General Information
General Information is the first tab of the Basis of Design. It holds the details that identify the project — its address, number, type, contacts, and reference information.
Project Picture
Section titled “Project Picture”A banner image at the top of the pane that also appears on the project card on the home screen.
Change Project Picture
Section titled “Change Project Picture”Click Change Project Picture to open a dialog with two tabs:
- Upload — select or drop an image file, then click Upload. JPEG and PNG files are accepted. If the project already has a picture, this tab also shows Remove, which deletes it.
- Generate — the Prompt field comes prefilled with a description built from the project’s name, type, and address; edit it as needed. Click Generate to preview an AI-generated image, then Use This Image to upload it.
The Generate tab can send two kinds of reference image with the prompt:
- Street View Images — four Google Street View angles of the site, shown once the address lookup has set the project’s coordinates. All four are included by default; click a thumbnail to leave it out.
- 3D Model View — a live 3D view of the building model. Nothing is sent until you click Capture Current View; Remove 3D Image drops the captured still again.
You can also set the picture from the satellite map — see Building Location.
Reposition
Section titled “Reposition”Click Reposition, drag the image vertically to set how it’s cropped in the banner, then click Save.
Project Details
Section titled “Project Details”The main card holds the project’s core attributes.
Project Address
Section titled “Project Address”Start typing to search, then pick the address from the suggestions. Setting the address looks up the nearest ASHRAE design weather location, which fills in the read-only Latitude, Longitude, Elevation, and Climate Zone fields below.
The address field is locked while that lookup runs. If the lookup stalls, HVAKR warns you after 30 seconds and unlocks the field so you can try again.
Project Number
Section titled “Project Number”Your firm’s project or job number — a free-text identifier (for example, 000-000-001).
Project Type
Section titled “Project Type”A toggle between Commercial and Residential, which sets the design workflow for the project. Check ASHRAE 170 alongside it to mark the project as a healthcare facility and apply ASHRAE 170 requirements.
Construction Type
Section titled “Construction Type”A toggle between New and Retrofit. Choosing Retrofit reveals a Year Built field.
Location Readouts
Section titled “Location Readouts”Latitude, Longitude, Elevation, and Climate Zone are read-only. HVAKR derives them from the project address and the selected weather station — change them by updating the address or the station on the Weather tab.
Building Location
Section titled “Building Location”Once the project has coordinates, the latitude and longitude shown above the pane become a button. Click them to open a tilted satellite view centered on the project, with a marker at its coordinates. The dialog is titled with the project address.
Click Set Project Picture to capture the current view and save it as the project picture. This is a third route to the picture, alongside Upload and Generate. The button stays disabled until the map finishes loading.
Contacts
Section titled “Contacts”A table of everyone associated with the project, with columns for Name, Trade, Role, Company, Email, Phone, and Address. Click Create Contact to add a row. The envelope button opens a pre-addressed email to every contact that has an email address.
Dates & Deadlines
Section titled “Dates & Deadlines”Track project milestones and due dates. The table has four columns:
- Date — the due date.
- Description — what is due.
- Complete — check this when the milestone is done.
- Past Due — read-only. HVAKR checks it when an incomplete deadline’s date has passed.
Click Create Deadline to add one. A new deadline is dated one week out and gets a numbered default description, which you can edit. Deadline descriptions cannot be blank. Deadlines are included in reminder emails and Basis of Design reports, but they don’t affect calculations.
Codes & Standards
Section titled “Codes & Standards”A table of the codes and standards the design follows, each with a Name and Description. Click Create Standard to add a row.
Special Constraints
Section titled “Special Constraints”A table of project-specific constraints — site limitations, owner requirements, or other notes — each with a Name and Description. Click Create Constraint to add a row.