This comprehensive GPS tool has a variety of features for mapping and navigating a site. This app is available for purchase on iOS and Android. Angle Meter PROĪngle Meter PRO is another effective tool that can measure slope physically using any side of your device or the camera.

Clinometer is available for iOS and free for Android. This useful app has a bubble level for simple tasks and uses your device’s camera to measure angles in the field, displayed in degrees, percentage or rise over run. iHandy Level is free for iOS and Android. The display shows a traditional bubble leveler as well as the current angle of the surface. This simple yet effective app allows you to check a surface’s angle using your phone or tablet. Google Earth is free for both iOS and Android. You can also toggle various layers including street names, photography and borders. The 3D street view option provides a 360-degree, ground-level view of a location, so you can visualize a space accurately before ever setting foot in it. It allows you to search for and view locations in a realistic terrain view. This classic app is extremely useful for land development and landscape architects. My Measures and Dimensions is available for iOS and Android. This app supports both imperial and metric measurements and allows you to organize saved images in specific folders to keep projects separate. Just take a photo of an object or space, then add arrows, text, angles and comments to record dimensions and other important details. You can easily record and share the dimensions of an entire space or features of an existing landscape with your team members. This free app is perfect for recording and sharing important dimensions and measurements made during site analysis. Sunseeker is available for iOS and Android. This app is perfect for planning shade structures, orienting buildings and windows, and identifying foliage placement so it receives the optimal sunlight. You can also view the sun’s path on any date, see summer and winter solstice paths and sunrise and sunset times, and visualize the angle of the sun to determine how much sun your site will receive. You can show the position of the sun in hourly increments, on a flat compass or a realistic 3D-camera view. This innovative app uses GPS, a magnetometer and a gyroscope to map the sun’s position and path at a given location. Planimeter is available for iOS or Android.

You can also add labels to your maps, so you don’t forget any brilliant ideas while analyzing a site. The app is easy to use - just drop pins around the area you want to measure on the map - and also features a magnifying glass function for more accurate pin placement. This GPS tool uses a satellite map to make quick site measurements, including perimeters, distances, bearings or angles in imperial or metric units. Here are some top recommendations for the best site analysis apps for landscape contractors and architects: 1. In fact, according to a 2015 survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), 76 percent of landscape architects use a smartphone app for all or most of their site analyses. There are a variety of landscape architecture apps that help measure and record data efficiently, so you can move quickly to the design process. You can also plan the best locations for pathways, patios and more. Take note of topography, water drainage and patterns of shade and sunlight to determine where and what types of foliage will thrive in that climate and space. It can help you identify strengths and weaknesses of the existing space and plan how to optimize them through your design. Contact our team to learn more!Īpps for Landscape Hazard and Challenge AnalysisĪccurate site analysis helps determine what hazards or challenges the landscape might present and what you can accomplish in your design. Read the full article or jump to a specific section:Īt USA SHADE, we partner with Architects, Landscape Architects, and other design professionals to efficiently integrate customized fabric structures into projects. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the apps landscape architects and designers may want to add to stay one step ahead in a highly competitive industry. Designers can also find inspiration online, collaborate with co-workers on digital drawing pads and you never have to worry about leaving your important measurements, notes, drawings and images at the office when they’re all accessible on your mobile device. Now rather than reaching for a ruler, architects can quickly calculate dimensions by pulling out their smartphone. Apps have become an integral part of design and architecture.

Landscaping design apps free