FacadeFlo

1 Introduction
2 Background
3 How it works
4 Materials
5 Relationship with CAD software
6 Development and availability
7 Professional responsibility
8 Related articles on Designing Buildings
9 External references

[edit] Introduction

FacadeFlo is a browser based façade design and estimating platform developed by Specflo Ltd, a UK software company formed in August 2026. It brings the planning, measurement, panel layout, material optimisation and pricing of clad façades into a single application.

FacadeFlo is aimed at professionals involved in the design, specification, estimating and delivery of façade projects, including architects exploring design options, façade contractors preparing quotations, main contractors evaluating project costs and manufacturers supporting customers with their products.

[edit] Background

On many projects, the work between a design stage façade drawing and a fabrication ready panel schedule is carried out across several separate packages: a BIM or CAD model, a panel cutting or nesting program, a quoting spread sheet and sometimes a 3D visualisation tool. Each handover between these packages takes time and introduces the risk of errors in panel sizes, quantities and costs.

FacadeFlo was developed to replace these disconnected steps with one continuous façade workflow, so that a façade can be laid out, optimised, prepared for production and priced in one place.

[edit] How it works

Each FacadeFlo project runs through a series of connected workspaces, with the same geometry and panels carried from one stage to the next:

Façade layout: the façade geometry and its openings are created, either by tracing over an existing PDF drawing or by importing DXF geometry from a CAD drawing.
Optimisation: the traced geometry is turned into coordinated slab or panel layouts, with the aim of making the best use of standard material sizes.
Panel design: the final appearance of each panel is assigned, and cut plans are produced.
Production preparation: completed panels are carried into automatic nesting and preparation for manufacture.
Project costing: design and production decisions are brought together into a single estimate. Users can apply their own material pricing, including per panel prices and a margin percentage, with totals split between material cost and total cost including margin.

Finished façade drawings can be exported as a PDF for clients to open, check and comment on.

[edit] Materials

FacadeFlo is being developed to work with a wide range of cladding materials, including porcelain, fibre cement, high pressure laminate (HPL) and metal panels. Manufacturer specific product dimensions, limitations and installation requirements can be built into the platform so that layouts and estimates reflect the product being considered. By optimising panel layouts and showing material quantities early, the software is intended to help reduce material waste.

[edit] Relationship with CAD software

FacadeFlo runs in a web browser and needs no installed software or specialist equipment beyond a compatible device and an internet connection. It is designed to complement existing design workflows rather than replace CAD software entirely. CAD and BIM platforms such as Revit and AutoCAD remain the tools for detailed architectural and technical drawings, while FacadeFlo concentrates on façade planning, panelisation, material calculations and commercial estimating.

[edit] Development and availability

FacadeFlo was developed by a founding team that combines façade engineering, commercial and sales experience in the building envelope sector with specialist software development, with founders based in the UK and Sweden. Specflo Ltd was formed in August 2026, and FacadeFlo was first released later that year as a private beta, available by invitation to users with a registration key, during which manufacturers and contractors tested the software on live projects and provided feedback.

Version 1.0 is due for general release, with a waiting list open ahead of launch. Licences are planned for individual users and for multiple users within the same company, with tailored enterprise options for larger organisations and manufacturers.

[edit] Professional responsibility

Designs produced in FacadeFlo are intended to support design, estimating and sales work. As with other design software, outputs should be checked and signed off by an appropriately qualified independent professional before being used for construction, particularly with regard to structural and fire safety requirements under the Building Regulations.