In shortAutodesk Forma is Autodesk's cloud platform for early design. Its Site Design and Building Design tools let architects test a site and a building for sun, daylight, wind, noise and carbon, and Building Design can send the chosen option into Revit as a geolocated model. Forma does not design electrical, mechanical or plumbing systems. For MEP the change is earlier and better input: the building's shape, areas, facade and site context reach Revit sooner, and the MEP drafting, modeling and calculations are built on top of that model. This note uses Autodesk's own announcements from April 2026.
What is Autodesk Forma?
Forma is Autodesk's cloud platform for architecture, engineering and construction. It runs in a web browser and keeps early design work in one project. Two tools matter for building projects:
- Forma Site Design is for early planning of a site. Autodesk lists these analyses: sun hours, daylight potential, solar energy, embodied carbon, noise, microclimate, wind and area.
- Forma Building Design was launched in April 2026. Autodesk calls it "cloud-based design and analysis software built for the schematic design phase". An architect sets up a geolocated site, shapes building options, edits floor plans and facades, and tracks the unit mix with area schedules. At launch it ran sun hours, daylight potential for facades and windows, and total carbon (the carbon analysis was US only).
Autodesk says Building Design is for architects in early design, especially on larger residential and mixed-use urban projects, and that it is not meant to replace Revit.
How does a Forma design reach Revit?
A Building Design project can become a "geolocated, native Revit model", with the site context and families for windows, slabs and walls, according to Autodesk's launch post. Revit 2027 is the first "Forma Connected Client". At launch that connection was in Tech Preview. Autodesk's Revit 2027 announcement says it works through a cloud "Scenarios" workflow, while earlier Revit versions keep using export methods. Forma's data marketplace can also bring terrain and surrounding buildings into Revit.
Autodesk says Forma Building Design is included with the AEC Collection, a Revit subscription and its Forma for Buildings bundle. Check your own licence.
What does Forma not do for MEP?
It does not model or size electrical, mechanical or plumbing systems. None of the sources we read describe an MEP feature. AEC Magazine reported in October 2025 that MEP products are "obvious candidates" for future Forma products, but no MEP tool had been announced. Building Design also works at a moderate level of detail (AEC Magazine puts it at LOD 200), so the geometry is early design, not coordinated design. MEP drafting and modeling still starts in Revit.
What can MEP take from Forma?
Forma's outputs are early design facts. They help the MEP team start with better numbers:
| Forma gives | MEP can use it for |
|---|---|
| Floor areas by use, and the unit mix | First estimates of lighting and receptacle load, the number of dwelling units for service sizing, and ventilation and cooling zones |
| Facade, window area and orientation | Inputs to heating and cooling loads, and daylight zones for lighting controls |
| Sun hours and daylight potential | A starting point for daylight dimming zones. The lighting design itself stays in DIALux or AGi32 |
| Roof area and solar energy analysis | Early solar PV sizing and roof space for plant |
| Noise and wind analysis (Site Design) | Where plant, louvres, intakes and exhausts can go |
| The geolocated site | Shared coordinates, the weather data location and where utilities arrive |
These are our suggestions for using the data, not features of Forma. Treat every number as early design and confirm it with the architect.
What should you check when a Forma model arrives in Revit?
A model that comes from early design needs a short check before MEP work starts:
- Levels and heights. Check floor-to-floor heights and the space above the ceiling. Ducts, cable tray and pipes need room.
- Spaces. Check that rooms or spaces exist, with areas and uses that match the architect's schedule. Load calculations run on spaces.
- Coordinates and location. Check the shared coordinates and the project location. Geolocation helps with weather data and utility positions.
- Windows and facade. Families that come from early design carry early assumptions. Glass performance changes cooling loads, so ask the architect for the real values.
- Shafts and plant rooms. Forma's early models are about massing, floors, units and facades, so risers, plant rooms and electrical rooms usually still need to be placed. Agree their positions before the layout is frozen.
- Status. Record which Forma option the model came from. If the option changes in Forma later, the Revit model, and the MEP work on it, changes too.
How do we work from a Forma model?
We take the Revit model like any other starting model. We link it into your template, set up levels, spaces and coordinates, then build the electrical, mechanical and plumbing model and drawings, run clash detection in Navisworks and keep an issue list. We prepare the calculations your region includes: in the US and Canada, electrical, mechanical and plumbing; elsewhere, electrical calculations, with mechanical and plumbing as design assist, drafting and modeling.
What is still changing?
Forma is new and Autodesk adds to it often. At launch the Revit connection was in Tech Preview, the carbon analysis was US only, and Autodesk said Building Design's functionality "will continue to expand". Check Autodesk's current release notes for the supported Revit versions and for what data transfers.
Frequently asked questions
What is Autodesk Forma?
Autodesk's cloud platform for early design. Forma Site Design plans and analyses a site, and Forma Building Design works on the building at schematic design and can send it to Revit.
Does Autodesk Forma design MEP systems?
No. The sources we checked list no electrical, mechanical or plumbing design features. MEP design, drafting and modeling start in Revit.
Can a Forma design go into Revit?
Yes. Autodesk says a Building Design project can move into Revit as a geolocated, native model. At launch in April 2026 that connection was in Tech Preview.
Do I need Forma to hire MEP drafting and modeling?
No. We work from Revit models, CAD files, PDFs and markups, whatever tool the architect used first.
Does Forma replace Revit?
Autodesk says it is not meant to. Forma covers early design, and Revit carries the design into detail and documentation.
Which analyses does Forma include?
Site Design lists sun hours, daylight potential, solar energy, embodied carbon, noise, microclimate, wind and area analysis. Building Design launched with sun hours, daylight potential and total carbon.
SYMATEQ provides MEP drafting and modeling, design assist and calculations for electrical, mechanical and plumbing, working from Revit models, CAD files and markups, whatever tool the architect started in.
See MEP drafting and modeling, residential and multifamily projects, or send us a job.
Sources: Forma Building Design, Autodesk Forma blog, 7 April 2026; Autodesk Forma Building Design and Revit Connected client, AEC Magazine; Autodesk Forma environmental analysis.