At Autodesk University 2025, Autodesk unveiled Forma Building Design, a new cloud-based application that expands its Forma suite to cover the detailed design phase of building projects. The goal is to move beyond early-stage site planning into more precise building modeling and analysis. Forma Building Design is part of Autodesk’s broader vision for Forma to become the cloud backbone for all phases of a project’s lifecycle, what they call the AEC/O (architecture, engineering, construction/operations) industry cloud, reports Architosh.
Forma Building Design will offer CAD and BIM professionals tools for generating building models with both speed and accuracy. It includes automated design tools and embedded building analysis capabilities. These let users evaluate environmental, site, and design performance without leaving the Forma cloud environment.
To mark the distinction between phases, Autodesk is rebranding the current Forma product: What’s now called Forma (used for site design and early-stage planning) will become Forma Site Design. When projects reach the stage of actual building form and structure, users shift into Forma Building Design.
Another key piece is the “Forma Connected Client” status for desktop tools, starting with Revit. Revit users will be able to access contextual data from Forma’s cloud (like environmental analysis tools, collaboration features, and marketplace data) directly from the Revit desktop without extra exports/imports/import workflow disruptions. Other Autodesk desktop tools will follow.
Forma Building Design is launching in beta later this year, with a waitlist available.
Autodesk is pushing Forma from conceptual/site planning into more detailed design while making interoperability, environmental analysis, and cloud connectivity central. The move reflects trends toward cloud-native BIM workflows, greater integration, and more powerful early analysis, all happening earlier in project lifecycles.