Massing Editor
Create and modify 3D building volumes with real-time area calculations and compliance feedback.
What is the Massing Editor
The Massing Editor is the primary 3D design tool within Projected. It allows you to create building volumes directly on your site, with live calculations for gross floor area (GFA), floor area ratio (FAR), site coverage, and unit count updating as you work.
Unlike traditional CAD modelling, the Massing Editor is constraint-aware. It reads the buildable envelope generated by Site Intelligence and provides immediate feedback when your design approaches or exceeds regulatory limits.
Opening the Massing Editor
- Navigate to your project from the dashboard
- Select the Design Studio tab in the top navigation
- Click New Massing or select an existing variant to edit
Your site boundary and buildable envelope will be visible as reference geometry. The constraints panel on the right shows all active limits.
Creating a Building Volume
Draw a footprint
Click on the site plan to place polygon points defining your building footprint. Close the polygon by clicking on the first point or pressing Enter.
The footprint snaps to the buildable envelope edges by default. Hold Shift to disable snapping.
Set floor height and count
Once the footprint is placed, the properties panel appears:
| Parameter | Default | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Floor-to-floor height | 3.0 m | 2.5 - 5.0 m |
| Number of floors | 4 | 1 - 40 |
| Ground floor height | 3.5 m | 3.0 - 6.0 m |
Adjust these values using the sliders or by typing directly into the input fields.
Modify the volume
After creation, you can adjust the massing by:
- Dragging faces to resize in any direction
- Pulling edges to create setbacks at specific floors
- Splitting volumes to create courtyards or separate wings
- Stacking different footprints at different levels
Real-Time Calculations
As you modify the massing, the metrics panel updates continuously:
- GFA - Total gross floor area across all levels
- FAR - Floor area ratio relative to site area
- Coverage - Ground floor footprint as percentage of site
- Units (est.) - Estimated unit count based on selected typology and average unit size
- Height - Maximum building height from ground datum
When a metric exceeds the regulatory limit, it turns red and a warning indicator appears on the relevant constraint in the sidebar.
Working with Multiple Volumes
You can place multiple building volumes on the same site. Each volume calculates independently, and the site-level metrics (total GFA, FAR) aggregate across all volumes.
To add another volume, click Add Volume in the toolbar or press V.
Setbacks and Stepping
To create upper-level setbacks:
- Select the volume
- Click Add Setback in the properties panel
- Choose the starting level
- Define the setback distance from each edge
The resulting stepped form recalculates all area metrics automatically.
Next Steps
Once you are satisfied with the massing:
- Run Floor Plan Generation to create unit layouts
- Use Multi-Option Comparison to evaluate variants
- Run Daylight Analysis to check environmental performance