{"id":2088,"date":"2026-07-13T19:52:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T19:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/?p=2088"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:16:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:16:51","slug":"whats-new-in-forma-building-design-stairs-section-slicing-and-unit-level-gfa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/2026\/07\/13\/whats-new-in-forma-building-design-stairs-section-slicing-and-unit-level-gfa\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s\u00a0new in Forma Building Design: stairs, section slicing, and unit-level GFA\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Forma Building Design, available in the AEC Collection, Revit standalone license, and Forma for Buildings bundle, helps architects explore more ideas before it&#8217;s time for BIM.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\"><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/forma-for-buildings\/trial-intake\" class=\"\n            MuiButtonBase-root MuiButton-root\n            wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\n            \n            \n            \n            MuiButton-contained\n        \">\n\n        <span class=\"MuiButton-label\">\n            \n            \nTry Forma Building Design for free\n\n            \n        <\/span>\n    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/app.autodeskforma.com\/?utm_source=adskwebsite&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=BuildingDesignBlog\" class=\"\n            MuiButtonBase-root MuiButton-root\n            wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\n            \n            \n            \n            MuiButton-contained\n        \">\n\n        <span class=\"MuiButton-label\">\n            \n            \nAccess Forma Building Design\n\n            \n        <\/span>\n    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>Effective&nbsp;schematic design is about answering&nbsp;hard questions&nbsp;early while&nbsp;they&#8217;re&nbsp;still cheap to answer.&nbsp;Since&nbsp;the&nbsp;launch&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/forma-building-design\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Forma Building Design<\/a>&nbsp;in April,&nbsp;we\u2019ve&nbsp;released several&nbsp;updates&nbsp;that help you&nbsp;tackle&nbsp;early design decisions.&nbsp;Does&nbsp;the building work vertically? How does it sit&nbsp;in section?&nbsp;And how much floor area does each unit actually give you?&nbsp;Here&#8217;s&nbsp;what&#8217;s&nbsp;new in&nbsp;our&nbsp;schematic design software&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Forma Building Design.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Design stairs&nbsp;in your floor plan&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Vertical circulation&nbsp;isn&#8217;t&nbsp;a detail you add at the end. At the stage Forma Building Design serves, stair and core placement shapes floor plates, layouts, and usable area.&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;a&nbsp;core design decision, pun intended.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can now place and edit stairs directly in Forma Building Design. Design them in floorplan view, and they appear in the 3D scene,&nbsp;in sections&nbsp;and,&nbsp;of course, in the Revit export.&nbsp;Like elevators, stairs are inherently multi-floor \u2014&nbsp;they&#8217;re&nbsp;what makes a building read as one coherent whole rather than a stack of independent plans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stairs stay consistent across floors even when floor heights vary, adjusting the number of risers to suit. Change&nbsp;a floor&nbsp;height and the&nbsp;stair adapts&nbsp;automatically. No rework.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In floorplan view, each level shows the stair the way&nbsp;you&#8217;d&nbsp;expect to read it on a drawing:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Start floor:&nbsp;<\/strong>the flight going up, drawn solid with a faint dashed projection overhead and the standard cut line (1.2 m \/ 4 ft).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Middle floors:&nbsp;<\/strong>both&nbsp;flights meet at the cut line \u2014 the flight&nbsp;going&nbsp;up to the next floor, and the flight&nbsp;going&nbsp;down to the one below.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Top floor:&nbsp;<\/strong>the full flight arriving from below, shown solid.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"864\" height=\"606\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/image-32.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2089\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/image-32.png 864w, https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/image-32-300x210.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/image-32-768x539.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Direction arrows make the up\/down reading clear&nbsp;at a glance. Drag the handles to resize the&nbsp;stair&nbsp;and set its width.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And because problems are cheaper to catch while you design than after, we flag stairs that&nbsp;won&#8217;t&nbsp;work and tell you why. A stair turns yellow when it conflicts with another element on any floor it touches \u2014 so you may want to&nbsp;check&nbsp;a different floor to resolve it. We call out when a stair:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>extends outside the floor&#8217;s footprint&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>overlaps another stair, a wall, or an elevator&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The point is simple: keep the vertical logic of the building in front of you while&nbsp;you&#8217;re&nbsp;making the decisions that depend on it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"2304\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 4096 \/ 2304;\" width=\"4096\" controls src=\"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/FBD_stair.mov\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Read the&nbsp;building\u2019s&nbsp;section<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Buildings are sometimes better understood in&nbsp;section&nbsp;than in plan early on.&nbsp;Section slicing brings&nbsp;joins&nbsp;into&nbsp;the elevation view&nbsp;as&nbsp;part of both designing and documenting the building.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, when&nbsp;you&#8217;re&nbsp;in elevation view&nbsp;you can move the intersection view in the top right 2D&nbsp;minimap&nbsp;view to allow the view to&nbsp;intersect&nbsp;your&nbsp;building geometry.