Learn Aakar Studio

Follow the real survey, understand your choices, then explore the plans, 3D house and downloads.

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00:00 Let's plan a home together

Thinking about your own home? Let's go through Aakar Studio together. We'll start with the land, tell it what your family needs, and then look at plans, the three-dimensional model and the downloads. Keep your land drawing nearby. You can pause whenever you need to. The longer guide explains the smaller choices in more detail.

00:25 Where is your plot?

First, choose the municipality and ward where the land actually sits. These answers help select the local planning rules. If it's in an old-town or heritage area, check that answer with the local office. A map pin, where available, helps locate the site. It doesn't measure your boundary or confirm permission to build.

00:53 Area doesn't tell us the shape

Here's the important bit: nine aana tells us how much land there is, but not its shape. For a measured rectangle, enter the plot's width and depth in metres. Or enter the area in ropani and aana, or bigha and kattha, with the width along the road. That second method creates an approximate rectangle. An irregular plot needs its actual outline.

01:35 Draw the measured boundary

If your plot bends or narrows, choose Draw the plot. Add each measured side and the correct corner angle, or use measured diagonals when those are available. A side direction and an inside corner angle are different things. Don't guess a missing number just to close the drawing. Check north, the final closing side and any warning before using this outline in the brief.

02:11 Have a land drawing? Trace it

Already have a clear site drawing as a photo or PDF? Open the tracing tool and mark its corners. Then give it a reliable real-world measurement so the picture has the right scale. Pixels alone aren't a land measurement. Check the outline and resulting dimensions before applying it. Keep the source drawing, especially if its area and the traced area don't agree.

03:00 Tell us what's on every side

Now mark the road, its width, neighbouring buildings and open land on the correct sides. If you know a neighbour's height, enter it; otherwise leave the uncertainty visible. A shared or boundary-built wall can't be treated like an open garden side with normal windows. Also check that parking has a usable route from the road, not just a rectangle labelled as a parking bay.

03:40 Leave the outdoor space you need

Decide how much ground the house should occupy and how much you'd like to leave as a yard. That's ground coverage, not the total area across all floors. Notice the difference between a preferred front yard and a minimum you insist on keeping. A strict minimum leaves less room for the house. For sloping land, describe the fall accurately; this still isn't a completed retaining-wall design.

04:14 Plan around the people who'll live here

Let's think about your family now. Choose the storeys, bedrooms, bathrooms and any needs for elderly parents. A half storey means a partly built top floor. Add a study, Puja room or other extra only when you'll use it. These are room requirements, not a finished floor-by-floor arrangement. We'll check the actual arrangement once the options are generated.

05:07 Rentals, a shop and parking use real space

Want rental flats as well as your own home? Count the owner rooms and rental rooms separately. A street-facing shop takes ground-floor space too. Then enter how many cars and motorbikes need parking. These choices compete for the same land. In the result, check separate access, privacy and vehicle movement rather than assuming that every requested use will fit comfortably.

05:40 Don't forget how the home works every day

The smaller answers matter too. Think about wardrobes, stair shape, balconies, drying clothes and a place to sit outside. A projecting balcony still needs room within the allowed space. Floor height, water storage and power backup need sensible project information. They're starting choices, not complete service designs. A crowded list of extras can make a small plot harder to plan, so keep your real priorities clear.

06:19 Choose a character, then check the fit

Now for the fun part: what should the house feel like? Read the style description and look at its example. Where the planner offers a style-fit choice, it can try suitable planning changes. Check the fit report afterwards. A glass-heavy frontage doesn't automatically create an all-glass structure, and a courtyard style still needs enough land for a real courtyard.

07:11 Bring the look together

Try the wall colours, brick treatment, window design, doors, gate and kitchen finishes. You can coordinate the interior look as well. Keep one distinction in mind: changing a finish isn't the same as moving a window or rearranging the kitchen. Some visual details aren't measured in the estimate. If Vaastu matters to you, read the stated preference and any conflicts instead of assuming every rule has been satisfied.

07:59 Check the brief, then generate

Before generating, check the brief once more. Especially check the land measurements, room counts and rental requirements. If the combination can't fit, read the message and change a real requirement. When options appear, look at every floor. Trace the route from the gate to the entrance, then to the bedrooms, bathrooms and outdoor areas. A nice ground-floor picture isn't the whole house.

08:33 Compare first, then make a change

Compare the options using your family's priorities: privacy, circulation, room usefulness and outdoor space. Then inspect the drawing behind the comparison. If you make an edit, check whether it was accepted and what actually moved. A pending preview isn't the same as the accepted house used by downloads. After any change, check doors, windows and the route through nearby rooms again.

09:03 Explore your house in three dimensions

Open the three-dimensional model and turn the house around. Try the roof and floor controls to understand how the rooms stack. Use the appearance and surroundings controls to inspect materials, daylight and the site. Then try the night lighting if it's available. This is useful for spotting awkward spaces, but a good-looking model doesn't prove that every visible finish is in the drawings or the cost estimate.

09:37 Walk inside, or watch a house tour

Want a better sense of the rooms? Switch to walking and follow the real doorways. If you lose your place, return to orbit. An automatic house tour follows a prepared route; a high-quality film is another output again. Availability depends on the build, account and device. Read any room-coverage note, because the standard tour may leave out smaller rooms or balconies.

10:12 Read the estimate with its assumptions

Let's look at cost. Check the finish level, location rates, specifications and what's included. Your budget answer is used for comparison; it doesn't currently force the planner to generate within that amount. Material sizes, waste and reviewed quantities can change the estimate. Download the breakdown and exclusions before making a commitment. Treat it as a planning estimate, not a guaranteed contractor price or a proven five-percent accuracy claim.

11:01 Check the time and the money together

For the schedule, enter a realistic start date and crew capacity. Include holidays, weather delays and the required construction waits. Some tasks depend on earlier work, so adding people won't shorten every wait. Then check the payment and funding timeline. You can have enough money overall and still have a shortfall in a particular month if the loan or savings arrives after a payment is due.

11:42 Where do the soil answers come from?

The soil questions need a little care. The seismic soil class describes how the ground affects earthquake shaking. Allowable bearing capacity describes what the foundation soil can support. They aren't the same number. Get both from the appropriate site investigation and your responsible engineer. Don't choose a safe-sounding answer from the neighbourhood name, a photograph or an informal test just to make the calculation run.

12:20 Use the structural review with an engineer

Choose the structural system with your engineer: what carries the house is different from its exterior style. Concrete grade, starting column sizes, roof uses and stair details must represent the real proposal. Run the review and read every blocked or review item. If members are redrawn, check the rooms and openings again. Export the engineering files for professional review; a passing preliminary calculation isn't permission to build.

13:01 Keep the right files for the next step

Choose a download for the job: drawing files for CAD work, IFC for building-information exchange, or GLB for the furnished visual model. For SketchUp, keep the DAE model and textures together, import them and save in SketchUp; a native SKP download needs the configured converter. IFC isn't a native Revit file. Save the Aakar project too, so you can reopen it. Changes made in another application don't automatically return here.

13:51 Now you have a starting point to discuss

And that's the main journey. Start with honest measurements, keep your family's priorities clear, and check the same house across the drawings, model and estimate. Save the version you want to discuss. You now have a much clearer starting point for your architect and engineer. When you need a particular setting explained, use the chapters or open the complete guide.

Recorded 30 October 2026. Some controls may move as the studio improves.

Use the guide to prepare your brief. Have site information, drawings and structural assumptions checked with your architect and engineer.