Sketch Space · by GUO Architecture · Private beta

Know what you can build. Before you build it.

Sketch Space is a property development platform for California, built to bring AI into the earliest decisions about a property. Start from an address: it reads the public record, checks what state law lets you build, lets you shape the design in 3D, and prices it, with every assumption shown. Then a licensed architect takes it from there.

Watch demo Request beta access

For homeowners and small developers. Already in the beta? Open Sketch Space

Concept sequence From the demo film: the design, taken apart layer by layer.

Demo · 3:20

From an address to a buildable plan

Working beta Recorded in the working beta: 1:47–2:12 (rooms, furnishing, existing vs. proposed, permit path) and 2:26–3:03 (the developer workspace).

Concept sequence The rest of the film is a scripted walkthrough of a sample house that shows where the product is going. The solar panels, skylights and pool are illustrative; Sketch Space does not generate them today.

Interactive 3D design

Shape it in 3D, room by room

Start from the house you have: a model built from public records, or your own drawings traced to scale. Then design in plan or 3D: move walls, add doors, windows and stairs, change the roof and materials, furnish each room, compare existing and proposed, and walk in.

Editable plan and 3D in the browser, no install
Existing and proposed kept separate, so changes are clear
Walls drawn to typed dimensions, and a section cut to see inside

Working beta Furnishing a room, then comparing existing and proposed.

Walking into the living room of the sample house — Concept sequence Walking in.

Zoning feasibility

What the rules allow, on your lot

Sketch Space reads the parcel and the building from public records and checks a detached ADU against California law, placing it where it actually fits on the lot. Developers screen sites against their own buy box and compare scenarios, from a backyard ADU to an added floor, drawn on the real parcel.

Sources and estimates labelled on every fact
State-law detached ADU check with a placement on the lot
Not automated yet: attached ADUs, JADUs, SB 9 and density bonus. Final determinations rest with the city.

Four development scenarios compared on a parcel, with the selected one drawn as a 3D mass — Working beta Four scenarios on one parcel, the selected one drawn on the lot.

Options for a property with cost, value and time ranges — Concept sequence Options for one property.

Cost analysis

Priced as you design

Each option gets a cost range from GUO's cost engine, with the assumptions shown. For developers, the same engine underwrites the deal: loan, equity, IRR, month-by-month cash flow, sensitivity and a maximum offer, all on inputs you control.

Ranges, not single numbers, with assumptions you can see
Your own prices, rents and loan terms for every deal
Planning estimates, not bids; not yet checked against completed-project actuals

Loan, equity and returns with a month-by-month cash flow and a sensitivity table — Working beta Loan, equity and returns, month by month.

Key dates and the cumulative cash curve for a project — Working beta Key dates and cash over time.

Where it stands

Working today, and next

“Working today” means it runs in the private beta now, on public records and the user's own inputs. It is not a guarantee of accuracy for every property or jurisdiction.

Working in the beta

Address lookup: parcel, building footprint, size, year built and permit history from public records (California; coverage varies by county)
State-law check for a detached ADU (Gov. Code §66323(a)(2)) with a compliant placement on the actual lot
An editable model of the existing house: start from public records or trace your own drawings, then review it
3D design: walls, doors, windows, stairs, roof form and exterior materials; furnish rooms, walk in, study daylight, compare existing and proposed
Cost ranges from GUO's cost engine, with the assumptions shown
Permit path for selected cities: steps in the fastest order, documents, and who prepares what
Developer workspace: screen sites against a buy box, compare scenarios on the real parcel, max offer, loan, equity, IRR, monthly cash flow and sensitivity, all on your own assumptions

Planned or not yet verified

AI reading of drawings and photos into the existing-house model: in limited testing, not switched on for beta users
Zoning paths beyond the detached ADU: attached ADUs, JADUs, SB 9 lot splits and density bonus are not automated yet
Licensed listing and land data with batch site search (today, sites are entered by address)
Cost ranges checked against completed-project actuals
Submitting to cities and tracking permits from inside the platform

A city permit path: typical time to permit and the steps in the fastest order — Working beta A city permit path: typical timing, steps in the fastest order, who prepares what.

Founder

Siqi Guo

California Licensed Architect · License C-42853 · Founder of GUO Architecture

Siqi leads GUO Architecture, a residential practice in the San Francisco Bay Area designing homes, ADUs, additions, remodels and permit drawings. Sketch Space brings the first questions of every project (what is allowed, what it will look like, what it will cost) to the owner before the first meeting, and hands the result to a licensed architect.

About GUO Architecture · Services

Private beta

Request beta access

Sketch Space is invite-only while we test it on real California properties. Tell us who you are and what you would like to try; the studio replies by email.

Already have access? Open Sketch Space

Sketch Space gives planning information, not legal advice or a permit determination. Approvals rest with the local jurisdiction. Cost figures are planning ranges, not bids.