To all our users: our app has been updated to a new version.
This release comes after a year of anticipation and development. Below is a walkthrough of what changed and how to use it.
On the lot editor screen, when you start your project, you can lock the angles.
All four angles are locked by default and we strongly recommend locking the angles while editing the lot. That way the plan stays orthogonal, and only the areas you intend to be diagonal or irregular are irregular. Everything else stays at clean 90 degree angles.
You can unlock the angles at any time. You can also lock the dimensions of each lot line.
Of everything on the lot editor screen, lock angle is the one to remember.
After setting up your site conditions on the Lot Editor, you have two paths.
You can use one of the well known templates to create an orthogonal shape. This is the recommended path for orthogonal lots on the grid, with only 90 degree angles. New York City grid buildings are a good example.
Or you can choose an irregular shape at the beginning. If you choose the irregular shape, the software aligns with the street lot line and offers you a floor plate for the building.
The headline feature of this version is free mode, also referred to as diagonal mode or vertex mode.
Free mode lets you move the vertexes, the points at the intersection of every wall. That is how you create diagonal and irregular shapes. When you do, you are creating a new coordinate system for the project.
Ortho mode is where the rest of your work should happen. Once you have finished creating the coordinate system for your project, toggle back to ortho mode. This keeps new elements aligned, parallel, and on the coordinate system you already established, instead of adding one new coordinate system after another.
The short version: use free mode to define the irregular geometry, then toggle back to ortho mode to align with it and continue your workflow. Remember to toggle back.
Free mode includes a reference wall behavior.
When you are drawing a wall or a corridor, hover over an existing wall. It turns orange. That wall is now your reference wall, and the element you are drawing will align parallel or perpendicular to it.
You can also lock a wall, including a reference wall, so its angles cannot be changed. Wall locking is available from the context menu.
Every entity you click on in your design now opens a context menu directly next to that object.
The menu shows you exactly which actions are available for that specific entity, so you do not have to guess what can be done with it.
Examples:
Walls, areas, vertical cores and other entities each have their own context menu with their own set of actions.
If you want a point or a path to sit exactly in the middle of the floor plan, use the dimension tool.
By default, the dimension is perpendicular to the wall you are measuring from. It also has a midpoint that can be snapped to, so the middle of a corridor can snap to the middle of the dimension.
If you do not want the dimension to be orthogonal to the wall, click shift. The dimension becomes free, and you can manipulate it for any angle you want.
You can now create a corridor by telling the system the path the corridor should follow.
You can also align a corridor to an existing wall. To do this, start the corridor path, hover over the wall you want to use as a reference wall, and select it. That segment of the corridor will then run parallel to the selected wall.
Every new corridor segment should click on the red dot and drag your mouse to the path direction for a new segment.
This makes it possible to create very long corridors with many segments, along very irregular polygons.
Important: If you are on Free Mode and would like the corridor path to have free angles, click Shift before creating every corridor segment
There are two ways to bring a vertical core onto the floor plan. Click one of the vertical core icons for stairs, elevators, or a trash room. Or use the upper menu to add an element that is not on the icon bar, such as closets or scissor stairs.
Then align it. Take the tip of the vertical core, its corner, to the wall or corridor wall you want it aligned to. The core rotates and flips into alignment with that wall automatically. From there you can place it where you want it, already aligned.
Always bring the core to the wall and align it first, then place it.
Inspect mode sits on the upper menu.
Click into inspect mode and hover over any wall to confirm that everything aligns: that your lines are parallel or perpendicular as intended, and that elements sit in the right coordinate system rather than floating on a different one.
If you have been working in free mode, this is how you verify the result before you move on.
You can select any wall as a reference to create other walls that align with it.
Hold the Alt key and select a wall to make it the reference wall. You can then use this wall to create other walls that are parallel or perpendicular to it.
Note: The reference wall can only be selected in Free Mode.
You can control how objects align while working in Free Mode using the Snaps tool.
Click Snaps to view the available snap options, then check or uncheck them as needed to control which alignments are active.
Note: The Snaps tool is active only in Free Mode.
You can change the name of a floor type by double clicking on the name of the floor type in the side diagram.
You can automatically select many units together and act on them from the context menu.
Grouped units can be merged into a single unit, or erased together. This is most useful for deleting a whole run of attached units in one click, instead of deleting every unit separately.
You can use AI Generate to automatically create residential unit layouts based on your floor conditions and selected unit mix.
Before generating the units, make sure the AI Generate area is accessible from either the Res Lobby or Res. Corridor. Ensure there is an exterior window wall along the rooms, and that all vertical cores are fully attached to the walls.
Set the area to Residential Use and AI Generate type, then click the area to select it. The selected area will turn darker.
Click Generate Units, enter the unit mix for the floor, and make sure you have not exceeded the maximum number of rooms.
Click Generate AI Plans, select your preferred generated layout, and click Apply Selected to apply it to the floor.
You can split a building into separate towers by creating split points on a wall and moving the wall between them.
First, select the floor type and open the Floor Editor. Choose where you want to split the wall, then double-click the wall to create a split point.
Create two split points on the wall, then grab and move the section between them to split the building into separate towers.
You can create a setback on a specific floor by moving the wall inward to reduce the floor plate.
Open the Floor Editor for the floor where you want to create the setback, then move the wall inward to define the new boundary.
If you want to create a setback along only part of the wall, split the wall first and adjust the required section inward.
Submit Projects that you have designed to our gallery.
A mixed-use residential project with a gross area of 67,431 square feet, spanning 11 floors and comprising a total of 104 apartments.
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.
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.
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