---
name: massing
description: Generate and compare early massing and design options against a brief and site constraints. Use to widen the option set at concept stage, testing several directions before committing to one, then structure the trade-offs for a client conversation.
---

# Options (Massing)

## What it does
Takes the brief and site constraints and proposes several distinct massing directions, each with its logic, trade-offs and a rough efficiency read.

## When to use
- Concept stage, to avoid anchoring on the first idea.
- Before a client workshop, to bring more than one option to the table.

## Instructions
1. Read the brief, the site-check output and any area/GFA targets.
2. Propose 3 to 5 genuinely different strategies (e.g. courtyard, bar, stacked, dispersed), not variations of one.
3. For each: describe the parti, how it responds to the site, the approximate efficiency (net-to-gross), and its main risk.
4. Keep judgement calls with the architect. This tool widens options; it does not choose.

## Output format
- One block per option: name, parti, site response, rough efficiency, main risk.
- A comparison table across all options.
- A short "what to test next" note.

## The one mistake to avoid
Do not let AI pick the scheme. The site, planning and buildability calls stay with the architect; this only makes the choice better informed.