Culminating five-plus years of development at TestFit, ‘Generative Design’ is the latest AI-based platform for instantly and automatically generating thousands of optimized building designs based on a user’s customized parameters.
TestFit Generative Design
This real-time AI solution facilitates the rapid iteration of “test fits” for site development using pre-defined building typology. Initially, TestFit focused on multi-family housing, but today, retail, housing, subdivision, hotel, industrial and office, and more are all part of the application. Users can develop test fits using a mixed development.
“TestFit Generative Design begins your project with a goal, allowing you to start with an optimized site plan. We believe this approach enhances both productivity and creativity,” continues Harness.
Harness says Generative Design is an industry first for commodity buildings as most generative design software caters to very specific building types. Generative Design works at all site scales across various building types and mixed building-type developments.
A screenshot of TestFit Generative Design in action.
Importantly, TestFit Generative Design supports the ability to import previously successful building standards from an architect’s previous solutions. You can import existing housing units and building configurations and treat them as “presets.” With this software, users are claiming 4-10x faster site planning workflows.
“We’re providing users with the ability to explore a multitude of design possibilities in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional methods,” Laura Paciano, SVP of Growth at TestFit elaborates. “In an era of land scarcity and escalating housing demand, Generative Design promises better and more efficient use for every site.”
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Generating thousands of iterations is useless if one cannot rapidly sort those designs by KPIs (key performance indicators). TestFit Generative Design allows users to sort the AI-generated solutions by your defined parameters, such as FAR, parking ratios, yield on cost, etc. As the best solutions are filtered, the user can save each option, manually adjust the AI-generated layouts, apply different designs and financial modeling on the scheme, and compare with other schemes using real-time data insights.
Getting your work in and out of TestFit continues to improve. Exports include DXF (for CAD software), SKP (for SketchUp), glTF (for saving 3D model views), CSV (for spreadsheets), and PDF. There are also direct integrations with TestFit, including Autodesk Revit. The Revit integration allows users to send kit-of-parts from Revit to TestFit and not just exports out from TestFit. There is also an integration with Zoneomics for real-time zoning data. For visualization, there is an integration with Enscape. TT Core Studio from Thorton Tomasetti is also integrated. An ESRI integration can provide users with critical site data like FEMA flood zones, wetlands, and more.