Learn ArchiKEK / Start with 2D
Create a layered map, choose the right export and build a clear site presentation. Follow the workflow or jump straight to the step you need.
English narration and on-screen subtitles · AI-generated voice · 6 min 15 sec · Watch on YouTube
01 / MAPS
Choose a location, inspect the PNG preview and explore SVG or DXF for your editing workflow.
02 / PRACTICE
Test themes, colours and the mass section on an editable example before creating your own.
03 / YOUR WORKFLOW
Compare current vector and Pro features when you are ready to work on your own site.
A good site drawing starts with useful information, not hours of tracing. In this ArchiKEK walkthrough, we'll turn a real location into a two-dimensional map, explore editable vector layers, and then look at three-dimensional context and presentation boards. Start with the chapter you need, or follow the whole workflow. The core idea is simple: prepare the context faster, so you can spend more time designing.
Open the Create page. Search for a place, then choose the matching result from the list. Here, we're working around Russell Square in London. Check the location on the map before going further. The selected area is your context, so include the streets and neighbouring blocks that help explain your project. A place name on its own isn't enough: always inspect the actual area you are about to export.
Use Area Size to adjust how much of the city you include. This example uses a five-hundred-metre context. A smaller area gives the site more visual weight. A larger area is useful for connections and surrounding urban structure. Start small, check the result, and expand only when it helps answer your design question. Keep the same extent when comparing different themes, so the drawings remain easy to compare.
For a simple first drawing, stay in two-dimensional mode and choose Figure Ground under Classic. This separates the built mass from the surrounding space. Other theme groups help you explore circulation, landscape, or presentation styles. Generate a preview and inspect the building edges, street hierarchy, and overall contrast. A visual theme changes how the data is presented; it does not replace an architectural interpretation of the site.
Choose your format according to what happens next. PNG is a raster image: useful for quick presentations and visual checks. SVG is the vector route for editable drawings, where you can work with shapes and groups instead of repainting pixels. DXF is the CAD option. The current Create interface marks vector formats as subscription features. You can check the free PNG preview first, then choose the paid format when you need an editable deliverable.
Open Quick Editor from the preview. The map stays editable, and the Layers panel lets you control the visible drawing. Try hiding the buildings and bringing them back. This is a useful check that you're working with drawing elements, rather than a flattened screenshot. Use the visibility and styling controls to simplify the composition. Keep a clean base map, then make a separate version for your presentation so you can return to the original.
Back in Create, Advanced Options gives you control over colours, line weights, a map title, and supporting details such as labels and the scale bar. Change only what helps your drawing read clearly, then update the preview. In the editor, add your own annotations where needed. Before exporting, check small text and thin lines at the size you intend to use. Keep the map attribution visible, and verify scale in your final layout.
For spatial context, switch to three-dimensional mode. The interface offers model formats for different workflows: GLB for Blender and web viewers, STL for three-dimensional printing, three-D-M for Rhino, and DAE for SketchUp. Choose the destination before generating. Use the building, road, water, and green-space controls to decide what you include. Preview the model and inspect the massing. Check the source data and heights before treating the model as a measured survey.
Site Story starts in Create too. Keep your selected location and open the analysis-board panel. You can use the current context or draw a study boundary. Choose the analyses that answer your project questions, then set the presentation style. Creating a board for your own site requires Pro. To explore the editing workflow first, use the free interactive sample. In the next section, we're switching to that clearly labelled Galata sample.
Use the sample selector to explore the different analyses. Transportation and green access answer different questions, so their legends matter as much as their colours. Noise-source proximity shows closeness to mapped sources; it is not a measured decibel map. The same principle applies throughout: check the source notes and the method before turning a visual pattern into a design claim. Choose the most relevant views, rather than filling a board with every available analysis.
In the Site Story sample, open Presentation Studio and change the theme. The paper, building masses, and presentation details update together. You can also enable custom paper and accent colours. Compare two restrained palettes before adding more decoration. Use Undo when a change doesn't improve the drawing. Choose a paper format for your intended presentation, and remember that fitting a composition to another sheet changes its printed scale.
Open Edit Mass Section to change the cut. Adjust the endpoints on the plan or enter their east and north coordinates, then choose Update Section. The line and the section update together. Notice how changing the cut changes which building masses appear below the axonometry. This is a schematic mass section using the available building geometry and a flat reference ground. It doesn't invent interiors, foundations, or a surveyed terrain profile.
Open Export when the composition is ready. The menu separates a PNG of the current board, an editable SVG, a PDF presentation set, and an editable ZIP containing the boards. Keep the editable version as well as the presentation copy. Before delivery, check the legend, source notes, line weights, labels, and scale. Sample access and account permissions can differ from a full project, so use your own Pro project for the production workflow.
Start with one useful two-dimensional map. Get the location, extent, and layer structure right. Add a three-dimensional model or a Site Story board when your project needs it. That's the workflow: less preparation, more time for design. Open ArchiKEK's Create page to try your own location, or explore the free Site Story sample. You'll find the links and chapter timestamps in the description.