Industry CloudReal — shipped

Architecture Cloud: phase-gated design stages, real drawing sets.

Concept Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents — four sequential stages, each requiring client approval before the next stage's drawings can even be submitted, on top of the same Projects, CRM, and Files every FlashCat.ai organization already runs.

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2

Real Architecture Modules

4

Sequential Design Stages

4

Core Platform Included

0

Hardcoded Industry Logic

The Problem

Construction Documents shouldn't ship before Concept Design is signed off.

Architectural practice runs on a strict sequence — a client approves each stage before the next one starts, because Construction Documents built on an unapproved Design Development is expensive rework waiting to happen. Generic project tools have no concept of a design stage, let alone one that blocks the next stage until the client says yes.

Nothing stops a Construction Documents drawing from being submitted before Design Development was ever approved.
"Which stage are we actually in" is a question answered by scrolling an email thread, not a status field.
Drawing sets aren't grouped by the stage that produced them, so a reviewer can't tell what belongs to what.
How It Works

From Concept Design to Construction Documents

Every project gets all four stages up front, in order — each one gated on the one before it.

Step 1

Submit a stage for approval

Concept Design is always open first. Every later stage is blocked until the one before it is client-approved — enforced, not just documented.

Step 2

Attach the stage's drawings

Drawing number and revision, unique per project, grouped under the design stage that produced them.

Step 3

Get client approval

A submitted stage moves to client-approved or rejected — a real, timestamped record, not an inbox search.

Step 4

Unlock the next stage

Only once a stage is client-approved can its successor's drawings be submitted — Schematic before Design Development, Design Development before Construction Documents.

Use Cases

Where this shows up in your day

Principal Architects

Need to know whether Construction Documents can start yet.

The gate is enforced by the system, not a policy someone has to remember.

Project Architects

Need every drawing revision grouped by the stage it belongs to.

Drawing sets are scoped to their design stage automatically.

Clients

Need a clear record of what they approved and when.

A timestamped client-approval on every stage, visible on the project.

Multi-Project Firms

Run several projects at different stages simultaneously.

Each project tracks its own four-stage sequence independently.

Walkthrough

One project, stage by stage

1

A new project starts with all four design stages created up front: Concept Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents — all Not Started.

2

Concept Design drawings are submitted and reviewed; the client approves it — the stage moves to Client Approved.

3

Schematic Design's gate is now open. Its drawings are submitted — trying to submit Design Development's drawings first would be rejected, since Schematic Design isn't approved yet.

4

Schematic Design is approved by the client, unlocking Design Development, and so on through Construction Documents.

5

At every point, the project's real stage and approval history are visible — not reconstructed from an email thread.

Connects To

Part of one platform, not a bolt-on

Projects & Tasks

Design stages and drawings attach to the same Project record used for scheduling and client communication.

See Operations Cloud

Structural Consultants Cloud

A structural consultancy working on someone else's construction project uses versioned drawings and site audits instead of stage-gated design.

See Structural Consultants Cloud

Module Marketplace

Enable Design Stages and Architectural Drawings independently — Architectural Drawings depends on Design Stages already being enabled.

Configure Modules
Related Modules

Never let a stage skip its approval.

Architecture Cloud is a real, working part of FlashCat.ai today — not a roadmap item. Start a 7-day free trial, no card required.