Australian Technology a 'Game Changer' for Development Site Planning

A new technology that can generate up to 3000 apartment building designs per hour in accordance with government planning regulations has hit the market. 

Designed by the Institute of Digital Design Australia, the ArchiStar Parametric Site Maximiser was created for developers who are evaluating a new potential site acquisition.

A program able to be used across a wide range of platforms, including the computer, mobile and tablet, ArchiStar utilises imagery to generate thousands of potential development projects for sites on a developer’s radar.

“This tool is designed to support developers and architects to be more efficient, maximise their yield and rapidly analyse sites,” Institute of Digital Design spokesperson Robert Coorey said.

“Perfect for feasibility analysis, it generates more than 3000-plus building designs.”

A grid selection of the many options ArchiStar Parametric Site Maximiser can conceptualise for a single site.

Coorey said ArchiStar works for apartments, townhouses and house and land packages.

“Essentially, it saves developers and architects weeks of manual effort and answers the age old question: ‘How much yield can we get from this site?’"

Alternative concepts by ArchiStar Parametric Site Maximiser.

Diverse site concepts via ArchiStar Parametric Site Maximiser.

“What this is doing is helping the conceptual stage it is only one piece of the puzzle,” Coorey said.

“There’s much needed to be done by competent architects before a project can be competed.”

A world-first technology, ArchiStar also provides implications for more sustainable, economically-designed, aesthetically pleasing buildings.

The program takes into account local government planning regulations surrounding a development site. Based on building rules of any given area, ArchiStar-generated development concepts are shaped by the area’s legal limitations and opportunities, shaping the most economically viable project.

Coorey said the program can also detect sunlight and other external features.

“This allows potential developments to be designed with the maximum number of apartments with unobstructed views and direct sunlight.”

The Institute of Digital Design Australia revealed ArchiStar has already proven its competency, having helped a developer in India create an additional 120 apartments with unobstructed views in a recently completed development, with no building design changes.

Locally, an Australian developer successfully fit an extra eight units in a recently completed development with the same outcome.

With an already positive reaction to the technology and a four-week waiting period to get access, the Institute of Digital Design Australia predicts ArchiStar will soon be ready for larger urban planning functionalities like public space, mixed-use developments and retail.