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Architecture Studio

License: MIT Release

Agents, skills, and rules for architects, designers, and AEC professionals — use with Claude Desktop or Claude Code.

Architecture Studio teaches Claude architecture-specific workflows — site analysis, zoning, space programming, specifications, materials research, sustainability, and presentations.

7 agents, 39 skills, 7 rules, and 3 hooks across 10 plugins. Built by ALPA.

What's New in 1.2

  • Project dossier + decision records — the new Project Dossier plugin gives every project a persistent state: /project-dossier maintains PROJECT.md (sourced, dated facts — site, zoning, program, code), and /decision captures ADR-style decision records in decisions/. Analysis skills read the dossier before fetching, append their findings after, and propose /decision when an analysis forces a choice.
  • Agents are native subagents — each agent now ships inside the plugin it orchestrates; installing the plugin registers it with Claude Code, so Claude can delegate to it automatically.
  • Hooks register themselves — enable the Dispatcher plugin and the three hooks are live. The manual settings merge is gone.

Full history in the CHANGELOG.

Architecture

Architecture Studio
├── /studio                              ← entry point (08-dispatcher)
│
├── plugins/
│   ├── 00-due-diligence                 7 skills
│   ├── 01-site-planning                 4 skills · agent: site-planner
│   ├── 02-zoning-analysis               2 skills · agent: nyc-zoning-expert
│   ├── 03-programming                   2 skills · agent: workplace-strategist
│   ├── 04-specifications                1 skill
│   ├── 05-sustainability                4 skills · agent: sustainability-specialist
│   ├── 06-materials-research           12 skills · agents: researcher + ffe-designer
│   ├── 07-presentations                 3 skills · agent: brand-manager
│   ├── 08-dispatcher                    2 skills · hooks ship here
│   └── 09-project-dossier               2 skills · PROJECT.md + decisions/
│
└── rules/                               7 rules · 2 hook-enforced, 5 advisory

Agents orchestrate skills across plugins — they assess your input, choose a path, and exercise judgment; each ships inside the plugin it orchestrates and registers as a native Claude Code subagent. Skills are single-purpose tools invoked with a slash command. Rules are cross-cutting conventions (two hook-enforced, five advisory). Hooks are event-driven automations that ship with the Dispatcher plugin and register automatically. Skills are grouped into plugins (installable bundles organized by project lifecycle).

Quick Start

Install

Claude Desktop: Open CustomizeBrowse plugins+Add marketplace from GitHub → enter AlpacaLabsLLC/skills-for-architects

Claude Code:

claude plugin marketplace add AlpacaLabsLLC/skills-for-architects
claude plugin install 01-site-planning@skills-for-architects

Use

Type /studio followed by what you need. The router reads your request and hands off to the right agent or skill.

/studio task chair, mesh back, under $800
/studio 123 Main St, Brooklyn NY
/studio I need a space program for 200 people
/studio parse this EPD

Type /skills for the full menu. Or call any skill directly by name (e.g. /environmental-analysis 123 Main St).

Agents

Agents are the orchestration layer. Describe your task — the agent decides which skills to call, in what order, and what judgment to apply.

Agent Domain What it does
site-planner Site Planning Runs all site research in parallel, synthesizes a unified brief with opportunities and constraints
nyc-zoning-expert Due Diligence + Zoning Full NYC property and zoning analysis — due diligence, buildable envelope, 3D visualization
workplace-strategist Programming Translates headcount and work style into space programs — occupancy compliance, zone allocation, room schedules
product-and-materials-researcher Materials Research Finds products from a brief, extracts specs from URLs/PDFs, tags and classifies, finds alternatives
ffe-designer FF&E Design Builds clean schedules from messy inputs, composes room packages, runs QA, exports to dealer formats
sustainability-specialist Sustainability Evaluates environmental impact — finds EPDs, compares GWP, checks LEED eligibility, writes spec thresholds
brand-manager Presentations Owns visual identity — builds decks, creates palettes, QAs deliverables for presentation readiness

See the agents index for full workflows and handoff logic.

Plugins & Skills

Organized by project lifecycle — from due diligence through delivery.

