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Generate Massing with Informed Spaces ​

Use this workflow when you want the generator to react to site phenomena such as trees, roads, underground constraints, water, or preferred development areas.

TODO screenshot: show a generated massing result with informed-space geometry visible, with placement impact in Properties and the resulting overlap or avoidance clearly highlighted.

What an informed space is ​

An informed space is project geometry that carries a placement instruction for generation.

Use it for:

  • areas where building placement is preferred,
  • areas where placement should be discouraged,
  • and areas that should remain free of massing.

1. Build the base scene ​

  1. Import the plot boundary with Main menu → Import → Import GeoJSON....
  2. Confirm the GeoJSON appears as the main Site boundary object in the left tree.
  3. Import surrounding context with Main menu → Import → Import OBJ....
  4. Set the canvas so its cell size and rotation match the intended site logic.

Do this before adding informed spaces. Their effect is evaluated against the same discretized canvas.

If the GeoJSON boundary is wrong, replace it before you continue. Generation quality depends on the site boundary being stable.

2. Add the informed-space geometry ​

Create or import the geometry that represents the phenomenon you want to track.

Good examples:

  • a tree protection zone,
  • a road setback strip,
  • a lake edge buffer,
  • a utility corridor,
  • or a preferred development zone.

Keep each phenomenon as a separate object if you want separate reports and separate impact control.

3. Set the generation targets ​

Before you run the solver, configure the project-wide settings that the informed spaces must work with.

In Properties, set:

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

In Generative Algorithm Settings, set:

  • Canvas
  • Site
  • Buildings
  • Urban Massing

Use realistic min/max ranges. Over-constrained targets make it harder to understand whether informed spaces are helping or blocking the solution.

4. Organize informed spaces in the tree ​

Use the left panel Informed spaces section to:

  • rename each item,
  • toggle visibility,
  • and review them in display order.

Use clear names such as Tree buffer north, Road setback east, or Preferred courtyard zone.

5. Set the placement impact ​

Select one informed space at a time in Properties and choose Placement Impact:

  • None: no effect on generation.
  • Place here: soft preference to place massing there.
  • Always place here: hard positive requirement.
  • Do not place here: soft penalty for overlap.
  • Never place here: hard negative restriction.

Use soft impacts first. Hard impacts are useful only when the geometry is clean and the requested solution is realistic.

6. Run generation ​

  1. Go to Zone.
  2. Start massing generation.
  3. Wait until the requested generation count finishes.
  4. Review the massing objects under Boundary → Massing in the left tree.
  5. Check whether the resulting massing overlaps or avoids the informed spaces as expected.

If you imported new geometry or changed core targets while generation was running, stop the algorithm first and rerun from a stable setup.

7. Review the result in reports ​

Open Reports and check Site first.

Prioritize these values:

  • Buildings, Footprints, Coverage, Floors, Height, Building depth
  • FAR and GBA
  • Buildings and Buildings & Surroundings under minimum distance
  • Facade area under direct sunlight sufficiency
  • Facade area under daylight factor sufficiency
  • Total Volume

Use the site report before you diagnose informed-space behavior. A massing result that misses its basic targets is not a good signal.

8. Check informed-space reports ​

Open Reports → Informed spaces.

For each informed space, review:

  • Footprint → Total
  • Footprint → Overlap with massing
  • Footprint → Covered by massing
  • Footprint → Massing covered
  • Volume → Total
  • Volume → Overlap with massing
  • Volume → Occupied by massing
  • Volume → Massing occupied

Use these values to verify whether the generator respected your intended preference or restriction.

9. Adjust and rerun ​

If the result is not behaving as expected:

  • check that the informed space is visible and aligned,
  • confirm canvas rotation and cell size,
  • review whether the site and building targets are realistic,
  • review whether you used a soft or hard placement impact,
  • and rerun massing generation after the change.

If you change the site grid or boundary, expect informed-space evaluation to need regeneration as well.