---
title: "openbureau"
description: "open and self-owned tools for architecture"
layout: "openbureau"
---

architecture runs on tools. the tools shape what gets thought, drawn, and built. most are proprietary: subscriptions that can be cancelled, file formats only their owners can read, work that disappears when a license lapses. in a profession that already runs on precarious labor, that's rent extraction.

free and open source software is the cleanest answer, but not the only one. what i'm after is ownership and openness. tools you own instead of rent. file formats anyone can read. data that doesn't sit behind a paywall. code as a commons when possible. when it isn't, at least open data.

openbureau is where i collect what i build along these lines. small tools, written for my own practice, released so other people can use or fork them.

beyond what i build, openbureau is also a service: i curate open-source software that carries no fixed costs and no lock-in, set it up, and support it, so a studio or small practice can run on tools it owns instead of subscriptions it rents.
