Through receipt of government PropTech Round 4 Funding, London Borough of Haringey and London Borough of Barnet have been able to partner with VU.CITY to test and refine their SiteSolve tool to deliver quicker, easier, high-quality and policy compliant capacity assessments for the planning process.
The Challenge
Historically, the task has involved either the application of blunt formula or resource intensive studies by architects, urban designers or specialist consultants. SiteSolve allows planners to quickly and easily develop capacity options through a design-led approach, having regard to site specific design parameters.
the solution
SiteSolve is a generative AI tool that enables anybody to get robust fire-safety compliant unit reports with full 3D site capacity models. It allows users to input site-specific parameters and use either automated or manual tools to develop site capacity options and data which respond to those parameters. These parameters include open space requirements, height limits, housing targets, and local and strategic views (when used with VU.CITY).
As part of the PropTech project, both London Borough of Haringey and London Borough of Barnet have been working together with VU.CITY to identify and deliver software improvements to enhance the usability of SiteSolve for local authorities and develop a design-led methodology for its use.
the early impact
Early testing of SiteSolve has shown its potential to deliver design-led capacity assessments on a diverse range of sites as quickly as 15 min, using the generative functionality, or a couple of hours for more complex sites requiring manual adjustments. This is a significant increase in time savings from previous methods for design-led capacity assessments.
The ease of use enables users to quickly produce different capacity options for each site to help inform decision makers. In addition, decision makers appreciate the ability to visualise capacity models both with SiteSolve and in its surrounding context in VU.CITY. The fact that capacity models have been set up for emerging site allocations establishes a strong, broadly policy compliant, and compelling vision for officers and decision-makers to understand and build on when assessing development proposals.
looking ahead
Extensive testing and workshop of SiteSolve has contributed greatly to the VU.CITY roadmap. The team are also investigating broader application of the tool in other Council departments, such as housing, development management and regeneration.
Interested in how SiteSolve could support your planning team? Get in touch to learn more or collaborate.
