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Written by Armaan Shah · Updated January 10, 2025 At Acelab, we believe that materials are fundamental to transforming inspired designs into exceptional buildings. Material choices shape aesthetics, performance, sustainability, and, ultimately, the human experience of built spaces. Yet architects and designers face an overwhelming challenge: they must navigate hundreds of thousands of products while trying to capture and maintain their firm’s collective material expertise. That’s why we’ve created the Material Hub - a comprehensive platform uniting the industry’s deepest technical database with material decision-making workflow tools. By combining AI-powered search, firm libraries that enable standards, and product evaluation and decision tools for every project, we empower architects to make material choices that truly matter. Our foundational commitment is to make this platform free to architecture and design firms. We believe that easier access to innovative products and collective knowledge leads to better material decisions on every project. And when architects make better material choices, it elevates not just individual buildings but the entire built environment.

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How Does Acelab Make Money?

Our primary revenue comes from manufacturers who pay an annual subscription to gain the ability to respond when architects proactively reach out through our platform. This subscription enables direct connections with architects seeking technical details, documentation, samples, or expert consultation. The engagement happens entirely on the architect’s terms - manufacturers can only respond when contacted, ensuring all interactions are project-focused and timely. We maintain complete independence and transparency in our product search and recommendations. Products appear in search results based solely on how well they match the architect’s requirements, whether the manufacturer is a subscriber or not. This ensures architects and designers always find the best possible solutions for their projects. In the future, we will offer paid services for owners and developers who will benefit from the powerful material decision-making capabilities we provide free to their design teams. This will create a seamless flow of material standards and specifications across their entire portfolio of projects.

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Will Acelab Always Be Free to architecture and design firms?

Yes, the core Material Hub platform will remain free for architecture and design firms. This includes our comprehensive product database, AI-driven search capabilities, firm library, and product evaluation workspace for projects, schedule creation, and future BIM integration. Be assured - there is no catch. We have built a sustainable business model based on manufacturer subscriptions and future owner/developer services, not on charging design professionals. We do intend to offer premium advanced capabilities for architects and designers who need additional specialized tools. These paid subscription-based features will include, among others:
  • Whole building pricing and cost calculators
  • Detailed carbon and sustainability analysis tools
  • Assembly combinations and details
  • Automated specification generation
However, these premium features will be entirely optional. Architects and designers can continue using the comprehensive Material Hub platform at no charge, with no pressure to upgrade. Our commitment to keeping the core platform free remains unchanged, as it’s essential to our mission of transforming how the building industry makes better material decisions.