Why Walls and Corridors Cannot Be Placed Over Generated Units in ArkDesign.AI

Understanding Wall and Corridor Restrictions Over Generated Units in ArkDesign.AI

ArkDesign.AI enforces specific safeguards on wall and corridor placement once units have been generated, ensuring that design integrity, circulation logic, and automated system performance remain consistent throughout the project. These restrictions are intentional and play a crucial role in maintaining a functional, code-compliant, and buildable architectural model.

Why Walls Cannot Be Placed Over Generated Units

After the AI generates unit layouts, these areas are classified as protected zones within the system. Each generated unit includes optimized boundaries, circulation pathways, and internal relationships that reflect best standards for efficiency, habitability, and code compliance.
To preserve these optimized arrangements, the platform prevents users from placing new walls over these units.

This restriction avoids several issues:

  • Maintains unit integrity: Prevents users from accidentally dividing or distorting AI-optimized layouts.
  • Avoids circulation and access conflicts: Ensures each unit maintains proper egress, internal flow, and corridor alignment.
  • Protects code compliance: Walls placed over units could violate minimum room sizes, light and ventilation rules, or life-safety requirements.
  • Prevents system-wide conflicts: Arbitrary wall changes could break automated calculations that depend on consistent unit boundaries.

In short, walls cannot be placed over units because the platform treats them as structurally and functionally locked until intentionally modified.

Alternative Methods for Unit Modification

ArkDesign.AI provides flexible, controlled workflows for adjusting unit layouts without breaking system logic:

  • Delete and regenerate units: Users can remove any existing set of units and generate new ones with different parameters such as target area, bedroom mix, or corridor strategy.
  • Adjust unit boundaries: Units can be resized, reshaped, or merged where appropriate, as long as circulation and access requirements remain valid.
  • Modify floor plan geometry first: Users may update wall geometry in the Floor Editor before generating units to influence how the AI produces layouts.

These tools ensure users retain control while preserving the platform’s automated checks and optimizations.

Why Corridors Also Cannot Be Placed Over Units

Corridors represent critical life-safety components within the building. They must remain unobstructed pathways that connect all units to exits and stairs in a code-compliant manner.
Allowing corridors to overlap units would create:

  • inaccessible units
  • broken egress paths
  • violations of fire-safety standards
  • circulation inefficiencies
  • potential errors in AI regeneration

To prevent these outcomes, corridor placement remains restricted once units are generated.

A System Designed for Efficient and Compliant Design

These restrictions are not limitations—they are safeguards that ensure high-quality outcomes. By guiding users toward proper editing workflows, ArkDesign.AI maintains:

  • accurate unit optimization
  • reliable circulation design
  • stable automated calculations
  • consistent code compliance
  • predictable design behavior

Users still retain substantial flexibility, but within a structured system that prevents accidental creation of invalid or unbuildable conditions.

Start creating optimized floor plans fast & efficiently with ARK

Submit a project

Submit Projects that you have designed to our gallery.

Samuel Wieder Architects

A mixed-use residential project with a gross area of 67,431 square feet, spanning 11 floors and comprising a total of 104 apartments.

Perkins Eastman

A mixed-use residential project with a gross area of 146,128.4 square feet, spanning 28 floors and comprising a total of 231 apartments.

ND Architecture & Design

A mixed-use residential project with a gross area of 90,911.7 square feet, spanning 13 floors and comprising a total of 131 apartments.

Ask a Question

Become Certified

If you have mastered ARK and have created a few projects on our platform, you too can become ARK Certified and feature on our website!

Submit an article

Submit an article to be published on ArkDesign.AI blog.

Submit a project

Submit Projects that you have designed to our gallery.

Upgrade to Pro

Please fill in your details and we will get back to you with all the details

Get a demo

Please fill in your details and we will get back to you shortly.