If your landscape projects are still living in a separate CAD file from the rest of your design — plant schedules in a spreadsheet, terrain models redone by hand, irrigation runs sketched over a printout — LandsDesign brings all of that into Rhino as one connected BIM workflow.
LandsDesign is a landscape architecture and BIM plugin built specifically for Rhino 3D — if you don't yet own a Rhino licence, it's also available as RhinoLands, an all-in-one bundle that includes both Rhino 3D and the plugin together. It's used across the UK by landscape architects, urban planners, and environmental consultants who need botanically accurate planting plans and terrain modelling without leaving their existing Rhino file.
What LandsDesign Actually Does
At its core, LandsDesign turns Rhino into a dedicated landscape design platform, with tools that go well beyond generic 3D blocks:
- Plant database — over 1,800 species with real botanical data, seasonal 2D/3D representations, and custom plant import support.
- Dynamic terrain tools — build accurate terrain from contours, points, curves, or imported GIS data, with cut-and-fill volume calculations built in.
- Parametric hardscape — walls, paths, fences and stairs that automatically adapt as the terrain beneath them changes.
- Irrigation design — model full irrigation networks with automated pipe sizing based on water pressure, not just symbolic layout.
- Automated documentation — planting schedules, labels, and quantity take-offs update live as the 3D model changes, rather than being redrawn by hand.
- Grasshopper integration — a dedicated component library for automating planting layouts and running environmental analysis parametrically.
Who Actually Uses It
The plugin covers a wider range of work than "landscaping software" might suggest:
- Landscape architects designing residential gardens or public parks, where planting lists and drainage detail need to be technically accurate, not just pretty renders.
- Urban planners producing large-scale green infrastructure concepts with realistic vegetation density across a masterplan.
- Environmental consultants visualising ecological restoration projects and simulating plant growth over time for impact assessments.
- Real estate developers producing photorealistic site visualisations and seasonal fly-throughs for stakeholder presentations.
Where It Fits With BIM Workflows
LandsDesign is Windows-only and requires Rhino 7 or Rhino 8 as a host. It's built to sit alongside other BIM tools in the same environment rather than in isolation — it's particularly well suited to studios already using VisualARQ for architectural BIM, since terrain, hardscape, and building elements can be coordinated in a single Rhino model instead of round-tripping between separate applications.
Licensing Options
LandsDesign is sold as a perpetual licence — a one-time purchase with no recurring subscription. CADWAX supplies the full range of licence types:
- Commercial licence — for professional studio and business use.
- Academic licence — a reduced-price licence for eligible students, faculty, and educational institutions, intended for educational use.
- Lab licence — for institutions deploying LandsDesign across multiple teaching machines.
- Upgrade licence — for existing LandsDesign owners moving to the current version.
- 30x licence pack — volume pricing for studios and teams needing multiple seats.
Contact CADWAX for current UK pricing on any of these options.
Getting Started
Choosing between LandsDesign and RhinoLands?
CADWAX can help you find the right licence for your landscape architecture workflow.
Get in touch and we'll talk through whether the LandsDesign plugin or the all-in-one RhinoLands bundle fits your project scope.
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