Buildwise

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Inspiration

Building a dream home is one of the biggest financial decisions a person can make. However, in Sri Lanka, many homeowners struggle to estimate construction costs, calculate material requirements, find reliable contractors, and plan their budgets effectively. Construction planning often requires consulting multiple professionals, comparing suppliers, and dealing with uncertain material prices.

We were inspired to make this process simpler, more transparent, and accessible to everyone, especially first-time homeowners who may not have technical construction knowledge.

This led us to create BuildWise – AI Construction Planning Assistant, a smart web application designed to help users plan residential construction projects, estimate budgets, and connect with construction service providers through a single platform.

Our vision is to make construction planning smarter, more affordable, and accessible using AI-assisted technology.

What it does

BuildWise is a web-based construction planning platform designed specifically for residential construction in Sri Lanka.

It brings together several essential construction planning tools:

• Smart Project Planning: Users can describe their dream house by entering requirements such as floor area, bedrooms, bathrooms, construction location, budget, and quality preferences.
• AI-Assisted Requirements Extraction: Optional Gemini integration helps interpret natural-language house descriptions into structured project requirements.
• Floor Plan Upload: Users can upload existing 2D house plans for reference and manual review.
• Construction Budget Estimation: Provides preliminary budget estimates based on building area, construction quality, and configurable cost assumptions.
• Material Price Manager: Allows users to manually enter and update construction material prices in Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR).
• Company Registration: Construction companies and material suppliers can register their business information and services.
• Worker Registration: Skilled workers such as masons, electricians, plumbers, and carpenters can register their profiles, skills, and labour rates.
• Centralized Dashboard: Organizes construction-related information through a user-friendly interface.

By combining project requirements, construction estimates, material prices, and service-provider information, BuildWise creates a foundation for a more connected construction planning experience.

How we built it

We developed BuildWise using JacHammer.ai, an AI-assisted development platform, and organized the project as a modern web application.

Our development approach involved:

1. Identifying the problem: We analyzed the difficulties faced by homeowners when planning residential construction projects in Sri Lanka.
2. Designing the user experience: We created a dashboard-based interface that simplifies complex construction information.
3. Developing the project planning module: We implemented forms for entering construction requirements and managing project information.
4. Adding AI-assisted functionality: We introduced optional Gemini integration to help convert natural-language descriptions into structured requirements.
5. Building the cost estimation module: We developed preliminary construction budget calculations using configurable estimation assumptions.
6. Developing the material management system: We added functionality for manually managing construction material prices.
7. Creating registration modules: We designed registration interfaces for construction companies and skilled workers.
8. Integrating the modules: We connected the different features into a unified construction planning application.

We also used GitHub for source-code management and version control.

Our development focused on keeping the application accessible without making a paid AI API subscription mandatory for its core functionality.

Challenges we ran into

During development, we encountered several technical and practical challenges.

1. Construction cost accuracy

Construction costs vary depending on location, material availability, labour charges, and building specifications. Creating useful estimates without reliable live pricing data was challenging.

We addressed this by introducing configurable cost assumptions and a manual material price management system.

2. AI integration and API limitations

Integrating AI capabilities while avoiding dependence on paid APIs was another challenge. We designed the application so that essential planning features could function without an active paid AI service.

3. Understanding construction requirements

Converting general house descriptions into useful construction planning inputs required us to carefully identify essential information such as floor area, room quantities, construction quality, and budget.

4. Managing different user categories

The platform needs to support homeowners, construction companies, material suppliers, and skilled workers. Designing separate registration experiences while maintaining a consistent interface required careful planning.

5. Integrating multiple functionalities

Combining construction planning, budget calculations, supplier information, and worker registration into one application presented challenges in data organization and user experience.

6. Development and version-control issues

We also encountered build and Git repository issues during development, which required troubleshooting and improving our development workflow.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of transforming a real-world construction problem into a working web application prototype.

Our key accomplishments include:

• Developing a construction planning platform focused on Sri Lankan homeowners.
• Creating a centralized dashboard for managing construction project information.
• Implementing preliminary construction cost estimation.
• Adding optional AI-assisted interpretation of project descriptions.
• Supporting 2D floor plan uploads for manual review.
• Creating registration interfaces for construction companies and skilled workers.
• Introducing manual material price management to support more flexible cost estimation.
• Designing the application to operate without requiring a paid AI API for its essential features.
• Building a foundation that can be expanded into a complete construction planning ecosystem.

Most importantly, we developed BuildWise as more than a basic construction calculator. Our goal is to connect homeowners, construction professionals, suppliers, and cost-planning tools within one platform.

What we learned

Developing BuildWise helped us gain valuable technical knowledge and practical experience.

We learned:

• How to use AI-assisted development tools to accelerate web application development.
• How to structure a multi-feature web application.
• How to integrate optional AI services into a practical software product.
• How construction budget estimation depends on materials, labour, location, and building specifications.
• How to design data-entry systems for material prices and professional registrations.
• How to organize interfaces for different types of platform users.
• How to use GitHub for project collaboration and source-code management.
• How to troubleshoot development errors and improve application reliability.
• The importance of transparent calculations and realistic cost assumptions.

The project also strengthened our problem-solving, collaboration, and software development skills.

What's next for BuildWise

Our long-term vision is to develop BuildWise into a comprehensive AI-powered construction planning ecosystem for Sri Lanka.

Our planned improvements include:

1. Automatic 2D floor plan analysis

Develop computer vision capabilities to identify rooms, walls, doors, windows, and dimensions from uploaded house plans.

2. Intelligent material quantity estimation

Automatically calculate approximate quantities of cement, sand, bricks, concrete, steel, tiles, and other materials using floor plan geometry and construction specifications.

3. Advanced construction cost estimation

Generate detailed Bills of Quantities (BOQ), compare material and labour costs, and provide more accurate location-specific estimates using reliable price data.

4. Interactive 3D house visualization

Transform 2D floor plan geometry into interactive 3D house models so homeowners can visualize their designs.

5. Nearby suppliers and contractors

Introduce location-based discovery for construction companies, hardware stores, material suppliers, and skilled workers.

6. Smart supplier price comparison

Allow users to compare registered suppliers' material quotations, including transportation costs and availability.

7. AI-powered budget optimization

Recommend cost-saving construction alternatives based on the user's budget, specifications, and available materials.

8. Construction project tracking

Introduce project scheduling, construction progress monitoring, milestone tracking, and expense management.

9. Professional report generation

Enable users to generate downloadable construction cost estimates, material requirement reports, and project summaries.

10. Expanding across Sri Lanka

Our ultimate goal is to support construction planning across different regions of Sri Lanka through localized material pricing, contractor information, and practical construction guidance.

BuildWise aims to bridge the gap between homeowners and construction professionals, helping people turn their dream homes into realistic, financially manageable construction projects.

Built With

• jaseci