Sketching Complex Forms

Using the 3D Sketch Tool for Complex Forms

• Create and modify:
• Complex building shapes
• Pitched roofs
• Tilted walls
• Custom volumes and non-standard forms
• Work directly in a 3D sketching environment with snapping and alignment to existing site geometry
• Supports editing of:
• Existing 3D Sketch elements
• Basic Buildings, Volumes, Constraints
• Imported geometry (OBJ, IFC)
• Geometry from Rhino and Dynamo

When to Use the 3D Sketch Tool

The 3D Sketch tool is the most advanced modeling mode inside Forma Site Design.

• Use it when you need more geometric freedom than Basic Buildings or Generic Volumes provide. This includes complex building shapes, pitched roofs, tilted walls, custom volumes, and non-standard architectural forms.
• You can work directly in a 3D sketching environment that allows snapping and alignment to existing geometry while maintaining much more formal flexibility.

• The 3D Sketch tool is best used when the design requires customization beyond standard massing tools and when form itself becomes a key design driver.

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