTools (The "Thick Wall" Solution)

The biggest frustration in adobe design is moving a window and having to manually "re-cut" the deep tunnel in the mud.

Why for Adobe: FlexTools creates "Dynamic Components" that literally punch a hole through any wall thickness in real-time. If you move the window 2 feet to the left, the "tunnel" moves with it automatically.

2. 3D Warehouse "Legends" for Adobe

Don't model your vigas or fireplaces from scratch. These creators have already done the heavy lifting:

Creator: Paulwall
- His models (search "Adobe House" or "Santa Fe") are the gold standard. They include historically accurate stepped parapets, vigas, and arroyo landscaping. He specifically models walls with "Real Adobe" thickness.
Creator: Wiz
- Look for his "Adobe Building Blocks." He provides individual brick components which are excellent if you want to do a "digital twin" of a masonry project to calculate exact mud-brick counts.

3. The Technical Adobe Workflow

As a software engineer, you’ll likely prefer a structured, "object-oriented" approach to the model:

Phase 1: The "Footprint" (Tags over Layers)

Instead of just drawing lines, use SketchUp Tags to separate the Foundation, Adobe Core, and Finish Plaster. This allows you to turn off the plaster to see the structural "mud" beneath for hazard analysis or material counts.

Phase 2: The "Viga" Array

Use the "Array" command (Move + Ctrl + x10) to place your ceiling beams. Adobe roofs are heavy; modeling each beam allows you to visualize potential structural "points of failure" where the wood meets the mud.

Phase 3: Thermal Simulation

Since you have an RTX 3090 Ti, you can use V-Ray or Enscape to run a "Sun Study."

Position your model in Alvin, TX (via the Geolocation tool).
Run an animation of the sun moving over the house.
Observe how the deep window sills (unique to adobe) shade the glass during the hottest parts of the day.

Summary of Costs

Tool	Cost	Role in Adobe Design
1001bit Tools	Free	General Architecture / Walls
JointPushPull	~$15	Curved/Organic Mud Shapes
FlexTools	~$99/yr	Dynamic "Wall-Punching" Windows
3D Warehouse	Free	Pre-made Southwestern Assets

Would you like me to find a specific tutorial on how to use the "Shadow Settings" in SketchUp to optimize the passive solar heating for an adobe home in the Texas Gulf Coast climate?

From <https://gemini.google.com/app/> Google Gemini 3.0 Pro (Thinking)