13 Helpful Websites for Architecture Students and Architects

Online Tools and Platforms for Design Inspiration, Resources, and Collaboration

Being an architecture student or an architect requires having a large set of tools and websites from which you get inspiration, ideas, images, and more. In this article, I share some of my favorite and most helpful websites used in my design process.

1. Snazzy Maps

If you’re tired of using boring maps that don’t match your project’s aesthetics then this website is for you.

Snazzy Maps offers a large set of map styles created by other users. You can download a premade style or create your custom design using their map styling tool.

After choosing and editing your style, you can download your map in PNG image format and voilà!

2. OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a great option for downloading detailed maps that contain data about roads, trails, railway stations, and more.

What I like about this website is that you can download your map in an image format (JPG or PNG), a PDF format, or an SVG format which you can edit later on Illustrator.

3. Canva

I’m sure most designers have heard of Canva by now, but just in case you haven’t, I’m putting it on this list.

Canva is a great tool for creating all sorts of graphic designs (presentations, portfolios, posters, flyers, brochures, etc). In my case, I mostly use it to create presentations. It has a large library of templates, layouts, styles, and design elements. And the best part is that it’s very easy to use and it’s free.

You can also invite your friends and work simultaneously on the same project.

4. Coolors

Have you ever found yourself struggling to choose which colors to use in your designs?

Coolors offers a large collection of beautiful color palettes. You can generate your color palettes, extract palettes from images, or explore millions of premade color schemes.

The website offers many other useful tools such as the color contrast checker, which evaluates the contrast between two colors, and the palette visualizer, which allows you to preview your colors on real designs for better visual understanding.

5. DaFont

Fonts play a huge role in any design process. Choosing the right font that matches the nature of your work is crucial if you want to make a good impression and enhance the quality of your designs.

This website offers a large number of fonts from different themes. All the available fonts are free for personal use and a large number of them are available for commercial use as well.

For professional-looking fonts, you can explore the Basic theme. It contains a beautiful collection of elegant and refined fonts.

6. Archdaily

Archdaily is one of the most popular websites about architecture. Architects and designers from around the world send their latest projects, products, and news to be published on this platform.

The best thing about Archdaily is that you can find detailed information (plans, elevations, and technical properties…) about thousands of architecture projects.

Archdaily is a great place to search for inspiration for your projects and explore new ideas and concepts.

7. BIMobject

BIMobject is a huge marketplace for the construction industry that provides architects and engineers with the information and inspiration they need to design buildings easier and faster.

The website has more than 2000 building product brands available, and the objects can be downloaded in different formats (rfa, pla, skp, dwg, 3dm, dgn, etc). Moreover, you can access detailed technical specifications about each object along with the links to purchase the real products.

Choosing the right objects can massively increase the quality of your work. BIMobject is a great place to look for objects that match and complement your projects.

8. Mural

Mural is a digital workplace platform that allows you to create diagrams, notes, mind maps, and more. The platform is very easy to use and it’s a great tool when working in a group. The idea is that everyone from the team can access, edit, add comments, and work along in real time.

9. Unsplash

Whether you’re simply looking for inspiration or searching for images to add to your presentations, Unsplash is THE website for downloading stunning high-resolution photos for free. Gratos!

This website has over 3 million free images captured by a large community of photographers.

All the photos can be downloaded and used for free (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes) and no permission is required (though attribution is appreciated!)

10. CVdesignr

Next is my best website to create my CVs.

CVdesignr has a large set of templates that you can choose from and customize. The platform is simple, free, and easy to use. It allows you to create professional CVs in just a few minutes.

11. Meye

Do you want to add some happy little trees to your elevations and enhance the quality of your renders?

Meye is a collection of free cut-out PNG trees from all four seasons by landscape architect Mikkel Eye.

All the trees are available as high-quality PNGs with transparent backgrounds. The trees are free to use for anyone who wants to add plantings to their visualizations, sections, and diagrams within the fields of landscape architecture, architecture, or urban planning.

12. ATARAL

This website will be helpful for people who are interested in studying and analyzing the architectural heritage of the Almohads.

ATARAL contains a large collection of documents, plans, elevations, and general information about the Almohad architecture which corresponds to a period from the 12th to early 13th centuries when the Almohads ruled over the western Maghreb (present-day Morocco and western Algeria) and al-Andalus (a large part of present-day Spain and southern Portugal).

PS. This website is available in Spanish but you can use Google Translate to translate it to your preferred language.

13. Architextures

Architextures is a digital material library for architects and designers. You can search, edit, and download hundreds of high-resolution textures.

The tool is also available as a plugin for Revit and SketchUp, which allows you to seamlessly browse and import materials directly from your Revit or SketchUp interfaces.

Bottom line

As an architecture student or an architect, it is important to have an effective set of tools and websites to help you go through the design process, brainstorm ideas, and gain inspiration. The websites provided in this article are some of the best tools that I have used during my years of study but there are so many others. This is why I invite you to share your personal favorite websites with us. Let us discover your secret tools!