Hi, I'm Caoimhe Loftus - Digital Lead at Arcadis. A few weeks ago, I posted on LinkedIn about an Apartment Calculator Dynamo Script I had created using the Dynamo Player in Forma Beta. That post went viral – it has since been liked over 400 times and has been seen by close to 35,000 people! So the Forma team invited me to share how I created it:
The Dynamo Player in Forma beta helps you run Dynamo scripts within Forma – without having to open the script, much like Dynamo Player is used to run scripts in Revit. The Dynamo Player in Forma Beta includes two sample scripts, one to create a Pixelated Tower and a Cost Calculator. The Cost Calculator script uses a node (from the DynamoFormaBeta package) to extract area and function data from buildings selected in Forma. These areas are then multiplied by costs values to calculate an estimated cost.
I adapted this script to solve an everyday problem – calculating unit numbers. This is a task we usually do using a template in a spreadsheet, where we input the area, mix and unit sizes to get an estimated unit count. Bringing this functionality into Forma removes the need for an extra software and means we can get instant feedback on unit numbers as we design.
I started with the Cost Calculator script as a base and instead of multiplying the areas by the cost I divided the NIA by unit mix and sizes to get my unit count. Initially I had set values for the unit sizes (based on standard UK unit sizes) and allowed the user to set mix using “inputs” but later decided that the script would be more useful if the unit sizes were also set as “inputs” so that anyone running the script could modify these values. Building in flexibility early on means this script can be used on more than one team or project. But if an additional unit type is needed I can easily edit the script and adjust those parameters.
The only downside to the Dynamo Player in Forma Beta is that it requires you to have Revit 2024 and Dynamo open in the background to run the script. Ideally, I’d like to be able to run the script without having these programs open as it makes it a little less accessible. Hopefully, this is something that the Forma team will be able to resolve with later iterations.
I’m excited to see what additional information is exposed in future iterations of the Dynamo Player in Forma extension. I’d love to be able to export more detailed information about my proposals for scheduling or comparing options. I’m also excited to see what other users build – the potential really is endless.
If you are interested in getting started in Dynamo I recommend reading the Dynamo Primer and watching the accompanying video tutorials prepared by John Pierson. The video “Converting an Existing Graph for Use in Dynamo Player” is a really good resource to get you familiar with setting up your “inputs” and “outputs” to use in the Dynamo Player in Forma. Last but not least if you are looking for help I recommend searching and asking in the Dynamo forum it’s a friendly and helpful community who will put you on the right path. I know I’ve solved many problems this way!
Thanks to the Autodesk Forma Team for letting me share my experience with the Dynamo Player in Forma Beta and special thanks to my colleagues Kashif Dafedar and Juan Ortiz who helped me test and refine the script.
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