VisualARQ adds architectural BIM tools to Rhino 3D, connecting parametric building objects with model information, drawing production and quantity reporting. It lets architects develop a building using walls, openings and other architectural elements while retaining access to Rhino’s freeform modelling environment. Ready to buy? See the VisualARQ licences.

The emphasis is flexible BIM authoring: conventional building components can sit alongside custom geometry, and Grasshopper definitions can become reusable architectural styles. This supports projects where the design needs both structured building information and the freedom to develop distinctive forms.

Build With Parametric Architectural Objects

VisualARQ provides walls, curtain walls, doors, windows, beams, columns, slabs, roofs, stairs, railings and other architectural objects. Their styles organise recurring geometry and attributes, giving related elements a consistent definition while allowing individual instances to be placed and adjusted.

Walls can contain multiple layers with different thicknesses, heights, materials and display attributes. They can follow curves, extend vertically to other geometry or be created from Rhino solids, providing several routes from an architectural idea to a building element.

Coordinate Walls and Openings

Doors and windows snap into walls, create openings and remain linked to their host. Wall intersections are resolved in both the 3D model and the 2D representation, with controls for joins and component wrapping.

These relationships help keep the model coherent as layouts develop. Instead of treating a door opening and its surrounding wall as unrelated geometry, the architectural objects carry a connection that supports further editing and documentation.

Create Custom Objects With Grasshopper Styles

Grasshopper styles turn definitions into VisualARQ object styles. The supported categories extend from walls, windows and curtain walls to stairs, railings, furniture and general elements, allowing a custom parametric design to be used as a structured architectural component.

A definition is prepared, converted into a style and then inserted and edited through VisualARQ. This gives a practice a way to package its own design logic into reusable objects, with controls that suit a particular component rather than a generic fixed catalogue.

Automate Modelling and Retrieve Information

VisualARQ’s Grasshopper components create objects and styles and retrieve their information. Parameters such as wall height, layer count and thickness can form part of a wider definition, connecting architectural objects with computational design workflows.

This complements Grasshopper styles: styles define reusable object behaviour, while the component toolset helps create and interrogate those objects as part of a larger process. Together, they support repeated layouts, controlled variations and information-led modelling.

Develop Documentation From the Model

VisualARQ links architectural documentation to the 3D model, with plan and section representations and controls over how objects appear in drawings. Wall layers can have different rendering, printing and display attributes, allowing the same element to communicate appropriately in model views and technical drawings.

Keeping the documentation connected to the model supports coordinated revisions. Drawing quality still comes from deliberate choices about representation, detail and annotation, with the building geometry providing a consistent source for that work.

Produce Dynamic Quantity Reports

Quantity take-off tools report information from VisualARQ objects and Rhino geometry. Table styles define which objects and properties to include, from area, length and volume to custom parameters, with grouping and sorting controls for organising the results.

The dynamic table panel responds to model changes and supports filtering by style, building, level or layer. Totals can show sums, counts or averages, and reports can be exported to Excel. This makes the model useful as a source of project information as well as geometry.

Exchange Building Models Through IFC

VisualARQ includes IFC import and export for exchanging building models with other AEC applications. Its documentation describes IFC 2×3 and IFC 4 workflows, connecting Rhino-based design with wider project coordination.

For a useful exchange, align object classifications, property requirements and the chosen export workflow with the receiving team. Reviewing a representative model in the destination application helps confirm that the required geometry and information arrive as intended.

Try VisualARQ

Download the official VisualARQ evaluation to explore architectural modelling, custom styles, documentation and model exchange in Rhino.

VisualARQ forms part of the architectural BIM toolset covered on this site. The Rhino 3D plugins guide by discipline sets out what each tool covers, which ones need their own Rhino licence, and how the options fit together.