ModCity

About ModCity

Urban development is often biased towards either speed, costs or quality, seldom reaching an optimum. ModCity supports projects with a set of integral 3D tools that directly link a design or urban massing study to financial and other calculation models - without having to manually transfer data to spreadsheets.

This makes fast design cycles possible while keeping a grip on finance, quality and process, and can help fulfil the promise of inclusive and sustainable development.

ModCity B.V. is based in Heemstede, the Netherlands, and has been facilitating faster, better and more efficient urban design processes for over 16 years.

Area Information Modelling and the Urban Toolbox

ModCity's proprietary software, the Urban Toolbox, supports what the company calls Area Information Modelling - BIM thinking applied at neighbourhood, area or city scale rather than to a single building.

That shift in scale is the substance of the product. Building-level BIM is well established, but the decisions that determine whether an area development works financially are made at masterplan scale, where teams have typically fallen back on spreadsheets disconnected from the drawing.

The stated goal is to disrupt the traditionally linear and monodisciplinary decision-making process.

Three-Step Workflow

1. Setting the Stage

Every intervention in the urban environment should be based on a thorough analysis of the present situation. ModCity integrates GIS and other datasets from interdependent disciplines of area development - cadastral data, land use, mobility, environmental issues, water and urban density - and presents them in a single interface serving as an underlayer for 2D and 3D studies.

• GIS and CAD import / export
• Calculation of financial and spatial constraints
• Development of a database for the existing context

2. Developing Scenarios

The Urban Toolbox combines the 3D modelling and visualisation potential of SketchUp with data capability, creating a common digital playground for architects, urban designers, developers, investors and policy-makers. The pipeline requires no training and can be implemented across building teams, so fast design cycles allow the solution space to be explored more broadly.

• Parametric modelling
• Live sync with Excel spreadsheets
• Comparison of multiple scenarios at the click of a button

3. Optimising the Design

With real-time monitoring and evaluation, teams can test multiple detailed design scenarios against design, legal compliance, financial viability and more. Clients can link their own database or parameters to the Toolbox, or use the extensive included defaults. All financial models are DCF-based and suitable for decision-making.

• Real-time financial models
• Reports generated with chosen KPIs
• Customisable models

ModCity for Municipalities

A municipality's role can range from merely facilitating developments to active participation, and both are complex because each development must comply with local and national policy.

• Analyse and select suitable locations for new developments and transformations
• Speed up internal planning processes
• Assess development plans from project developers
• Land development cash flow modelling
• Assess land value using residual land value and other valuation methods

ModCity for Developers and Investors

• Control cash flows, capital requirements and yield during each development phase
• Quickly investigate different design concepts
• Use existing Excel models linked to ModCity's calculation models
• Support discussions with municipalities on land value and other issues

ModCity for Architects and Urbanists

For designers the challenge is finding a solution where spatial quality, functionality and performance - financial, mobility, sustainability - are in balance. ModCity brings the tools to test multiple urban massing options into the SketchUp environment.

• Fast and intuitive parametric modelling
• Rapid design generation and iteration
• Direct feedback on urban density, land use, real estate programme, parking and traffic generation

ModCity-as-a-Service

• Creation and assessment of 2D and 3D massing studies
• Inventory, analysis and management of spatial and financial data during planning
• DCF models and dashboarding for land development, real estate development and management, rent, land lease and public space
• Calculation models for land use, real estate programme and diversity, parking, traffic generation, water use and management, energy and material use
• Financial consultancy for urban development projects
• Valuation of land and real estate development projects
• Selection and comparison of potential development or transformation locations

Origins and Team

ModCity was founded by LiPS life.people.space, Conix RDBM Architects, Big Picture and Robin Seijdel. Robin is the main face behind ModCity, with a background in Sustainable Urban Development and contributions to the development of several Decision Support Systems.

Clients and Partners

ModCity works with Dutch and Belgian municipalities including Amsterdam and Heemskerk, alongside partners such as Big Picture, Conix RDBM, LiPS, Breen Amsterdam and Coup Group.