Introduction — How Darwin Thinks

Construction estimation has always relied on experience, judgment, and information scattered across tools that were never designed to communicate with each other. Drawings come from one system, quantities from another, price lists from inboxes, and the final budget must reconcile all of it manually.

Darwin was created to bring structure, consistency, and traceability to that process.
Instead of treating estimation as isolated tasks, Darwin treats it as a repeatable, data-driven workflow.

To understand how Darwin works, you only need to learn four core principles.

1. Projects Are the Center of Gravity

Everything in Darwin happens inside a Project.

A project contains:

IFC models
Estimations and revisions
Modules and price lists
Documents and correspondence
Collaboration history and tasks

By bringing all of this into a single container, Darwin turns a project into a living record of how an estimate was produced.
Decisions gain context. Revisions gain lineage. Nothing gets lost in folders, spreadsheets, or email threads.

A project is not just storage — it is the foundation for reliable cost intelligence.

2. Modules Capture Construction Knowledge Once

Instead of writing line items from scratch every time, Darwin uses Modules — reusable building blocks that represent how something is constructed.

A module may include:

materials and quantities
labor and production rates
expenses and overheads
documentation
classification (UniFormat, MasterFormat, IFC context)

Once validated, a module becomes part of your company’s Cost DNA.

Reusability ensures:

faster estimating
consistent assumptions
easier onboarding
fewer errors

Modules transform estimating from reinventing to applying knowledge.

3. Prices Change — Logic Shouldn’t

Markets move. Material costs fluctuate. Labor rates shift.
But the underlying construction logic stays the same.

Darwin separates these two worlds:

Modules store construction logic
Price Lists store economic conditions

This separation allows you to:

recalculate a project instantly when prices change
compare estimates across time or regions
maintain consistency across teams

When the world changes, only the numbers evolve — not the knowledge behind them.

4. BIM Is a Fast Input, Not a Final Truth

Darwin integrates with IFC models to accelerate quantity takeoff and connect design with cost.

Importing a model allows you to:

extract quantities
group and classify elements
map objects to modules
visualize elements in 3D

But Darwin uses BIM with a practical mindset:

the model provides geometry and metadata
Darwin provides the cost structure and traceability

The estimator’s judgment remains central.
BIM is an accelerator — not a replacement for cost logic.

Why This Matters

By organizing estimating information through projects, modules, price lists, and IFC-linked data, Darwin creates a workflow where estimation becomes:

reproducible — run the same logic and get the same results
traceable — every decision has context and history
collaborative — tasks, reviews, and documents live together
adaptable — update prices or design inputs without rebuilding the estimate

Darwin brings structure and intelligence to construction estimating — one project at a time.