Generate building and solar designs in Google Earth

This product or feature is Experimental (pre-GA). Pre-GA products and features might have limited support, and changes to pre-GA products and features might not be compatible with other pre-GA versions. Pre-GA Offerings are covered by the Google Maps Platform Service Specific Terms. For more information, see the launch stage descriptions.

Getting started

Welcome to design features in Google Earth! During the Experimental phase, you can generate building and solar designs, view them on the map, and evaluate basic metrics using a site study.

Terms

The following terms apply only to design features in Google Earth to create building and solar designs.

1.1 Commercial Use. Commercial use of the design you create with design features in Google Earth is permitted.

1.2 Disclaimer. Design features in Google Earth are intended for conceptual planning and design. Earth design features should not be used for construction or structural engineering designs.

1.3 Experimental. Design features in Google Earth are still in the Experimental phase. If you are interested in using design features, register your interest. Designs generated during Experimental may not be compatible with future versions of Google Earth.

1.4 Changes. Google may change, discontinue, or suspend an Experimental feature at any time without notice. Experimental features may not be compatible with Generally Available features.

What's new

Description	Release date (YYYY-MM-DD)
More control and flexibility for units Global settings for distance and area units are now available. Changing these units from the site selection panel won't affect these global settings.	2025-01-06
Better support for exploring a study's generated designs The top scoring design is automatically designated with a "Best Overall" label for easier identification and faster reviews. You can now rename designs to help distinguish between designs. Your favorite designs in a study can be "starred" for easier collaboration. Easier building selection and customization Buildings are automatically recommended based on the study's selected Use Types (retail, residential, etc.) for faster study configuration. You can now customize select building dimensions (use type floor range, lease depth, etc.) for more flexibility and design generation control. Design generation quality improvements Google Earth supports better street connectivity between the site and the surrounding area for fewer unintended dead end streets. Google Earth supports better utilization of a site's square footage by adding parks and/or parking lots to previously unused square footage in between buildings.	2024-12-05
Welcome to our first update to design features in Google Earth! What: You can now generate building and solar designs directly in Google Earth, using the new site studies feature. Why: We want to make it faster and easier for professionals to explore feasibility for real estate and clean energy development, and find more sustainable options.	2024-10-14

Projects and design studies

Design studies can be managed along with your other projects on the Google Earth home screen. Collaboration, sharing, and access management are all controlled within the project and a design will inherit the existing project settings. Learn more about managing projects.

Create a design study within a map project

You can generate building and solar designs in Google Earth using a design study. Design studies are saved automatically within a map project in Google Drive.

To create a site study, do one of the following:

• From the home screen, select + New  >  New map  >  Tools  >  Generate building designs, Explore Solar Feasibility, or Explore building & solar designs.
• Open a project and select Tools  >  Generate building designs, Explore Solar Feasibility, or Explore building & solar designs.

Site selection

After creating a site study, you can select a design type, pick an initial site by either drawing parcels or selecting tax lots, and optionally add more parcels. Sites can be as small as 0.5 acres and as large as 10 acres.

1. In the Tools menu, select Explore building & solar designs.
2. Select either Generate building designs or Explore solar feasibility.
3. Search for a location or manually zoom into your chosen location on the map.

Draw a site

1. Click Draw site in the panel on the right.
2. Click the map to set points that outline your parcel.
3. To remove a point, click undo Undo on the right.
4. To complete your parcel, double-click on your last point.

Select a tax lot

1. Click Select tax lots in the panel on the right.
2. Click the map to select a tax lot.
3. To add another tax lot to your parcel, click the map.
4. To complete your parcel, click Save on the right.

Add more parcels and finish site selection

1. Add additional parcels by drawing them on the map or selecting tax lots.
2. After you are done, click Finish site selection.

Create designs

After completing site selection, you can provide inputs to change how designs are generated. Inputs are saved automatically inside of a site study — you can always return to complete them later.

Generate building designs

To generate building designs, Google Earth takes several inputs into account, including zoning, green space requirements, building types, and sustainability strategies.

1. Enter zoning constraints for each parcel in the Site step.
2. Enter information about the development program, like the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) or target area for each use type in the Program step.
3. Enter information about green space requirements in the Program step.
4. Enter parking demand ratios in the Parking step.

5. Select building types in the Building types step.

   Note: Your building types must contain only the use types that you selected in the Program step.

6. Select sustainability strategies in the Sustainability step.

7. After entering or adjusting the inputs, click Generate to create your designs.

Explore solar feasibility

To determine solar feasibility for a given site, Google Earth takes financial assumptions and expected energy usage into account.

1. Enter key assumptions in the Financials step.
2. Enter energy use in the Energy use step.
3. After entering or adjusting the inputs, click Generate to create your designs.

View designs

After design generation begins, a design section appears inside the associated map project. Clicking on this section lets you navigate into a view to see the holistic results of the generation. Designs will appear in 5 to 10 minutes inside the design section within the left-hand panel. Key information is shown for each design. Clicking on a design will render it on the map and position the camera to display the design in the viewport.

Explore all generated designs in a list

1. Click By Date to view designs grouped based on the date the generation occurred.
2. Click All to view every design created within the current project.
3. Change Sort to modify how designs are ranked.
4. Click Starred to filter down the designs to only those that have been favorited within the project.

Explore a single design on a map

1. Select a design from the left hand panel to display it on the map.
2. Click View details.
3. Click Legend on the map to see the definition for each color rendered in a design on the map.
4. Change the style of the map by clicking Layers and selecting an option under Basemap.

Download designs

You can download files for any design using the Download icon. Files contain information about the selected design only.

Known issues

• Adding a building type without adding all the corresponding use types will lead to no designs being generated.
• Metrics don't appear if enabled when generating building designs.
• Sites can't be changed after choosing a design type and starting a draft of inputs.
• Thumbnails and downloaded images will have mesh tearing and other visual artifacts.
• There is noticeable Z-fighting between 2D geometry and the basemap, particularly in "map" mode.
• Listed designs may change sort order if they have the same score, and sometimes overlap on the map.