The ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension allows you to leverage your organization's GIS data and integrate it into your Autodesk Forma sites. Integrating your ArcGIS organization directly within Forma allows you to work in your existing design environment without the need to switch between platforms. The combination of GIS data with Forma's predesign software enables visualization of your designs with real-world context, providing valuable insights into your BIM projects and elevating more comprehensive designs by incorporating environmental, demographic, and infrastructure data. This ensures that designs are based on real-world data, enhancing their quality, fidelity, and accuracy.
Explore the Workflows tab to learn more about using the ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension and incorporating your ArcGIS organization's data into Autodesk Revit.
Use cases
The ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension can be used by engineering, planning, and design professionals to do the following:
- Import GIS data, such as parcel boundaries and land use classifications, into Autodesk Forma to assess the impact of proposed developments on the surrounding area, ensuring that new sites align with zoning regulations and community needs.
- Import GIS data on infrastructure networks, such as roads, utilities, and pipelines, into Autodesk Forma to incorporate existing infrastructure into your design models, ensuring compatibility and avoiding clashes during construction.
- Import GIS data on evacuation routes, emergency facilities, and flooding zones into Autodesk Forma to simulate and plan for emergency response scenarios, ensuring effective disaster preparedness and response.
Geospatial collaboration
Before getting started, you must first understand ArcGIS and Autodesk Forma concepts as they relate to the ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension.
Note:
To access the ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension, a Contributor or above user type is needed. See Access ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma to learn more.
ArcGIS
ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based GIS platform that allows you to create, share, and analyze spatial data and maps, while ArcGIS Enterprise is the self-hosted version that provides similar capabilities on your own on-premises infrastructure. Both platforms are accessible through the ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension.
See the ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise help pages to learn more.
Feature layers
A feature layer is a grouping of similar geographic features, for example, buildings, parcels, roads, and infrastructure. They are essential for displaying, managing, and analyzing vector data. They can represent points, lines, and polygons, each corresponding to different types of geographic features. ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma supports hosted feature layers, which are layers that are hosted either by ArcGIS Online or your ArcGIS Data Store in Enterprise. The following type of hosted feature layers are supported:
- Line feature layers—Represent linear features, such as roads, rivers, and utility lines. Lines are composed of a series of points connected in a specific order.
- Polygon feature layers—Represent area features, such as boundaries, lakes, and land use zones. Polygons are closed shapes defined by multiple connected points.
Note:
Point feature layers are not currently supported in the ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension.
Feature layer use cases
The following are some feature layer use cases for your Forma site:
- Manage zoning, infrastructure, and land use.
- Maintain utility networks such as water and electricity.
- Track habitats, pollution, and conservation.
- Manage incidents and evacuation routes.
- Analyze traffic and plan routes.
Learn more about hosted feature layers.
Imagery layers
Imagery layers refer to layers that display raster data (such as satellite imagery, aerial photography, or other remotely sensed data) on a map. These layers are used to visualize spatial information, analyze changes over time, and perform various types of geospatial analyses. The following are types of imagery layers that are supported in the ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension:
- Dynamic imagery layers—Refers to layers that are based on imagery services of raster data, such as satellite imagery, aerial photos, or other remotely sensed data.
- Tiled imagery layers—Refers to prerendered raster data that is stored in tiles and served as a tiled map service. These layers are optimized for rapid display and efficient performance, as they are designed to load specific sections (tiles) of an image depending on the user's extent, zoom level, and location on the map.
Imagery layer use cases
The following are some imagery layer use cases for your Forma site:
- Design interactive maps by overlaying vector data (for example, roads, boundaries) on top of imagery layers to understand the geographic context of your data.
- Visualize land use patterns for planning. Track construction, roads, and buildings.
- Track the condition of infrastructure such as bridges and utilities.
- Assess road conditions and traffic patterns.
Learn more about imagery layers.
ArcGIS Online resources
The following are some key ArcGIS Online resources:
ArcGIS Enterprise resources
The following are some key ArcGIS Enterprise resources:
Autodesk Forma
Autodesk Forma is a cloud software that provides easy-to-use tools for predesign and schematic design. This application includes a number of benefits to manage your design and planning needs in one place, such as the following:
- Site context
- 3D modeling
- Environmental analysis
Once you are familiar with the concepts above you are ready to access the ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma extension.