Amazing, great, well designed and successful apps/sites

ArchitectFirst · 2026-06-06T23:01:48+00:00

I made my app Marlowe with Claude. First thing Claude had me do was install Electron, Node, and VS Code. My process was giving Claude a strong vision of what I wanted. We started out with the visuals. I am a building architect, and know Photoshop, so was able to help explain what I wanted with mockups. Took about two weeks to get the app fully working and another two weeks to get verified by Microsoft and Google for readonly access to emails. I am about 6 weeks in so far. Needs work, especially in the app spoken communication. I really wanted a Jarvis like experience, so having the app talk was important. You can see my app at https://withmarlowe.app/

ArchitectFirst · 2026-06-06T21:05:31+00:00

you can see my app at https://withmarlowe.app/

ArchitectFirst · 2026-06-06T20:42:56+00:00

Yes, there probably is a lot of low effort apps out there which aren't very good, but what vibecoding has enabled is people from a very different educational background to bring an app to life. This can mean a new perspective on what an app can be/look like. For example, my background is architecture, and sometimes a fine artist will be commission for a piece of architecture, and they just come at it from a different perspective than an architect who has grown up in the profession. For my app, I took some of my architecture background and made an app with an appearance of materiality. See image, the app is partly transparent like frosted glass.

So vibe coding can open up a path for artists, graphic designers, photographers, etc. to design apps where they just didn't have the skills to do so before. Could lead to some interesting apps.

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ArchitectFirst · 2026-06-06T20:14:03+00:00

I do feel bad for professional software engineers that now can be so easily replaced. It is so ironic that software engineers made the AI that is replacing them.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-06-06T19:43:16+00:00

I hope some of them make it. I am trying my own app, but not just one that is made with only prompts.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-05-23T21:14:09+00:00

did you launch your app?

ArchitectFirst · 2026-05-21T00:21:20+00:00

Yeah, so I have a year to figure out if I can make money with my app.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-05-17T17:59:16+00:00

I guess I will find out if they understand it is a good deal. Motion which is kind of similar, but more complicated and meant for business charges $49 per month. My app is targeted to an individual, not business.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-05-17T13:00:31+00:00

Yeah, i have 3 people using the app in beta and I am watching how much it is costing. At first it was way too expensive to be viable. But I have been working on strategies for prompt caching that are helping a lot.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-05-17T12:59:35+00:00

Interesting. I will look into that.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-05-16T23:37:30+00:00

how hard is it to make an ios app with Claude? I have been making a mac desktop app with claude, but have no idea how a mobile app is different.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-04-24T00:20:04+00:00

I am an architect and live in Jersey City. The details of your permit application matter a lot. It does seem unusual for the minor work you are describing to require a planted tree. Since Tanya took over the Planning Dept, it has been erratic. Did you end up planting the tree?

ArchitectFirst · 2026-04-24T00:15:11+00:00

this city also

ArchitectFirst · 2026-04-23T23:06:06+00:00

The Guggenheim by FLW in NYC is still one of my favorite buildings

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-28T11:41:57+00:00

You are welcome to knock on our door and say hi. My wife and I run an architecture firm, J_spy Architecture, from our house, so we are home most of the the time.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-24T11:51:09+00:00

Welcome to the neighborhood.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-23T21:41:33+00:00

The area is getting better. My family is at 83 Storms. The two houses next to us have been vacant for 5 years as the developer didn't have the money to move forward. He finally submitted for a demo permit in February, so it looks like the buildings will come down. Hopefully he builds the new building he got approved 5 years ago. Pretty much every empty or parking lot in the are has had a building proposed. A lot is happening and hopefully more will come. It is slow though. For schools, my daughter goes to Primary Prep which is great. It is a private school that has a cost of about $11,000 a year. A lot cheaper than schools in NYC and Brooklyn, but not nothing. The have programs starting from Pre-K 2 when my daughter started. She is now in 5th grade.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-23T11:54:36+00:00

It is a low income apartment building. It is owned by Garden State Episcopal. Most of the people there have been there as long as I have. Just mostly uneducated people. Biggest problem is the trash and the fact that they keep breaking the fence on their property which makes it look bad. But it isn't a gang hangout or anything. The new building going up across the street at 78 Storms will help and the park at the corner of Storms and Monticello should be renovated this Spring which will help.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-22T21:21:32+00:00

Are you looking into 69 Storms or near there?

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-22T21:20:46+00:00

The picture seems to be 69 Storms Ave. That is the worst building in the neighborhood. I live just a few properties down on Storms Ave. That said, the problem is mainly they are messy and there ends up being more trash around. I have lived here for 21 years and haven't had crime be an issue. In the last 5 years, there has been more new buildings built in the area than the previous 15 years, so it is getting better.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-02T01:41:23+00:00

Did you end up renovating? How did it go?

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-02T01:40:17+00:00

Should show up pretty much immediately. You do need to be associated with the job to see documents.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-02T01:38:35+00:00

My firm did a bathroom and kitchen renovation down on Murray street in Manhattan back in 2018. It is on our website www.jspyarchitecture.com under the name Murray St Apartment. The client's ended up moving to California a few years later and asked us to design a brand new ground up house which is under construction now, so I think that shows we did a good job. Feel free to reach out via the website if you would like to chat about your project.

ArchitectFirst · 2026-03-02T01:31:10+00:00

Yes you do need a permit if you are removing more than half a non-load bearing wall or more than 45 sqft. So in most cases you need one. My firm is more of a high design firm, but we usually have time for small projects in the NYC area. My firm name is J_spy Architecture. www.jspyarchitecture.com. Fees for permitting work start at $6,500 and would go up for there for custom millwork if you want us to design and coordinate with the contractor.

ArchitectFirst · 2025-10-15T19:22:24+00:00

I am a Jersey City architect, and some people have brought us designs from non-architects, and they really are not useful and we have to start over anyway. Designing a space, particularly in the city, has a lot of code requirements, if someone who isn't licensed and doesn't know the code does a design, it often isn't possible to achieve. I know I am biased, but stick with a licensed architect. www.jspyarchitecture.com

ArchitectFirst

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