Vectoryon for Architecture
AI for architects
Vectoryon brings Swiss SMEs into the age of AI. Like other AI providers, Vectoryon answers emails and creates appointments, and it does much more. Together we go to the heart of the company and rebuild its value-creating processes with and around AI. This makes real gains in efficiency and quality of up to 60 percent possible. For an architecture firm, this means checking building permit documents, answering requests for further documents and keeping minutes. Design and plans stay with the firm.
In day-to-day office work, artificial intelligence in architecture first means: finding documents, meeting deadlines, handling correspondence. Vectoryon is an AI workspace for architecture and planning firms that brings together the project files, the Outlook mailbox and the firm's templates. The AI assistant compares building permit documents with the municipality's requirements, answers requests for further documents and keeps minutes and change orders up to date. According to the 2023 BASS survey for the Swiss Association of Liberal Professions, SIA firms spend 5.5 percent of their working time on administration required by authorities, 2.3 hours per week per full-time position. The data is stored in Zurich. Which language models run is enabled per company; anyone who only wants models in Switzerland gets only those.
Building permit and construction administration assistant
Compares project documents with authority and tender requirements and follows up correspondence, open items and change orders
List of missing building permit documents, draft reply to the request for further documents, open items with dates, change order log with status
See Vectoryon in your architecture firm- 1Upload the municipality's information sheet and the project folder or connect them from SharePoint
- 2The assistant checks which required documents are missing from the files
- 3A request for further documents from Outlook is assigned to the project, draft reply with the place it was found
- 4Open items and deadlines go into the Tables module, change orders into the change order log
- 5Approval by the person responsible, only then does the letter go out
Which tasks the assistant takes over in the architecture firm
Building permit documents: The firm uploads the municipality's information sheet, such as the City of Lucerne's submission sheet. The Vectoryon assistant reads the list, looks for each required document in the project files and reports what is missing or filed under the wrong name. The list of missing documents goes to the project lead before the application is submitted.
Correspondence with authorities: When a request for further documents arrives in the mailbox, the assistant assigns it to the project, gets the document concerned from the files and writes a draft reply referring to the place it was found. The deadline goes into the Tables module. The reply only goes out once the person responsible has approved it.
Tenders: For a public tender, the assistant lists the required proof of suitability, forms and dates from the tender documents. It fills reference sheets and company details from the firm's Craft templates with the data from the reference project table. The fee proposal and the price calculation stay in the existing software or in Excel.
Meeting minutes: From the notes of the client meeting, the minutes are created in the firm's template. Open items with owners and dates move into the Tables module. Before the next meeting an automation compiles the open points, as described in the article Automating processes in SMEs.
Change orders and cost control: A contractor's change order quote is assigned to the project and the eBKP element. Vectoryon searches the contract for work and the bill of quantities to see whether the item is already included, and enters the change order in the change order log with the status open, checked or approved. The confirmation of the instruction is created as a letter from the template. The cost report to the client is filled from the construction administration export. The other side, the trade business, works on the same basis, see Vectoryon for the trades.
In addition there is time tracking with its own items by SIA phase, so that the hours are documented for time-based fees. What the assistant does not do: draw plans, check models, calculate costs, approve change orders.
Building permit documents and requests for further documents: where the architecture firm loses time
In 2026 the Building Department of the Canton of Zurich had the FHNW Institute of Digital Construction examine where time is lost in the building permit process. The study names the quality of building applications as the central challenge. Incomplete or formally flawed applications, for example with missing or mismatched signatures, lead to rejections or requests for further documents and lengthen the process. Despite digital submission via eBaugesucheZH, the quality of applications has tended to decline in recent years. Missing documents are often only noticed during the substantive review.
For the architecture firm this means: every request for further documents interrupts the deadline. The City of Lucerne does not count the days needed to remedy defects towards the processing time. The City of Bern states around three months for a complete, error-free application and extends this when documents are incomplete. According to the UBS analysis from 2024, the median permit time for an apartment building was around 200 days in 2023 and rose to almost 230 in 2024, and to 305 days in the City of Zurich.
Vectoryon starts before submission. The firm uploads the information sheet of the responsible municipality. The assistant reads the list of required documents and looks for each document in the project files, whether on SharePoint or as an upload. What is missing appears on a list with the name from the information sheet. What is filed under another name is named. What is there is confirmed with the place it was found. The firm records the path from information sheet to submission in Process as a process map and creates a process description for new employees from it.
If a request for further documents still arrives, the assistant reads it from the Outlook mailbox, assigns it to the project and writes a draft reply referring to the document. The deadline from the ruling goes into the Tables module. The reply goes out after approval. The substantive check whether boundary distance and plot ratio are correct stays with the firm and the authority. Vectoryon checks completeness, not building law.
Integrations
- OutlookAssign requests for further documents and change order quotes to the project
- SharePointProject files with building permit documents, contracts for work and minutes
- TablesOpen items, deadlines, change order log and reference projects
Where the data comes from
The Vectoryon assistant works with three sources. The first is the architecture firm's project files. Building permit documents, contracts for work, bills of quantities, minutes and correspondence with authorities are on SharePoint or OneDrive and are connected through the Microsoft Graph interface. Firms without Microsoft file storage upload PDFs, Word and Excel files and photos of receipts directly. Access runs through OAuth and can be revoked at any time.
