Planary for Autodesk Revit is an early-stage design, feasibility-study, and urban-planning add-in developed by AgileForm. It is intended to help architects and planners test massing concepts, evaluate site-planning scenarios, and generate planning metrics directly inside Revit. The add-in focuses on transforming simple 2D planning geometry into 3D parametric massing studies with live statistics, making it especially useful during concept design and pre-design feasibility work.
Purpose and Design Intent
Planary is designed to simplify feasibility studies by keeping the planning workflow inside the user’s familiar BIM environment. Instead of building detailed Revit models too early or manually calculating development statistics, users can draw planning areas with Revit Filled Regions and let Planary convert those regions into measurable, visual, and editable development studies. This helps project teams quickly compare options before committing to more detailed modeling.
How Planary Works in Revit
Planary uses Revit Filled Regions as the basis for planning geometry. Each filled region can be assigned planning parameters such as the number of floors, floor height, space use, and building-part type. Planary combines the 2D geometry with those parameters to generate 3D parametric buildings, land-use areas, and feasibility statistics. As the user continues editing the 2D regions in Revit, Planary updates the study through a live link so that changes to the plan are reflected in the metrics and 3D visualization.
Key Features
Live Feasibility Metrics
One of Planary’s core strengths is its ability to provide immediate feedback while the user is still sketching or adjusting the project concept. The tool can report feasibility metrics such as Gross Floor Area, Floor Space Index, Building Coverage Ratio, number of units, parking requirements, cost, and other project-planning statistics. Recent product descriptions also highlight floor-by-floor breakdowns such as total floor area, gross floor area, and net sellable area, giving users more granular insight into how a proposal performs.
3D Massing and Visualization
Planary converts 2D Revit Filled Regions into 3D parametric massing models so users can see the planning concept volumetrically while still working from simple plan-based inputs. This enables rapid virtual prototyping of building massing, land-use arrangements, and development scenarios without requiring a fully detailed Revit model.
Scenario Testing
The add-in supports fast option testing by allowing users to duplicate studies, modify inputs, and compare different planning scenarios. This is useful for evaluating alternate massing arrangements, density assumptions, program mixes, height limits, parking strategies, and land-use distributions during early design.
Contextual Visualization
Planary can help users understand proposals in context by supporting live maps, satellite imagery, terrain, geographic data, 3D surroundings, and export to Google Earth. These features help teams assess how a proposed development fits within its site and surrounding urban environment.
Export and Revit Integration
Planary can export feasibility statistics to Excel, generate preview images, and create Revit mass models directly in Revit views. AgileForm also describes options for bringing study information into Revit as native masses, levels, 2D satellite maps, 3D context buildings, topography, and updatable Revit schedules of key project metrics. This makes it possible to carry early feasibility information forward into later design phases.
Regulatory and Planning Support
AgileForm presents Planary as a tool for checking whether early concepts align with municipal planning constraints such as height and setback requirements. Built-in geometric tools can support regulatory review by helping teams evaluate whether a massing proposal fits within local guidelines before more detailed design development begins.
Workflow Benefits
- Allows feasibility studies to be created directly inside Revit using simple Filled Regions.
- Provides live feedback on project metrics while the design is still changing.
- Reduces manual area, density, parking, cost, and massing calculations.
- Supports faster comparison of design alternatives and planning scenarios.
- Creates 3D massing studies from lightweight 2D planning inputs.
- Helps communicate early design proposals through charts, statistics, preview images, maps, and 3D context.
- Supports smoother handoff from planning studies into Revit-based design development.
Best-Fit Use Cases
Planary is best suited for conceptual site planning, early architectural massing, development feasibility studies, urban planning analysis, land-use testing, project density studies, and planning-board or client presentations. It is particularly valuable before the project team has enough certainty to justify detailed modeling, but still needs reliable metrics and visual outputs to support decision-making.
Overall Assessment
Overall, Planary for Autodesk Revit is a specialized feasibility and site-planning tool that bridges the gap between 2D early design sketches and data-rich 3D massing analysis. Its value lies in helping architects, planners, and BIM teams test ideas quickly, understand key planning metrics, visualize massing impacts, and communicate design options without leaving Revit. For firms that frequently perform early-stage development studies, Planary can reduce calculation time, improve scenario comparison, and make feasibility studies more visual, iterative, and data-driven.
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| Planary Interface |
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| Planary live link |
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| Planary Interface |
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