# Plugin Skills Description
0 Due Diligence 7 NYC property data: landmarks, DOB permits, violations, ACRIS, HPD, BSA.
1 Site Planning 4 Site research: environmental, mobility, demographics, history.
2 Zoning Analysis 2 Zoning envelope analysis and 3D visualization for NYC.
3 Programming 2 Workplace strategy: space programs, occupancy loads, IBC compliance.
4 Specifications 1 CSI outline specifications from a materials list.
5 Sustainability 4 EPD parsing, research, comparison, and GWP thresholds.
6 Materials Research 12 FF&E product research, spec extraction, cleanup, and image processing. Exports to SIF dealer formats and Norma.
7 Presentations 3 Slide deck generation, color palette creation, and image resizing for web, social, slides, and print.
8 Dispatcher 2 Studio router (/studio), help menu (/skills), and the three hooks.
9 Project Dossier 2 Persistent project facts (PROJECT.md) and ADR-style decision records.
All 39 skills

Due Diligence

Skill Description
/nyc-landmarks LPC landmark and historic district check
/nyc-dob-permits DOB permit and filing history
/nyc-dob-violations DOB and ECB violations
/nyc-acris ACRIS property transaction records
/nyc-hpd HPD violations, complaints, and registration
/nyc-bsa BSA variances and special permits
/nyc-property-report Combined NYC property report — all 6 above

Site Planning

Skill Description
/environmental-analysis Climate, precipitation, wind, sun angles, flood zones, seismic risk, soil
/mobility-analysis Transit, walk/bike/transit scores, pedestrian infrastructure
/demographics-analysis Population, income, age, housing market, employment
/history Neighborhood context, landmarks, commercial activity, planned development

Zoning Analysis

Skill Description
/zoning-analysis-nyc NYC buildable envelope — FAR, height, setbacks, use groups from PLUTO
/zoning-envelope Interactive 3D zoning envelope viewer

Programming

Skill Description
/workplace-programmer Space programs from headcount and work style
/occupancy-calculator IBC occupancy loads, egress, plumbing fixture counts

Specifications

Skill Description
/spec-writer CSI outline specs — MasterFormat divisions, three-part sections

Sustainability

Skill Description
/epd-parser Extract data from EPD PDFs — GWP, life cycle stages, certifications
/epd-research Search EC3, UL, Environdec for EPDs by material or category
/epd-compare Side-by-side environmental impact comparison
/epd-to-spec CSI specs with EPD requirements and GWP thresholds

Materials Research

Skill Description
/product-research Find products from a design brief
/product-spec-bulk-fetch Extract specs from product URLs at scale
/product-data-cleanup Normalize messy FF&E schedules
/product-spec-pdf-parser Extract specs from PDF catalogs
/product-image-processor Batch download, resize, remove backgrounds
/product-data-import Import raw product data into the master schedule
/master-schedule Connect a product library sheet to the project
/product-enrich Auto-tag products with categories, colors, materials
/product-match Find similar products
/product-pair Suggest complementary products
/csv-to-sif Convert CSV to SIF for dealer systems
/sif-to-csv Convert SIF to readable spreadsheets

Presentations

Skill Description
/slide-deck-generator HTML slide decks — editorial layout, 22 slide types
/color-palette-generator Color palettes from descriptions, images, or hex codes
/resize-images Batch-resize photos for web, social, slides, and print

Dispatcher

Skill Description
/studio Smart router — describe a task and get routed to the right agent or skill
/skills Help menu listing all available skills and agents

Project Dossier

Skill Description
/project-dossier Create or update PROJECT.md — sourced, dated project facts
/decision ADR-style decision records — context, options, the call, consequences

Rules

Cross-cutting conventions every skill is written against. Two are hook-enforced (professional-disclaimer, csi-formatting); the other five are advisory references — see rules/ for the honest breakdown.

Rule What it governs
units-and-measurements Imperial/metric, area types (GSF/USF/RSF), dimensions
code-citations Building code references, edition years, jurisdiction awareness
professional-disclaimer Disclaimer language, what AI outputs can and cannot claim
csi-formatting MasterFormat 2018 section numbers, three-part structure
terminology AEC standard terms, abbreviations, material names
output-formatting Tables, source attribution, file naming, list structure
transparency Show your work — link sources, expose inputs, make outputs verifiable

Hooks

Event-driven automations — they ship with the Dispatcher plugin and register automatically when it's enabled. No settings merge needed.

Hook Event What it does
post-write-disclaimer-check After Write Warns if regulatory output is missing the professional disclaimer
post-output-metadata After Write Stamps markdown reports with YAML front matter
pre-commit-spec-lint Before git commit Flags malformed CSI section numbers

See the hooks directory for details and customization.

Contributing

Want to add a skill for the built environment?

  1. Fork this repository
  2. Create your skill in the appropriate plugin folder (or propose a new plugin)
  3. Each skill needs a SKILL.md with instructions and domain knowledge, a README.md, and any supporting data files
  4. Open a pull request — describe what the skill does, how you tested it, and sample output

For the full conventions we apply across all our plugins (naming, layout, dispatcher pattern, versioning, hard rules from real bugs), read PATTERNS.md. Release history lives in the CHANGELOG.

For guidance on organizing skills across a team, read Distributing Skills to Teams.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.


Built by ALPA — research, strategy, and technology for the built environment.

Read more: Claude Code Cheat Sheet for Architects · Distributing Skills to Teams