A guide to manufacturers' building material configurators
Building material configurators have been proliferating for almost a year now. Manufacturers are investing more and more in turnkey services that allow users to choose a product entirely on their own.
The advantages for users are:
- Access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Faster response times from manufacturers
- Visualisation of products as they are customised
Let's be honest: behind these services lies a desire to put the private client in the architect's place. This client, educated by reality TV, is increasingly favoured in the sales strategies of building material manufacturers. Nevertheless, these tools can also serve professionals, so here is our guide:
External joinery (doors, windows, glazed openings…)
Supratec: fire door
The Supratec configurator is particularly successful. It lets you customise a fire door in eight steps: fire rating, type of installation, structural opening dimensions, leaf configuration, access and security hardware, optional equipment, direction of opening and RAL colour.
AGC Deco Glass Visualizer
AGC offers a configurator for its interior glass solutions. It shows how its decorative glass looks in different tints. We were very disappointed with it: for one thing, it only lets you change the tint, and for another, you have no control whatsoever over the setting. Your living room and mine will certainly differ in depth, natural light and orientation, and all of these factors have a significant effect on how the glass looks. We therefore advise you to test it in real conditions…
Furniture
Mobibam – storage unit
Mobibam allows you to create made-to-measure furniture. However, our test left us rather disappointed, as it is hard to go back a step without starting again… We therefore recommend sketching your piece of furniture on paper before you begin.