# Opossum courses

> **PAACADEMY offers advanced online courses on the Opossum Grasshopper plugin, teaching architects how to use machine learning-based surrogate modeling to optimize building performance efficiently.**

Opossum is a Grasshopper plugin for machine learning-based optimization developed by Simon Watt, Mostapha Sadeghipour Roudsari, and others. Unlike evolutionary optimization tools such as Wallacei that use genetic algorithms, Opossum uses surrogate modeling, a machine learning approach where a predictive model of the design space is built from a relatively small number of evaluated samples, and optimized against rather than simulating every single iteration.

At PAACADEMY, Opossum is taught in _Building Performance with Forma and Opossum_ by Olaf Olden, emphasizing its role in high-speed environmental analysis:

- **Surrogate Modeling:** Bypassing computationally expensive simulations by predicting performance based on machine learning data.
- **Time Efficiency:** Solving multi-objective optimization problems (like balancing daylight and thermal comfort) in a fraction of the time required by genetic algorithms.
- **Sustainable Workflow:** Integrating seamlessly with Ladybug and Honeybee to ensure climate-adaptive building massing and facade design.

## At a glance

- Software hub: Opossum
- Courses listed: 1
- Canonical: https://paacademy.com/software/opossum

## Courses

- [Building Performance with Forma & Opossum](https://paacademy.com/course/building-performance-with-forma-opossum)

## FAQ

### What is Opossum and how does it work in Grasshopper?

Opossum is a Grasshopper plugin for machine learning-based optimization using surrogate modeling. It builds a predictive model of the design performance space from a limited number of simulated samples, then optimizes against this surrogate model rather than requiring full simulation of every design variant. This reduces computation time for optimization problems where individual simulations are expensive. At PAACADEMY, it is taught in _Building Performance with Forma and Opossum_ alongside Wallacei, Ladybug and Honeybee.

### How does Opossum differ from Wallacei for architectural optimization?

Wallacei uses genetic algorithms, evaluating populations of design variants through full simulation in an evolutionary search process. Opossum uses surrogate modeling, building a machine learning model of the performance space from fewer samples and optimizing against this model. Both are taught in PAACADEMY's _Building Performance with Forma and Opossum_ course, giving students an understanding of which method is appropriate for different optimization problems and simulation budgets.

### Do I need prior optimization experience to take PAACADEMY's Opossum course?

No. _Building Performance with Forma and Opossum_ is classified as beginner level and is designed for architects and sustainability consultants who are new to computational performance analysis and optimization. The course teaches environmental simulation and optimization from foundational principles, covering Opossum alongside Ladybug, Honeybee, Cyclops and Wallacei within a complete performance workflow.