ArchEngine Kernel

Vulkan-based architectural visualization and structural analysis engine.

Features

Rendering

• PBR (Physically Based Rendering) with metallic-roughness workflow
• HDR pipeline with SSAO, bloom, and tonemapping (Reinhard, ACES, Uncharted2)
• Shadow mapping with PCF filtering
• MSAA anti-aliasing (configurable 1x-8x)
• Environment mapping from HDR equirectangular images
• Ray tracing support (experimental) with global illumination

Architectural Visualization

• Real-time 3D rendering of structural elements (beams, columns, walls, floors, roofs, doors, windows)
• Stress visualization with color-coded stress ratios (green=safe, yellow=warning, red=failure)
• Multiple visualization modes: Structural, Thermal, Lighting, Acoustic, Material, Wireframe
• Section clipping planes for cut-away views
• Parametric wall system with multi-layer construction assemblies

Building Design

• QBD (Question Based Design) layout parsing and generation
• Ontario Building Code (OBC) compliance validation
• Wall assembly system with layered materials (studs, insulation, sheathing, drywall)
• CSG boolean operations for door/window cutouts
• IFC file import support

Integration

• CAD embedding via DLL with C API
• IPC server for real-time communication with external applications
• Physics bridge for structural analysis integration

Prerequisites

Required

• Vulkan SDK 1.3+ - Download from https://vulkan.lunarg.com/
• CMake 3.20+ - https://cmake.org/download/
• C++20 compiler:
  • Windows: Visual Studio 2019 or later
  • Linux: GCC 10+ or Clang 10+

Optional

• Python 3.10+ (for IFC import and structural analysis)
• ifcopenshell - pip install ifcopenshell

Building

Windows (Visual Studio)

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd ArchEngine_kernel

# Create build directory
mkdir build
cd build

# Configure
cmake ..

# Build
cmake --build . --config Release

# Run
./Release/ArchEngine.exe

Linux

mkdir build && cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ..
make -j$(nproc)
./ArchEngine

Build Options

Option	Default	Description
ARCH_BUILD_DLL	OFF	Build as shared library for CAD embedding
ARCH_ENABLE_VALIDATION	ON	Enable Vulkan validation layers
ARCH_MSAA_SAMPLES	4	Default MSAA sample count

Usage

Basic Rendering Loop

#include "window.hpp"
#include "vulkan_context.hpp"
#include "renderer.hpp"

int main() {
    // Create window and Vulkan context
    arch::Window window(1280, 720, "ArchEngine");
    arch::VulkanConfig config;
    config.msaaSamples = VK_SAMPLE_COUNT_4_BIT;
    arch::VulkanContext context(window, config);
    arch::Renderer renderer(context);

    // Configure rendering
    renderer.setPostProcessingEnabled(true);
    renderer.setSSAOEnabled(true);
    renderer.setBloomEnabled(true);
    renderer.setShadowsEnabled(true);

    // Main loop
    while (!window.shouldClose()) {
        window.pollEvents();

        if (renderer.beginFrame()) {
            renderer.renderShadowPass(elements);
            renderer.beginHDRRenderPass();
            renderer.drawStructuralFrame(elements, building);
            renderer.drawSky();
            renderer.endHDRRenderPass();
            renderer.runPostProcessing();
            renderer.beginCompositePass();
            // ImGui rendering here
            renderer.endFrame();
        }
    }
    return 0;
}

Loading QBD Layouts

#include "qbd_interface.hpp"

arch::QBDInterface qbd;
auto layout = qbd.loadFromFile("building.json");
if (layout) {
    arch::Building building = qbd.toBuilding(*layout);
    // Render building.elements
}

Material Configuration

// Load material textures from directory
renderer.reloadMaterialLibrary("materials/");

// Or set PBR values directly
renderer.setDefaultMetallic(0.0f);
renderer.setDefaultRoughness(0.5f);
renderer.setWallRoughness(0.9f);

// Change material style
renderer.setMaterialStyle(arch::MaterialStyle::Realistic);

Controls

Input	Action
Mouse drag	Rotate camera
Scroll	Zoom in/out
Click	Select element
Ctrl+Click	Multi-select
Tab	Cycle overlapping elements
H	Show help

Configuration

Vulkan Settings

arch::VulkanConfig config;
config.enableValidation = true;      // Enable validation layers
config.enableDebugMarkers = true;    // Enable RenderDoc markers
config.maxFramesInFlight = 2;        // Double buffering
config.msaaSamples = VK_SAMPLE_COUNT_4_BIT;
config.shadowMapResolution = 2048;

Post-Processing

renderer.setSSAORadius(0.5f);        // SSAO sample radius
renderer.setSSAOIntensity(1.5f);     // SSAO strength
renderer.setBloomThreshold(1.0f);    // Bloom luminance threshold
renderer.setBloomIntensity(0.3f);    // Bloom strength
renderer.setExposure(1.0f);          // HDR exposure
renderer.setTonemapMode(1);          // 0=Reinhard, 1=ACES, 2=Uncharted2

Project Structure

ArchEngine_kernel/
├── docs/                 # Documentation
│   └── ARCHITECTURE.md   # System architecture
├── include/              # Header files
│   ├── renderer.hpp      # Main rendering interface
│   ├── vulkan_context.hpp # Vulkan device management
│   ├── pipeline.hpp      # Graphics pipeline
│   ├── mesh.hpp          # Geometry and meshes
│   ├── texture.hpp       # Textures and materials
│   ├── post_process.hpp  # SSAO, bloom, tonemapping
│   ├── shadow_map.hpp    # Shadow mapping
│   ├── qbd_interface.hpp # QBD layout parsing
│   ├── obc_engine.hpp    # Building code validation
│   └── types.hpp         # Core data structures
├── src/                  # Implementation files
├── shaders/              # GLSL shaders
│   ├── structural.*      # Main PBR shaders
│   ├── sky.*             # Sky rendering
│   ├── ssao.*            # Ambient occlusion
│   ├── bloom_*.*         # Bloom effect
│   ├── composite.*       # HDR composite
│   └── *.spv             # Pre-compiled SPIR-V
├── scripts/              # Utility scripts
│   ├── physics_bridge.py # Structural analysis
│   └── material_generate.py # AI material generation
├── materials/            # PBR material textures
└── CMakeLists.txt        # Build configuration

CAD Integration

Build as DLL for embedding in CAD applications:

cmake -DARCH_BUILD_DLL=ON ..
cmake --build . --config Release
# Output: build/Release/ArchEngineLib.dll

See include/arch_api.h for the C API.

Dependencies

Auto-downloaded by CMake:

• GLFW 3.3.8 - Window management
• GLM 0.9.9.8 - Mathematics
• Dear ImGui 1.90.1 - User interface
• nlohmann/json 3.11.3 - JSON parsing
• stb_image - Image loading

Documentation

• Architecture Overview - System design and data flow
• Header files contain Doxygen-style API documentation

Generate HTML documentation:

cd docs
doxygen Doxyfile

License

Proprietary - All rights reserved.