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Draw Building Massing Manually ​

Use this workflow when you want to sketch a massing concept by hand instead of generating options.

TODO screenshot: show the Zone stage with an imported boundary OBJ, surrounding context, and the Brush settings panel visible, with the manually drawn massing highlighted.

Before you start ​

Prepare these files:

  • One OBJ file for the plot outline.
  • One or more OBJ files for context buildings or other surroundings.
  • Optional: one or more OBJ files that should act as daylight-control or distancing objects.

Recommended first setup:

  1. Open a new project.
  2. Leave the stage on Zone.
  3. Keep the plot OBJ and the surroundings OBJ files in known units before you import.
  4. Do not start generation in this tutorial. You will draw the massing manually.

1. Import the plot OBJ as the site boundary ​

  1. Open Main menu → Import → Import OBJ....
  2. Pick the plot OBJ file.
  3. In the import modal, set:
    • Use as → Site boundary
    • File Units → match the source file exactly
    • Up Orientation → Y or Z to match the authoring tool
  4. Click Apply.
  5. Verify the boundary appears in the left tree as the main site object.
  6. Select the boundary and confirm its Z coordinate if the site needs vertical alignment.

Use a clean single site boundary first. If the imported OBJ contains extra geometry, clean it up before you continue.

2. Import the surrounding context ​

  1. Open Main menu → Import → Import OBJ....
  2. In the import modal, set:
    • Use as → Surroundings
    • File Units → match the source model exactly
    • Up Orientation → Y or Z to match the source file
    • Facade Reflectance → a realistic percentage for nearby surfaces
  3. Click Apply.
  4. Repeat for each context file you want to evaluate against.

After import, select each surroundings object in the left tree and decide whether it should:

  • contribute to daylight calculations with Add Daylight Sensors,
  • block daylight with Daylight Obstruction,
  • affect spacing with Use In Distancing Calculation,
  • enforce a custom Required Minimum Distance,
  • move with Translation X/Y/Z.

3. Check the scene alignment ​

Before you touch project-wide settings, confirm the imported geometry is trustworthy.

  1. Use F to fit the scene.
  2. Toggle visibility on surroundings objects to confirm each file is in the expected location.
  3. Check whether the plot boundary and imported context share the same scale.
  4. Fix units or up orientation by reimporting if the scene looks wrong.

Do not compensate for a bad import by stretching translations across the whole project.

4. Set the canvas before you draw ​

Open Generative Algorithm Settings → Canvas and set:

  • Cell Side
  • Cell height
  • Rotation

The brush paints into this grid. If the canvas is too coarse or rotated incorrectly, the manual massing will fight the site instead of following it.

Use T for top view while you tune the canvas, and F to refit the scene when you change orientation.

5. Set project daylight defaults ​

In Properties, set the project values you want later tutorials to inherit:

  • Country
  • North offset
  • Direct sunlight target
  • Summary shading angle
  • Building reflectance
  • Precision
  • Ground sensors

Set north now if you already know the site orientation. Daylighting checks are hard to trust when north is still provisional.

6. Open the Brush tool ​

  1. Stay in Zone.
  2. In the top toolbar, switch from Selection to Brush.
  3. Wait for the Brush Settings window to appear.
  4. Start with Pencil.

The brush is the manual massing tool. Use it instead of generation when you want direct control over footprint and height.

7. Draw the first massing blocks ​

In Brush Settings, use these controls:

  • Pencil for drawing cell by cell
  • Fill for larger contiguous areas
  • Eraser for removing cells
  • Clear for resetting the current painted result

For Pencil and Fill, choose one action:

  • Set to paint cells to an exact height
  • Add to increase height gradually
  • Subtract to lower height gradually

Recommended first pass:

  1. Use Pencil with Set.
  2. Set a moderate Height in the slider.
  3. Switch to top view with T.
  4. Paint the main building footprint inside the plot boundary.
  5. Use Fill only after the footprint logic is already clear.

Start with one or two simple volumes. It is easier to read spacing, daylight, and circulation from a clear first draft than from a busy painted grid.

8. Refine the manual massing ​

After the first footprint exists, refine it in small passes.

Use these patterns:

  • Add when a block needs more height without repainting it from zero
  • Subtract when a block is too tall or too dominant
  • Eraser when the footprint should shrink or split
  • Pencil width to control how broad each stroke should be

If the whole idea is wrong, use Clear and repaint from a simpler starting point instead of patching a messy draft.

Site ​

  • Building coverage: target minimum and maximum site coverage.
  • GBA: target gross building area.
  • FAR: target gross floor area ratio.
  • Building count: target number of buildings.

Use these as review targets while you draw. They still help you judge whether the manual massing is drifting too far from the intended envelope.

Buildings ​

  • Floors
  • Building height
  • Footprint
  • Depth
  • Distance between buildings
  • Minimum distance to height ratio
  • Distance from surroundings

Use these to judge whether the hand-drawn massing is still plausible.

Urban Massing ​

  • Ground Floor height
  • Typical Floor height
  • Daylighting precision

Use Low while you are still painting large changes and move to Medium or High when the concept is stable enough to inspect.

9. Review the result in the tree and reports ​

  1. Open Boundary → Massing in the left tree.
  2. Confirm the painted result appears there as the current massing.
  3. Open Reports → Site.
  4. Check coverage, GBA, FAR, building depth, spacing, and daylight-related values that matter for the concept.

Use the reports as feedback while you draw. If the concept fails basic spacing or coverage badly, adjust the footprint before you spend time on fine detail.

10. Inspect daylight and proportions ​

Open Themes and review the manual massing with:

  • Direct Sunlight
  • Daylight Factor
  • Summary Shading Angle

Review from top and oblique views. If the daylight result looks wrong, check North offset, obstruction flags, and canvas rotation before changing the massing.

11. Use the gizmo for local cleanup ​

When the brushed massing is close and only needs a local correction:

  1. Switch back to Selection.
  2. Select the massing item in Boundary → Massing.
  3. Press W to activate the gizmo.
  4. Make one controlled edit at a time.

Use the brush for overall form and the gizmo for local cleanup. Do not jump between both tools every few seconds unless you are sure the footprint is already settled.

12. Save the manual concept ​

  1. Save the project once the manual massing, context, and project settings are in place.
  2. Reopen the tree and verify the boundary, surroundings, and massing are still organized the way you expect.
  3. Stop here.

This project is now ready for the daylighting tutorial or for a later generated alternative if you want to compare hand-drawn and generated options.

Done checklist ​

Before you move to another tutorial, confirm:

  • boundary is correct,
  • surroundings use correct units and up orientation,
  • north matches the project,
  • the canvas matches the intended drawing grid,
  • the manual massing is visible under Boundary → Massing,
  • and the site report is close enough to the concept you want to study.