Lily’s SVP of Engineering answers common questions about MasterBuilder Design

MasterBuilder Design brings design software interoperability to construction projects, without asking designers to change anything in the way they work.

7.9.2022

What is MasterBuilder Design?

Lily’s MasterBuilder Design is a software interoperability solution for the construction industry. MasterBuilder Design makes seamless interoperability, version control, and other mission-critical computational features available for construction projects of all sizes.

Is MasterBuilder Design a design software? 

No, MasterBuilder Design focuses on design software interoperability while allowing designers to continue to work on their preferred design software without making any changes to their workflow.

Can I make design changes through MasterBuilder Design?

No, design changes can only be made through a supported design software (e.g., Archicad or Tekla). We believe that designers should be able to do all their work from the design software they are already using and are familiar with. 

Those stakeholders that are not already using design software should probably not be making design changes anyways.  

How is MasterBuilder Design different from Speckle?

Whereas Speckle, according to their communications, is  “built for programmers,” MasterBuilder Design is built for designers. 

Whereas Speckle requires programming skills and other specialized knowledge, MasterBuilder Design does not require any new skills or knowledge and does not ask designers to change anything in their way of work.

Whereas organizations using Speckle are heavily relying on construction designers with programming skills and specialized knowledge, MasterBuilder Design does not require any organizational changes and doesn’t create new mission-critical dependencies.

Whereas Speckle is generally speaking feasible only for larger projects, MasterBuilder Design can be readily used for projects of any size.

How is MasterBuilder Design different from Bhom?

Whereas Bhom, according to their communications, is a compromise between the needs of designers and programmers, MasterBuilder Design makes no compromises regarding the needs of designers.

Whereas Bhom requires programming skills and other specialised knowledge, MasterBuilder Design does not require any new skills or knowledge and does not ask designers to change anything in their way of work.  

Whereas organisations using Bhom heavily rely on construction designers with programming skills and specialized knowledge, MasterBuilder Design does not require any organisational changes and doesn’t create new mission-critical dependencies. 

Whereas Bhom is generally speaking feasible only for larger projects, MasterBuilder Design can be readily used for projects of any size.

Why does MasterBuilder Design focus on providing a “zero-code” experience? 

Less than 1% of all construction designers know how to program. Academic institutions where future construction designers are trained have not widely included programming as a major focus in their curriculums. Construction design approaches requiring programming are only as feasible as the immediate and near-future availability of construction designers with programming skills. 

Is parametric design possible in MasterBuilder Design?

MasterBuilder Design does not limit designers from using available features in the design software they are already using. So, for example, Archicad users can use its built-in parametric object design tool PARAM-O and still fully leverage MasterBuilder Design’s interoperability and other features. We believe that all major design software will eventually offer their users zero-code parametric design capabilities.

Why is MasterBuilder Design not open-source? 

While there are many benefits from a given software being open-source, there are no major open-source success stories outside of the actual software engineering industry. There is a good reason for this; it requires a great number of highly talented software engineers with a high level of domain knowledge (e.g., construction design) dedicated to an open-source project in order for that project to be successful in a given industry such as the construction industry.

Our mission is to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our customers. Proprietary software is the proven method to accomplish this goal.