Creating Projects

Create a new project from a quick dialog, or let HVAKR AI set one up from a plain-language description.

Creating a New Project

From the home screen, click Create Project to open the guided project creation dialog. It has two or three steps — Project Info, Upload Sheets (only for New construction), and Data Sources — listed down the left side.

Step 1: Project Info

Project Name — required
Project Address — required; used to automatically pull ASHRAE design weather data for load calculations
Project Type — Commercial or Residential, which chooses the ASHRAE defaults applied to the project
Construction Type — New (default) or Retrofit. New adds the Upload Sheets step; Retrofit skips it and, on a Residential project, offers Include Map-Based Takeoff on Data Sources

Project Type also sets the Data Sources defaults. Changing it swaps the recommended duct type template for the one that matches the new type, and adds or removes the ASHRAE 62.2 residential space type template.

If your plan includes HVAKR AI, the dialog header also shows a Create with AI button. It closes the dialog and opens an AI chat where you can describe the building in plain language:

“Create a 10,000 sq ft office building in Chicago with 20 offices, 3 conference rooms, and a break room”

The AI sets up the project with appropriate weather data, space types, and an initial configuration.

Click Next to continue. Next stays disabled until both Project Name and Project Address have a value.

Step 2: Upload Sheets (New construction only)

This step is optional. Drop floor plan PDF or DXF files (up to 50 MB each) to start the project with drawings, or click Next to skip it and upload sheets later from Basis of Design > Sheet Library. A file that is too large or the wrong type is refused with a warning toast. Switching Construction Type to Retrofit removes the step and clears any staged files.

Step 3: Data Sources

Include Space Type Templates — import space types from ASHRAE standards (62.1, 62.2, Std 170), CIBSE (UK), NCC (Australia), or your own templates. The picker lists sources in that order.
Include Climate Zone Minimum Envelope Types (Recommended) — imports wall, roof, window, and slab types for the project’s climate zone. HVAKR applies NCC Volume 1 Section J minimums when the project’s weather station is in Australia, and ASHRAE 90.1-2022 minimums everywhere else
Include Duct Type Templates — imports starting duct types with velocity, pressure drop, and height limits. The picker opens with HVAKR’s recommended duct type template for the project type already selected. It lists only templates that match the project type: HVAKR templates, plus your own tagged Your Template. Select more than one to combine them, or clear the field to create the project with no duct types.
Include Map-Based Takeoff — shown only when Project Type is Residential and Construction Type is Retrofit. Defaults on. Adds a satellite map at the project address and traces the building footprint from Microsoft building data. Applies climate zone wall, roof, and slab types to the polygon. US addresses only.
If you’re creating the project inside a folder that already has collaborators, an Invite “<folder name>” Collaborators switch appears, along with a Select Role control. It defaults to Inherit from <folder name>, which keeps each collaborator’s folder role on the new project; pick Owner, Admin, Member, or Viewer to give them all the same role instead

Include Map-Based Takeoff needs climate-zone envelope types: turning it on also turns on Include Climate Zone Minimum Envelope Types (Recommended). Turning the climate-zone switch off turns map takeoff off.

Click Create Project to create the project and open it. If you staged sheets, the button reads Uploading Sheets N% while they upload and the footer offers Open Project to jump in early; if any file fails, HVAKR opens the project anyway and shows a warning toast telling you to retry from the sheet library. When map takeoff is on, HVAKR opens Building Model → Spaces instead of the default landing page. A hint bar reads Detecting the building footprint from the map… while the automation runs. The footprint is written as a space on level 1 — there is no include/exclude review step.

If detection finds nothing, the hint bar reads No building footprint found. Draw a space, or use Auto Takeoff Spaces to try again. A failed run shows a warning toast. Typical messages:

Unable to locate this address. Check the project address, then use Auto Takeoff Spaces to try again.
Wall, roof, and slab types are required for map-based takeoff. Enable climate zone minimum envelope types, then use Auto Takeoff Spaces to try again.
Map-based takeoff could not detect a building footprint.

Project Organization

Folders

Organize projects into folders on the home screen:

Click Create Folder
Enter a folder name and click Create
Drag projects onto the folder to move them in

Views

Switch between views with the toggle in the toolbar:

Gallery View - Visual cards for each project
Table View - Sortable list with project details
Kanban View - Projects grouped into columns by status (New, In Progress, In Review, Done, Archived)
Map View - Geographic view showing project locations

Project Settings

Open Settings from the left sidebar footer (below Reports) to manage project-level options:

Units — display unit system for this project
Ventilation — ventilation standard and design airflow rounding
Automation — space type auto-assignment from template libraries
Appearance — label size/opacity and hatch patterns
Sharing — collaborators and permissions
Miscellaneous — Create Template (save the project as a reusable template) and Delete Project. These two actions are available to project admins and owners; if you have a lower role, this section shows Remove Me From Project instead.

Project metadata (address, contacts, deadlines, cover image) lives under Basis of Design > General Information. Edit the project name from the header at any time.

Duplicating Projects

To create a copy of an existing project:

On the home screen, open the project’s ⋯ menu
Click Duplicate

This creates a complete copy including all spaces, systems, and configuration.

Deleting Projects

Delete a project from the home screen:

Open the project’s ⋯ menu
Click Delete

You can also delete it from inside the project:

Go to Settings (left sidebar footer)
Under Miscellaneous, click Delete Project

Both paths are limited to project admins and owners. If you have a lower role, the ⋯ menu shows Remove Me and the Miscellaneous section shows Remove Me From Project instead. Both remove you from the project without deleting it for everyone else.