{"id":1739,"date":"2026-01-19T11:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/?p=1739"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:02:14","slug":"my-top-five-favorite-features-of-forma-site-design-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/2026\/01\/19\/my-top-five-favorite-features-of-forma-site-design-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"My Top Five\u00a0Favorite Features\u00a0of Forma Site Design\u00a0in\u00a02025\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Forma Site Design, available in the AEC Collection or as a standalone subscription, offers powerful AI-powered tools for architects and designers in pre-design and schematic design phases.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n \n \nTry Forma Site Design for free\n\n \n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n \n \n \nAccess your Forma Site Design hub\n\n \n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Forma Site Design <\/a>introduced targeted improvements across modeling, analysis, interoperability, and collaboration. Development focused on strengthening and stabilizing existing workflows, with emphasis on reliability, user control, and continuity between early site studies and downstream design tools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The features below are the ones I consistently relied on this year because they directly reduced friction in real design decisions<\/strong> and made early studies more consistently connected to detailed design workflows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Site Automation: Controlled Iteration Over Automated Outputs <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Environmental Analysis: Sun, Wind, and Microclimate Maturity <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A must for site analysis: taken\u00a0together,\u00a0these improvements allow you to use environmental analysis earlier and more\u00a0frequently, treating it as a comparative design input rather than a validation step late in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Environmental analysis capabilities advanced meaningfully in 2025 across sun exposure, wind behavior, and microclimate assessment, with updates focused on making results easier to interpret, compare, and act on during early design.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New analysis highlights expose configurable KPI summaries in the side panel, while next-generation microclimate analysis improves clarity through updated visualizations, median weather data, and more responsive interactions. Additional enhancements, including independent outdoor area analysis, improved selection controls, and microclimate results on roofs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revit Interoperability: Coordinates Flexibility <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Particularly important to my workflows, interoperability between Forma and Revit saw targeted improvements, particularly around geolocation. Previously, transfers could overwrite existing coordinate systems, leading to downstream coordination issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the plugin release 9.18, you now retain control over how coordinates are handled during transfer, preventing unintended overrides. Additional refinements, including improved road attribution, increase consistency between site models and BIM environments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embodied Carbon: From Beta to Operational Use<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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An early-phase carbon calculator: Embodied carbon analysis reached operational maturity in 2025. The most significant changes occurred behind the interface, including stabilization of datasets, calculation models, and update handling.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are now notified when backend data or methodologies change, reducing ambiguity in results. Additional guidance clarifies definitions and assumptions, helping you interpret metrics consistently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, you can treat embodied carbon analysis as a dependable early-stage input rather than an experimental signal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terrain Controls: Pads  <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n