# Building Performance with Forma & Opossum > This workshop introduces a comprehensive workflow that bridges the gap between rigorous environmental data, advanced parametric modeling, and final aesthetic presentation. Utilizing a powerful suite of tools, including the Autodesk Forma Rhino plugin, Ladybug, Honeybee, and Cycl… ## At a glance - Format: On-demand course - Price: €85.00 (list €100.00) - Difficulty: Beginner - Duration: 8 Hours - Schedule: Jun 13-14, 2026 - Instructors: Olaf Olden - Categories: Sustainability, Structural Analysis - Software: Rhinoceros 3D, Grasshopper 3D, Ladybug, Autodesk Forma, Opossum, Wallacei, Cyclops - Students: 24 - Rating: 5.0 / 5 - Canonical: https://paacademy.com/course/building-performance-with-forma-opossum - Enroll: https://paacademy.com/course/building-performance-with-forma-opossum --- ## About this course Building Performance with Forma & Opossum is a 2-day workshop on PAACADEMY that teaches a complete environmental simulation workflow for office building design. Using Grasshopper 3D with Ladybug, Honeybee, Cyclops, and the Autodesk Forma Rhino plugin, participants analyze weather, microclimate, daylight, solar, energy, and thermal comfort, then use Galapagos and Opossum to run single and multi-objective optimizations. The workflow also generates an automatic Bill of Quantities for embodied carbon mapping. ## What you'll learn - Perform weather, wind, and microclimate analysis using Ladybug and the Forma Rhino plugin. - Run daylight and solar simulations using Cyclops. - Develop energy models and thermal comfort analysis using Ladybug & Honeybee. - Manage Grasshopper data structures with Telepathy, Pufferfish & Wombat to generate a BOQ and map embodied carbon. - Generate and evaluate parametric design sets using an in-house Design Explorer, with optimization via Galapagos & Opossum. - Integrate simulation results with AI rendering tools for final visual synthesis. ## Methodology In this workshop, we will focus on an office building typology, emphasizing the balance between human-centric comfort and building performance. Set within an existing urban context, the design will prioritize data-driven metrics without sacrificing architectural articulation. We will start with weather data analysis using Ladybug, followed by rapid, early-stage site context evaluation utilizing the Forma Rhino plugin for wind and microclimate studies. Once the baseline is established, we will use Cyclops to run interactive daylight and solar hours simulations. To assess deeper building performance, Ladybug and Honeybee will be utilized to configure the building's energy setup and calculate thermal comfort. To navigate the massive amount of data generated by these simulations, we will set up an advanced data management framework. This will allow us to generate a brute-force dataset of design iterations, which participants will analyze using a custom, in-house Design Explorer. Finally, we will use Galapagos for single-objective optimization and Opossum for multi-objective criteria, iteratively refining the building before blending the technical outputs with AI-generated visual aesthetics. Participants will work individually throughout the workshop. A robust parametric framework will be provided, utilizing Telepathy, Pufferfish, and Wombat to demonstrate best practices for data management and script optimization. This workflow, along with its logic, will be explained during the introductory session. Once the performance scripts (Forma, Cyclops, Honeybee) are in place, participants will explore two distinct methodologies for design selection: navigating a brute-force iteration space using the Design Explorer, and utilizing evolutionary solvers (Galapagos and Opossum) for algorithmic optimization.******** ### Program of the Workshop Day 1 - Introduction: Overview of goals, structure, and PAacademy introduction. - Weather & Context Analysis: Weather data study using Ladybug and wind/microclimate analysis with Forma Rhino plugin. - Data Management & Carbon Mapping: Grasshopper logic using Telepathy, Pufferfish & Wombat to generate a BOQ and calculate embodied carbon. - Daylight & Solar Studies: Cyclops setup for daylight and solar performance analysis. - Energy & Comfort Modeling: Using Ladybug & Honeybee for energy simulation, thermal comfort, and operational carbon. - Assignment & Q&A Day 2 - Assignment Review - Brute-Force & Design Explorer: Large-scale iteration generation and filtering using the in-house Design Explorer. - Optimization Strategies: Galapagos (single-objective) and Opossum (multi-objective) for