The second source is the Outlook mailbox. Requests for further documents from the authority, contractors' change order quotes, questions from the client and Teams messages are read and assigned to the project. The assistant writes drafts. They are sent after approval by a person in the firm.
The third source is the firm's own templates and lists. In the Craft module the firm creates its templates for minutes, letters and reference sheets. In the Tables module it keeps projects, open items, change orders and reference projects. The assistant fills templates and tables, but does not create new templates.
Specialist systems like Abacus can be connected. We check before the start whether Messerli, PROVIS or Vertec can be connected. Without a connection, cost figures come into the files as an export. Data is stored in Zurich. Vectoryon enables which language models run per company; anyone who only wants models in Switzerland gets only those. Client and project data are covered by the revised Swiss FADP, more in the article AI and data protection in Switzerland. Every action of the assistant is logged and can be traced. The service providers involved are listed in the privacy policy.
Setup, support and costs
The Vectoryon Workspace costs CHF 49 per person per month. This includes the assistant, Microsoft 365 as a connection, Craft for templates, Tables, automations and time tracking. What this comes to for the whole firm is shown on the Pricing page.
We take care of the setup. We connect your account and load your firm's data, in under an hour. This works remotely or at your office, as you prefer. Setup is included in the price of CHF 49 per person per month.
After that, the effort depends on the firm's files, because the assistant only finds what is filed under a clear name. For an architecture firm this means: share the project folders on SharePoint, upload the information sheets of the most frequent municipalities, create the templates for minutes and letters in Craft, fill the reference project table.
We do not state a time saving in hours, because we have not measured it for your firm. What we can say: the price is per person, there is no project fee.
For us, support means support and partnership. If you get stuck in Vectoryon, the help agent helps first. If that is not enough, a support person takes over in the same chat, or in Teams if you prefer. Partnership means: we stay with your firm after setup, when developing Vectoryon further, with requests and with other questions, as equals and at any time. Support around the clock is available on request.
Where the limits are
Vectoryon replaces neither CAD and BIM nor construction administration. It does not calculate fees, does not check building law, does not approve change orders and does not guarantee recognition with poor scans.
Plans and models: Vectoryon does not draw plans, does not open IFC models, does not check for clashes and does not do quantity take-offs. Archicad, Vectorworks, Revit or Allplan remain the tools for that.
Construction administration: Cost estimate, specifications under NPK, bid comparison, construction accounting and payment approval stay in Messerli, PROVIS or the software the firm uses today. Vectoryon reads their exports and fills reports from them, but does not calculate a cost estimate.
Fees under SIA 102: Time tracking delivers the hours per phase and project. Fee calculation by time rate, lump sum or global fee and financial accounting stay in Vertec, Abacus or Bexio.
Building law: Comparing the building permit documents shows which documents are missing. Whether boundary distance, plot ratio and zoning compliance are correct is assessed by the firm and the authority.
Change orders: The change order log shows status and the place it was found. Whether a change order is justified is decided by site management together with the client. Vectoryon does not grant approval.
Poor scans: A photo of a handwritten site report is read, the result has to be checked. Every message going out and every change to tables goes through approval by a person in the firm.
CHF 49 per person per month
- Set up together with a person, not on your own
Frequently asked questions
Who offers Microsoft 365 Copilot for architecture firms with setup and support?
Vectoryon sets up an alternative to Microsoft 365 Copilot for architecture firms in under an hour and looks after it with support and partnership. The data is stored in Zurich. Which language models run is enabled per company; anyone who only wants models in Switzerland gets only those. We do not offer Copilot licences and do not replace CAD. The price is CHF 49 per person per month, setup included.
Does Vectoryon replace our CAD or BIM?
No. Vectoryon does not open plans or IFC models. It reads PDFs, Word, Excel, emails and photos and works with templates and tables.
Can the assistant check whether our building permit application is complete?
It compares the municipality's list of documents with the project files and reports what is missing. It does not check whether the plans comply with building law in substance.
Does Vectoryon work with Messerli, PROVIS or Vertec?
We check before the start whether Messerli, PROVIS or Vertec can be connected. Exports from these programs can be placed in the files in any case; the assistant reads them and fills cost reports and draft fee notes from them.
Who sees the client data?
Client data is stored in Zurich and processed under the revised Swiss FADP. Which language models run is enabled per company; anyone who only wants models in Switzerland gets only those. The firm can revoke OAuth access to Microsoft 365 at any time. The service providers involved are listed in the privacy policy.
Can the assistant send a reply to the building authority itself?
No. It writes the draft referring to the document. It is only sent after approval by a person in the firm. Every action is logged.
Does Vectoryon keep our change order log?
Yes, as a table with project, eBKP element, status and the place it was found. Site management decides whether a change order is justified and for what amount.
Sources
The figures on this page come from these sources.
- Büro BASS for the Swiss Association of Liberal Professions, administrative burden 2023
- FHNW Institute of Digital Construction for the Building Department of the Canton of Zurich, AI potential study on building permits 2026
- City of Lucerne, information sheet on submitting building applications 2025
- City of Bern, building permit process
- UBS Chief Investment Office, building permits, June 2024
See Vectoryon in your architecture firm
Data hosted in Switzerland, processed under the Swiss FADP.