&nbsp;Forma&nbsp;Building Design&nbsp;shows a section,&nbsp;rendered&nbsp;with&nbsp;line&nbsp;thickness and other visual cues&nbsp;like diagrammatic or actual shadows. You get a clearer spatial read of how buildings, passages, and rooms align across the site and where the terrain meets the structure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You stay in control of what&nbsp;you&#8217;re&nbsp;cutting through:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Switch the thumbnail in the upper-right to a 2D top-down view of the site.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Drag the section line to choose exactly where the cut occurs, so you inspect the section that matters most to you.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Toggle the technical drawing editor for the elevation view in the visualization options.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The result is a faster way to inspect interiors,&nbsp;floors&nbsp;and exteriors together, wherever it best suits the question&nbsp;you&#8217;re&nbsp;trying to answer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"2304\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 4096 \/ 2304;\" width=\"4096\" controls src=\"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/FBD_section-1.mov\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Know the area of every unit with unit-level GFA&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gross floor area is one of the numbers a design lives or dies&nbsp;by&nbsp;and&nbsp;you&#8217;ve&nbsp;asked to see it at the level you&nbsp;actually design&nbsp;at. So,&nbsp;Forma Building Design now calculates GFA per unit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That means GFA behaves&nbsp;nearly identically&nbsp;to NFA when it comes to default metrics, custom metrics, and visuals in both the floorplan and 3D views. Because function is a unit-level property, you also get function breakdowns per unit \u2014 the kind of detail that makes a proposal legible to everyone reading it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also helps close a gap&nbsp;we&#8217;ve&nbsp;heard about consistently, especially across the US and North America: building a shared understanding between Forma Site Design metrics and Forma Building Design metrics.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"691\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/Screenshot-2026-05-06-at-16.37.20-1024x691.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2093\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/Screenshot-2026-05-06-at-16.37.20-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/Screenshot-2026-05-06-at-16.37.20-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/Screenshot-2026-05-06-at-16.37.20-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/Screenshot-2026-05-06-at-16.37.20-1536x1036.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/163\/Screenshot-2026-05-06-at-16.37.20.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Design with confidence, earlier&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Each&nbsp;of these updates is driven by customer feedback and addresses known product gaps&nbsp;that the team&nbsp;wanted&nbsp;to close. Together, they bring key decisions,&nbsp;that were previously deferred,&nbsp;back into the schematic design phase\u2014when there is still flexibility to explore options and make changes.&nbsp;Better vertical logic, a clearer read of the site, and&nbsp;an&nbsp;area you can trust down to the unit&nbsp;level.&nbsp;That&#8217;s&nbsp;even&nbsp;more design problems&nbsp;you can solve in one place, before BIM.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;d&nbsp;love to see what you build with them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Frequently asked questions&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"is-style-faq-accordion\">\n        <details id='faq-question-1775549752879' class='details'>\n        <summary>\n            <span class=\"details__summary\">\n                <span class=\"details__summary-text\">\n                    What is Forma Building Design?\n                <\/span>\n                <svg class=\"details__caret\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" hidden>\n                    <path stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" d=\"m18 9.5-6 6-6-6\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n        <\/summary>\n        <div class=\"details__content\">\n            <div class='is-style-faq-accordion__body'>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/forma-building-design\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Forma Building Design<\/a> is a <strong>design and analysis software for the schematic design phase<\/strong>. Architects and designers use it to <strong>explore more ideas before it\u2019s time for BIM <\/strong>\u2014 so they can shape options, test performance, and then move designs directly into Revit. \n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>    <details id='faq-question-1775549797290' class='details'>\n        <summary>\n            <span class=\"details__summary\">\n                <span class=\"details__summary-text\">\n                    Who is Forma Building Design for?\n                <\/span>\n                <svg class=\"details__caret\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" hidden>\n                    <path stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" d=\"m18 9.5-6 6-6-6\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n        <\/summary>\n        <div class=\"details__content\">\n            <div class='is-style-faq-accordion__body'>\n            It\u2019s built for <strong>architects<\/strong> working on <strong>schematic design projects<\/strong>, especially on <strong>larger-scale residential and mixed-use urban projects<\/strong> with repetition across <strong>facade elements and floor plan<\/strong> layouts.\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>    <details id='faq-question-1775549814240' class='details'>\n        <summary>\n            <span class=\"details__summary\">\n                <span class=\"details__summary-text\">\n                    What is difference between Forma Site Design and Forma Building Design?\n                <\/span>\n                <svg class=\"details__caret\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" hidden>\n                    <path stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" d=\"m18 9.5-6 6-6-6\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n        <\/summary>\n        <div class=\"details__content\">\n            <div class='is-style-faq-accordion__body'>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/forma-site-design\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Forma Site Design<\/a> helps teams understand wider site conditions and optimize the site\u2019s potential for a feasibility study. It suits site planning and site analysis.