Toward the end of 2020, Autodesk completed its acquisition of Spacemaker, a Norway-based software solution for the design phase of construction projects. Today, Spacemaker is known as Autodesk Forma, an AI-powered cloud-based solution for planning and design, allowing architects to quickly iterate on and set up projects. Forma’s AI components, according to Autodesk, let users automate tedious tasks throughout a workflow in order to spend more time on the design process. Additionally, the AI can analyze contextual data like noise, wind, and more.
Though still relatively new in the context of Autodesk’s platform, Forma is a big part of the workflow for many projects, and recent updates have added even more value to the software. At the AIA25 Conference on Architecture & Design, being held this week in Boston, Autodesk announced a series of new updates to Forma that they say will “empower designers and makers to plan faster, design smarter, and collaborate better across the AECO (architecture, engineering, construction, and operations) lifecycle.”
There are two major pieces to these updates to Forma, and we’ll start with new connections with Esri in the form of ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma. This is currently in beta, but Autodesk indicates that full availability will arrive later this month. It’s not hard to understand the value of this kind of connection; bringing ArcGIS into this design process allows for even more geographic context to be brought into decision-making. As they point out in the blog announcing these updates (link above), this geographic data brought in by ArcGIS allows Forma users to visualize and design for real-world conditions, the ripple effects of which should be felt throughout later stages of the project as well.
“We’re excited to strengthen our partnership with Autodesk in creating a more cohesive project experience for the AECO industry,” said Kathleen Kewley, Esri director for AEC global business development, in a statement. “This will improve operational efficiency and drive better business outcomes by bringing Esri’s rich collection of data into Autodesk Forma.”
In addition to the connection with ArcGIS, Autodesk is also strengthening the connection between Forma and other pieces of the company’s series of solutions. Last year, they announced Forma’s connections to Autodesk Docs, their data repository for the AECO industry. Now, that connection is being extended further to bridge workflows between Forma and Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC). The rollout for this connection will take place over the next few months, according to Autodesk, as users will see Forma added as a navigation module within ACC.
From the industry perspective, there are a couple of big takeaways from these announcements around Forma. One is the expanded partnership between Autodesk and Esri. There has been more connection between these two leading companies over the last few years, and it marks a trend within the AEC industry. Specifically, there is more acknowledgement of the importance of geographic context with all of this work. It’s something that was highlighted in a webinar sponsored by Autodesk on Geo Week News, and also discussed with John Sayre at Geo Week 2025. The connection between geospatial and AEC is a core ethos of Geo Week as a whole, and two of the leaders in each area are continuing to prove that.
More generally, these updates also reflect a need within the AEC industry for more connected tools. A lack of clean integration is one of the most common issues you will hear when speaking with industry leaders about barriers to digital adoption today, and it’s clear that companies are trying to solve that issue. Whether it’s by integrations or acquisitions – this has a bit of both – having solutions “play nice” with each other, so to speak, is crucial.
We’re long past the days of not having the solutions available for this industry, but now there are so many siloed solutions that it might not even be worth utilizing everything that’s out there. When users can easily move between platforms, though, that is when leaders will be open to adding more solutions to enhance efficiency. Given how important ACC is to Autodesk’s customers, having this smoother connection between it and Forma should make firms more open to adopting the latter.
“Implementing Autodesk Forma has been powerful for improving efficiency, design exploration, and client communication,” said Páraic Walsh, digital and design technology manager at Australian architecture firm Gray Puksand, in a statement. “Forma’s intuitive conceptual tools allow for initial design exploration without detailed modelling and integrate seamlessly with Revit, Rhino, and SketchUp for smooth progression to later stages.”
