Hearth
Specifying building materials is one of the most critical parts of architectural design.
- Materials have a massive influence on the perception and experience of every space and structure
- Materials are a major cost driver through hard costs, labor, and schedule impact
- Materials must meet specific criteria like sustainability requirements, ADA compliance, and performance standards
Problem
Many architecture firms lack a comprehensive process for managing their material library.
- Material data is scattered across folders, emails, PDFs, and old project files
- Specifications are often copied from previous projects with little confidence they’re still accurate
- One person often becomes the primary source of material knowledge. When that person is unavailable, workflows slow or stall entirely
Problem
Although critical, most architecture firms lack a comprehensive process for managing their material library.
- Material data is scattered across folders, emails, PDFs, and old project files
- Specifications are often copied from previous projects with little confidence they’re still accurate
- One person often becomes the primary source of material knowledge. When that person is unavailable, workflows slow or stall entirely
What is a Material Library?
An architectural material library is the living system a firm uses to discover, evaluate, and specify the finishes and products that shape a building. They house everything from tile, flooring, lighting, plumbing fixtures, hardware, wall systems, and more.
Example Workflow
Name: April S.
Age: 24
Role: Junior Designer
- Find project folder within “Archive” folder
- Find “Materials” folder [turns out that PM didn’t use this folder, yikes]
- Find drawing set [but theres 6 “final drawings” in the folder]
- Open latest drawing set and look through floor plans and material schedules. [the drawing set is 150 pages with 7 different stone tiles]
- Search for material online [manually entered, scroll, scroll, scroll]
- Save screen shots into “Images” folder, bookmark URL to personal computer, and write the SKU in a notebook [so scattered]
- Dig through buckets in the physical material library [not found]
- Asks coworkers if we have a sales rep on record to contact to order samples [no response...]
- Sends email to manufacturer’s general email requesting samples
- Wait... [the boss, client, and contractor are waiting too!]
Key Insights
Remote Work Exposed Organizational Gaps
As firms became fully digital and distributed, informal knowledge-sharing broke down. Material decisions that once lived in a physical library and in person conversation now require structured Digital systems to survive.
Trust Outweighs Automation
Users prioritized confidence over speed. Reusing materials only works if they are approved, current, and aligned with firm standards. A fast AI answer from ChatGPT means very little without trust behind it.
Studios Don’t Lack Tools, They Lack Continuity
Most firms have established templates, folders, and internal standards. The real issue is knowledge decay: as teams shift and projects close, material knowledge becomes scattered or lost all together.
Material Documentation Is Detached from Design
Because maintaining digital material records happens outside the flow of design, it feels like administrative overhead rather than part of creative work, leading to its frequent neglect.
Hypothesis
If material data is collected within the design workflow in a structured, trusted system, studios can maintain accurate material intelligence and transform documentation from overhead into infrastructure.
Key Features
Centralized Material Library
- Shared, searchable library capturing the collective knowledge of the firm
- Materials linked to projects to maintain context and organization
- Reduces information silos and prevents material knowledge from being lost across teams
Product Profile
- A single source of truth for every product
- Store images, specifications, CAD drawings, 3D models, certifications, and construction details in one place
- Built-in comments preserve critical nuances (ex. lead times, installation notes, project constraints)
Instant Data Capture
- AI-powered browser extension captures manufacturer data directly from the web
- Automatically structures specs, images, and product details into the library
- Turns everyday product research into reusable firm knowledge
- Pulls inspiration images and connects them to projects and materials
Dynamic Schedules
- Generate construction-document-ready schedules directly from the material library
- Remains connected to live project data instead of static spreadsheets
- Customize layouts and fields to match firm standards
- Enables quick updates without rebuilding schedules
Product Demo
Watch the narrated product demo to see Hearth in action!
What Worked
- Visual-First Interface
- Designers make material decisions primarily through visual evaluation, not technical specs.
- Organizing the product around imagery (instead of spreadsheets or tables) made the system feel natural and intuitive.
- This visual-first structure aligned with how architects and interior designers actually work.
- Visual-First Interface
- Designers make material decisions primarily through visual evaluation, not technical specs.
- Organizing the product around imagery (instead of spreadsheets or tables) made the system feel natural and intuitive.
- This visual-first structure aligned with how architects and interior designers actually work.
- Comprehensive Material Library
- Users strongly valued having a single place to store and organize material information, replacing scattered folders and PDFs.
- The library helped teams to reference previously vetted materials instead of starting from scratch.
- Making past material decisions searchable and visible reduced repeated research and helped designers quickly understand what had already been specified or approved.
- Comprehensive Material Library
- Users strongly valued having a single place to store and organize material information, replacing scattered folders and PDFs.
- The library helped teams to reference previously vetted materials instead of starting from scratch.
- Making past material decisions searchable and visible reduced repeated research and helped designers quickly understand what had already been specified or approved.
- Browser Extension Adoption
- The browser extension became one of the most loved features.
- It allowed users to capture manufacturer data while researching products online, saving significant manual entry time.
- The extension acted as a great bridge between everyday product research and the Hearth platform.
- Note: workflow took multiple iterations as users found early versions clunky and non-intuitive (see “What didn’t” section)
- Browser Extension Adoption
- The browser extension became one of the most loved features.
- It allowed users to capture manufacturer data while researching products online, saving significant manual entry time.
- The extension acted as a great bridge between everyday product research and the Hearth platform.
- Note: workflow took multiple iterations as users found early versions clunky and non-intuitive (see “What didn’t” section)
What Didn’t
- Friction-Heavy Image Capture
- Early versions required multiple steps to attach inspiration images.
- Users expected simple drag-and-drop or copy-paste behavior.
- After simplifying image capture to match common interface patterns, usability improved significantly.
- Visual-First Interface
- Designers make material decisions primarily through visual evaluation, not technical specs.
- Organizing the product around imagery (instead of spreadsheets or tables) made the system feel natural and intuitive.
- This visual-first structure aligned with how architects and interior designers actually work.
- Drawing Schedule Redundancy
- Most firms already generate schedules within their design software.
- Because Hearth lacked direct integrations with those tools, creating schedules inside the platform felt like an extra step.
- For the feature to provide real value, material data needed to flow directly into existing design workflows.
- Comprehensive Material Library
- Users strongly valued having a single place to store and organize material information, replacing scattered folders and PDFs.
- The library helped teams to reference previously vetted materials instead of starting from scratch.
- Making past material decisions searchable and visible reduced repeated research and helped designers quickly understand what had already been specified or approved.
Case Study in Progress