One project, two surfaces. Build moodboards on a freeform whiteboard, then turn a real site into a conceptual 3D massing — draw solids and voids, study sun and shadow, all without opening BIM.
Float between a moodboard and a 3D massing surface anytime. They live in the same file.
A real canvas engine for fast concept boards.
Real site to conceptual form, on a map or in free 3D.
Everything you need before anyone opens a BIM or CAD tool.
Vector basemaps with your form extruded in real map context.
Load surrounding buildings from open map data, then edit heights or remove them.
Drive the sun by date and time, or set height and angle directly.
Orbit a free-form model with real cast shadows.
Footprint, coverage, GFA, FAR and height — colour-coded to limits.
Pre-design PDF one-pager, PNG snapshots and read-only links.
From idea to shareable study in minutes.
Drop references and notes onto a moodboard to set direction.
Switch to 3D, draw the site and massing, then carve solids and voids.
Check sun, shadow and metrics, then export a PDF or send a link.
What the first two phases of a project actually involve — and where a browser tool fits.
References, materials, colours and moods — the visual language the project should speak.
The language meets reality: a parcel, zoning rules, a target floor area, and the sun.
Plans, sections and coordination — the chosen direction gets drawn properly.
BIM, details and permits — precision work on decisions already made.
Floor plates accumulate into GFA as you draw — the counter updates with every block.
Height and floor count are checked live against the envelope you set — colour-coded to limits.
Drive the sun by date and time and watch cast shadows respond on the map or in 3D orbit.
Draw solids, carve voids, duplicate the study — try five options in an afternoon.
Y+ does not replace your BIM tools — it protects them from the churn of the first two phases.
When the concept is agreed, you take the numbers and the form into documentation with the expensive decisions already made.
The short version of everything people ask before their first study.
Yes. The free tier includes both surfaces — moodboards and 3D massing — with local saving and exports, supported by ads on the site's content pages. Y+ Pro removes ads and unlocks Google Drive sync so your projects follow you across devices.
No. Open the studio and start drawing — projects save to your browser's local storage on your machine. You only connect a Google account if you want Drive-backed storage, and even then projects go to a private app folder in your own Drive, not to our servers. We do not run any.
They are exact for what you drew: floor areas are computed from your massing's floor plates, and compliance is checked against the zoning envelope you entered. What they are not is survey-grade — parcel boundaries traced on a web map carry the basemap's accuracy, and local codes have subtleties (bonus floors, mezzanine rules, exemptions) that you encode yourself. Treat the numbers as feasibility arithmetic, then confirm with your local planning documents.
From open map data (OpenStreetMap). Coverage varies by city — dense city centres are usually well mapped, informal fabrics less so. You can edit the loaded context: correct a neighbour's height, or delete buildings that no longer exist, so shadow studies reflect the street as it actually is.
No, and it is not meant to. Y+ covers the phase before BIM makes sense: reference gathering, site feasibility, massing options, sun studies and the first client conversation. Once a direction is chosen, you move to your documentation tools with the massing logic and the zoning maths already settled.
A pre-design PDF one-pager that combines the moodboard, the massing views and the metrics table; PNG snapshots of any view; and read-only share links for reviewers who should see the study but not edit it.
Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on desktop. The 3D massing surface uses WebGL, so a laptop or desktop is recommended; share links open fine on phones for viewing.