--- title: "Concept design and feasibility · Arkio" description: "Test a brief before anyone commits: the agent turns a program, a site or a sketch into massing options you can measure, compare and walk through." url: https://www.arkio.is/concept-design/ --- Concept & feasibility # Find out what fits before anyone commits. Paste a brief, a room program or the site limits, and the agent builds massing options in context. Compare the floor areas, walk through each option and pick a direction in an afternoon, not a month. [Start designing](https://app.arkio.is) [Book a demo](https://www.arkio.is/contact/) - Floor areas update as you design - Options in the site’s real context _Illustration: Option C for a city block among grey neighbours: terraces stepping down from 9 floors to 3 towards the street. Site 2,160 m², floor area 8,560 m², closest of three options to a brief of about 8,500 m²_ What you can test ## The big questions, answered early. Feasibility is where a project is cheapest to change. Arkio makes it quick to ask what if, and to see the answer in 3D. **Site capacity.** How much fits on the site, at what height, and what it means for the neighbours. **A room program.** Paste a list of rooms and sizes, and get it stacked into floors and wings. **Massing in context.** Bring in the surrounding city and see the new building among its neighbours. **Sun and shadow.** Check sun and shadows through the day and the year with sun studies. **Options side by side.** Ask for alternatives, compare their areas and combine the best parts. **An early look and feel.** Switch on Live render to try materials and light, even at this stage. ### From massing to street level - **:** Picture: AI render of a new city block from straight above, with its courtyards, streets and roofs (inset: The 3D model it was rendered from, in Arkio) - **:** Picture: AI render of the same city block from the air, around a central square (inset: The 3D model it was rendered from, in Arkio) - **:** Picture: AI render of a street in the same city block at eye level, with people and trees (inset: The 3D model it was rendered from, in Arkio) 01 · Start from anything ## Start from what you have. A sketch on paper, a sentence, a photo of the site, an old floor plan, a room program or a model from Revit. The agent reads it and models the first options in 3D while you watch. **Sketches, words and photos.** Describe it or draw it. No modeling needed. **Programs and plans.** Rooms, areas and adjacencies become floors and wings. **Existing models.** Bring in the site and its surroundings as context. _Illustration: The agent building a house step by step from a sketch and a brief, with Follow agent switched on_ 02 · Compare ## Numbers you can trust. Every option is a real 3D model, so floor areas, heights and storeys are measured, not guessed. They update as you and the agent change the design, and they stay the same in every render. **Areas that add up.** Floor area, storeys and heights for each option. **Side by side.** Keep the options in one scene and compare them at a glance. **Combine and refine.** Take the podium from one option and the tower from another. _Illustration: Three massing options for a city block: A, two towers on a podium, 10,170 m² and 19 floors; B, a courtyard block, 7,500 m² and 7 floors; C, terraces, 8,560 m² and 9 floors, picked as closest to the target of about 8,500 m²_ 03 · Share early ## Get a yes before the drawings. Send the options to the client, the owner or the planning team as a link. They walk through them in the browser, leave notes where they have questions, and pick a direction with you. **One link.** Nothing to install, and no account needed to look. **Notes in the model.** Questions stay pinned to the spot they are about. **Decide together.** Meet in the model, or let people look in their own time. _Illustration: A new neighbourhood shared with the planning team, with two notes: keep the park in the middle, resolved after two plots were moved, and a question about making the corner plots semi-detached_ When the concept is set ## Hand it off. Nothing to redraw. Arkio is where designs start. When you're ready for detailed design and documentation, take a clean 3D model into the tools your team already uses. **Bring in your models for context:** Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, Archicad, Navisworks **Hand off when you're ready for detail:** Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, OBJ, GLB Customers ## Designers on Arkio. [Read the case studies](https://www.arkio.is/case-studies/) > Arkio allows our team to design and test their ideas in 3D space in a digital mock-up, as if it's already constructed on site. > > — Jason Fung, Founder and Principal, Jason Fung Architect > Arkio helps us get to better results faster. > > — Aaron Nordstrom, Project Architect, American Structurepoint > Arkio feels playful and simple, but it enables serious immersive collaboration. Whether with clients, communities, or our own teams around the world, it helps us make better design decisions together. > > — Anna Mytcul, Visualization Specialist, KPF London Questions ## Good to know. ### How accurate are the floor areas? They're measured from the 3D model, so they're as accurate as what you start from. Begin with a site plan or real dimensions for the best results, and the numbers update as you and the agent change the design. ### Can I give the agent constraints? Yes. Tell it the site limits, a maximum height, setbacks or a target floor area, in your own words, and it designs to them. Always check the result against the local rules yourself. ### Can I design in the real context? Yes. Bring in a model of the site and its surroundings, from Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, Archicad or Navisworks on Pro and Team, or as GLB or OBJ on any plan, and design right inside it. ### Do I need to know 3D modeling? No. Describe what you want, or start from a sketch, a plan or a program, and the agent does the modeling. You can always adjust things by hand with simple tools. ### What do I hand over when the concept is agreed? A clean 3D model. Export it to Revit, Rhino or SketchUp, or as OBJ or GLB, and carry on with detailed design. Nothing has to be redrawn. ## Test your next brief. Describe the site and what should go on it. See the options in 3D. Start designing: [open the Arkio web app](https://app.arkio.is/?prompt=What%20fits%20on%20a%202%2C000%20m%C2%B2%20corner%20plot%3F) and describe your idea, for example “What fits on a 2,000 m² corner plot?”. The design agent uses AI credits. More ideas to try: Stack this room program; Three options for a primary school; Massing for 120 apartments; A 6-storey mixed-use block. AI credits required · Runs in your browser · No 3D skills needed ![Two towers on a podium, in colour, among grey neighbours](https://www.arkio.is/_astro/block_a.DtRVQOWK.svg) --- Arkio: Arkio turns sketches, words and floor plans into real 3D designs with an AI agent. Share a link, then walk through it before anything is built. Start designing at https://app.arkio.is. All pages for AI agents: https://www.arkio.is/llms.txt