<br>\u00a0<br>Forma Building Design helps teams determine building design direction for specific plots and blocks, including unit mix \u2014 so they can explore more ideas before it\u2019s time for BIM and then move forward. It is used for schematic design.<br><br>Teams can easily switch between Site Design and Building Design with the direct integration.\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>    <details id='faq-question-1775549842758' class='details'>\n        <summary>\n            <span class=\"details__summary\">\n                <span class=\"details__summary-text\">\n                    When should I use Forma Building Design vs Revit?\n                <\/span>\n                <svg class=\"details__caret\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" hidden>\n                    <path stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" d=\"m18 9.5-6 6-6-6\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n        <\/summary>\n        <div class=\"details__content\">\n            <div class='is-style-faq-accordion__body'>\n            Forma Building Design and Revit are <strong>complementary<\/strong>. Use Forma Building Design at early stage of the process \u2014 to explore ideas, test performance, and validate direction during schematic design. Then, move designs directly into Revit as geolocated, native Revit models for detailed design development and documentation.\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>    <details id='faq-question-1775551961209' class='details'>\n        <summary>\n            <span class=\"details__summary\">\n                <span class=\"details__summary-text\">\n                    <strong>Does Forma Building Design work with Revit?\u00a0<\/strong>\n                <\/span>\n                <svg class=\"details__caret\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" hidden>\n                    <path stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" d=\"m18 9.5-6 6-6-6\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n        <\/summary>\n        <div class=\"details__content\">\n            <div class='is-style-faq-accordion__body'>\n            Yes. You can<strong> export directly from Forma Building Design to Revit<\/strong>, where your design becomes a geolocated native Revit model. This reduces rework when moving from schematic to detailed design.\u00a0\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>    <details id='faq-question-1775549865227' class='details'>\n        <summary>\n            <span class=\"details__summary\">\n                <span class=\"details__summary-text\">\n                    What problem does Forma Building Design solve in schematic design?\n                <\/span>\n                <svg class=\"details__caret\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" hidden>\n                    <path stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" d=\"m18 9.5-6 6-6-6\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n        <\/summary>\n        <div class=\"details__content\">\n            <div class='is-style-faq-accordion__body'>\n            Forma Building Design helps teams explore more design options earlier and with greater confidence during schematic design. In schematic design, exploring multiple ideas is essential but often time-consuming and effortful, leading teams to potentially test fewer options and commit too early without full confidence.\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>    <details id='faq-question-1775551934091' class='details'>\n        <summary>\n            <span class=\"details__summary\">\n                <span class=\"details__summary-text\">\n                    <strong>What is GFA in Forma Building Design?\u00a0<\/strong>\n                <\/span>\n                <svg class=\"details__caret\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" hidden>\n                    <path stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" d=\"m18 9.5-6 6-6-6\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n        <\/summary>\n        <div class=\"details__content\">\n            <div class='is-style-faq-accordion__body'>\n            GFA stands for <strong>gross floor area<\/strong> \u2014 the total floor area of a building including <strong>all enclosed spaces<\/strong>. Forma Building Design now <strong>calculates GFA at the unit level<\/strong>, giving architects\u00a0accurate\u00a0area data during schematic design before moving into BIM.\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Effective&nbsp;schematic design is about answering&nbsp;hard questions&nbsp;early while&nbsp;they&#8217;re&nbsp;still cheap to answer.&nbsp;Since&nbsp;the&nbsp;launch&nbsp;of&nbsp;Forma Building Design&nbsp;in April,&nbsp;we\u2019ve&nbsp;released several&nbsp;updates&nbsp;that help you&nbsp;tackle&nbsp;early design decisions.&nbsp;Does&nbsp;the building work vertically? How does it sit&nbsp;in section?&nbsp;And how much floor area does each unit actually give you?&nbsp;Here&#8217;s&nbsp;what&#8217;s&nbsp;new in&nbsp;our&nbsp;schematic design software&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Forma Building Design.&nbsp; Design stairs&nbsp;in your floor plan&nbsp; Vertical circulation&nbsp;isn&#8217;t&nbsp;a detail you add at the end. At [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70600,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[10],"class_list":["post-2088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autodesk-forma","dhig-theme--light"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What&#039;s\u00a0new in Forma Building Design: stairs, section slicing, and unit-level GFA\u00a0 | Design with Forma<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/forma\/2026\/07\/13\/whats-new-in-forma-building-design-stairs-section-slicing-and-unit-level-gfa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What&#039;s\u00a0new in Forma Building Design: stairs, section slicing, and unit-level GFA\u00a0 | Design with Forma\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Effective&nbsp;schematic design is about answering&nbsp;hard questions&nbsp;early while&nbsp;they&#8217;re&nbsp;still cheap to answer.&nbsp;Since&nbsp;the&nbsp;launch&nbsp;of&nbsp;Forma Building Design&nbsp;in April,&nbsp;we\u2019ve&nbsp;released several&nbsp;updates&nbsp;that help you&nbsp;tackle&nbsp;early design decisions.&nbsp;Does&nbsp;the building work vertically? How does it sit&nbsp;in section?&nbsp;And how much floor area does each unit actually give you?&nbsp;Here&#8217;s&nbsp;what&#8217;s&nbsp;new in&nbsp;our&nbsp;schematic design software&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Forma Building Design.&nbsp; Design stairs&nbsp;in your floor plan&nbsp; Vertical circulation&nbsp;isn&#8217;t&nbsp;a detail you add at the end. 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