performance-driven design. - AI Rendering & Visualization: Translating optimized results into presentation-ready AI-generated visuals. - Homework & Wrap-up ## Curriculum ### Session 1 - Introduction & PAACADEMY Updates (05:15) - Parametric Design Optimization Framework (10:43) - Forma Rhino Integration Foundations (39:22) - Parametric Environmental Simulation Pipeline (30:47) - Building Performance Analytics (36:24) - Urban Massing Optimization (50:59) - Multi-Objective Solver Metrics Synthesis (47:52) ### Session 2 - Facade Optimization Systems (50:36) - Honeybee Spatial Thermal Modeling (54:48) - Performance Simulation Engineering (53:06) - Thermodynamic Building Envelope Simulation (07:40) ## FAQ ### How does this workshop help with early-stage sustainability analysis? You will use Autodesk Forma and Ladybug to run rapid wind, solar, and microclimate simulations right from the start. This allows you to optimize building performance before your design is locked in. ### Does this workflow automate tedious embodied carbon calculations? Yes. You will learn to use Grasshopper to automatically extract a precise Bill of Quantities (BOQ) from your model. This enables instant embodied carbon mapping ### Will this workshop help me evaluate different design options? You will learn two methods: manually filtering a large "brute-force" dataset using an in-house Design Explorer, and using algorithmic solvers (Galapagos and Opossum) to automatically find designs that balance thermal comfort with strict carbon limits. ### Is the Grasshopper scripting too complex for a two-day workshop? A robust, pre-optimized Grasshopper framework is provided for you. We will explain the underlying logic step-by-step so you can focus on running simulations and refining your architecture rather than debugging complex data trees. ### Will I learn how to present these technical findings visually? You will learn to integrate your optimized performance data and translate strict engineering metrics into beautiful, client-ready architectural visuals. ### What is Opossum and how does it differ from Galapagos in Grasshopper optimization? Both Galapagos and Opossum are optimization solvers that run inside Grasshopper, but they operate differently. Galapagos is a single-objective genetic algorithm solver, meaning it optimizes for one performance target at a time. Opossum uses machine-learning-based surrogate modeling to handle multi-objective optimization, balancing several competing criteria simultaneously, such as thermal comfort, operational carbon, and embodied carbon, with far fewer simulation runs than a brute-force approach. This workshop uses both: Galapagos for single-objective refinement and Opossum for full multi-criteria performance optimization. ### What does the Building Performance with Forma and Opossum workshop cover? Day 1 covers weather and microclimate analysis using Ladybug and the Autodesk Forma Rhino plugin, a Grasshopper data management framework using Telepathy, Pufferfish, and Wombat to generate a Bill of Quantities and map embodied carbon, daylight and solar simulations using Cyclops, and energy modeling with thermal comfort analysis using Ladybug and Honeybee. Day 2 covers brute-force design iteration using a custom Design Explorer, single-objective and multi-criteria optimization with Galapagos and Opossum, and final AI-assisted rendering and visualization of optimized results. ### What prior experience do I need for this building performance workshop? This workshop is advanced in nature and requires a working knowledge of Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper before attending. Participants should be comfortable with basic Grasshopper scripting and data structures, as the workshop introduces complex plugins including Telepathy, Pufferfish, Wombat, Ladybug, Honeybee, and Cyclops within a pre-built parametric framework. The framework logic is explained during the introductory session, but prior familiarity with environmental simulation concepts in architecture will also be beneficial. ### What will I produce at the end of this building performance workshop? Participants will complete a full environmental performance workflow applied to an office building typology, including a Grasshopper script with automated Bill of Quantities and embodied carbon mapping, a brute-force parametric dataset analyzed through the in-house Design Explorer, an optimized design outcome developed through Galapagos and Opossum solvers, and presentation-ready visuals produced by integrating the simulation outputs with AI rendering tools.