Autodesk’s FAQ for its Autodesk University 2026 announcements asks whether Forma, its cloud platform for architecture, engineering and construction, will replace Revit. The answer, in a September 15 article by Autodesk executive vice president Amy Bunszel, is “Over time, yes.” She writes that more of the design, analysis, coordination and documentation work done in Revit will move into Forma, that Autodesk will keep investing in Revit, and that it will not force a sudden transition. At a general contractor, the change reaches the VDC coordinator who pulls design models into clash detection and the document controller who manages the project’s file set.
The question has circulated since the conference. Hayley Swords, who hosts the Built For Tomorrow construction technology leadership podcast, asked it on LinkedIn. She wrote that Autodesk is not saying Revit is going away, and she described a gradual shift in which Revit becomes one part of a larger connected system of tools. Autodesk’s FAQ also describes a gradual change, and it answers the replacement question yes.
What changed
Autodesk has moved in steps over the past year.
- On September 16, 2025, Autodesk announced that Revit would become the first Forma Connected Client, its label for a desktop product tied directly into Forma. That announcement said, “Forma is not replacing Revit, it’s extending it.”
- On March 24, 2026, Autodesk Construction Cloud became part of Forma, and its products took Forma names. Autodesk said no data migration was required and that licensing, permissions, folder structures and integrations stayed as they were.
- On August 20, 2026, an Autodesk News Q&A on the connected client said more work will happen directly in Forma over time.
- On September 15, 2026, the AU 2026 FAQ answered the replacement question yes, and Autodesk said Civil 3D will become the next connected client.
| Old name | New name |
|---|---|
| Autodesk Construction Cloud | Autodesk Forma |
| Autodesk Docs | Forma Data Management |
| Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro | Forma Design Collaboration |
| Autodesk Build | Forma Build |
| Autodesk Takeoff | Forma Takeoff |
| Autodesk Estimate | Forma Estimate |
| Preconstruction Bundle | Forma for Preconstruction |
| Model Management Bundle | Forma for Model Management |
| Construction Operations Bundle | Forma for Construction Operations |
| Autodesk Construction Cloud Connect (ACC Connect) | Forma Construction Connect |
Forma Data Management, formerly Autodesk Docs, is now what Autodesk calls the common data environment for all of Forma. A common data environment is the shared repository where every company on a job finds the current drawings, models and approvals. The AI agents Autodesk announced for construction teams at the same event are covered in our September 25 post.
What it does
Today the connected client is a design-side feature. According to Autodesk’s Revit 2027 help pages and its August Q&A, an architect working in a Revit cloud model can reference other design models in a Forma scenario, add terrain, buildings and parcel data from the Forma Data Marketplace, and run Forma analyses such as wind without leaving Revit. Autodesk says this cuts the import and export steps between Forma and Revit.
For a contractor, the AU 2026 changes that touch coordination and document control sit in Forma Data Management and Model Coordination. Today a GC often holds a file until it clears review, then copies it to another folder with different permissions so subcontractors can see it. Autodesk says Smart Controls change who can see a file when its approval status changes, so the file stays in one place. In Model Coordination, Autodesk says teams can view point clouds with the federated model and run clash checks against a saved search set. It also says schedule activities can now be linked to model elements for a 4D simulation in Forma.
Civil 3D comes next. Autodesk says it will start as a tech preview that references Forma and Revit designs and shares one geolocation engine with them, which is meant to reduce the manual coordinate transforms that leave civil and building models misaligned.
Evidence so far
None of the sources cited here reports an independent measurement of these workflows. These claims are Autodesk’s alone:
- Connected workflows reduce the information teams rebuild as a project moves between phases.
- Smart Controls remove the duplicate files created by copying between folders.
- The shared geolocation engine reduces manual transforms and model misalignment.
Autodesk’s article describes the Kraft Group using Forma Data Management and Forma construction tools at Gillette Stadium, with no figures attached.
Autodesk’s own help pages set limits on the Revit tech preview. Autodesk recommends against using its features on production projects. Once a project administrator adds a project to the preview, the project cannot be removed from it. Processing the project’s Revit cloud models can take up to 30 minutes, and Autodesk lists slower Synchronize with Central on large, complex models as a known issue.
How to measure it on your projects
Track the handoff count per coordination cycle. That is the number of times someone exports, re-uploads or copies a model or sheet set between the design team’s issue and the coordination meeting, including folder copies made only to change who can see a file. This is the manual work Autodesk says Forma removes, and you can count it today on any platform.
Capture the baseline on one active job before changing anything:
- For a month of coordination meetings, have the VDC coordinator log each export, upload and folder copy, with the file name and the minutes it took.
- Mark the handoffs that exist only to change permissions. Smart Controls is aimed at those.
- Count the clash runs that needed a model re-upload first.
Try the Revit tech preview on a copy of a project, because joining cannot be undone and Autodesk advises against production use. A first step this week is to start the handoff log at the next coordination meeting on one job.
Availability and cost
Revit as a Forma Connected Client is a tech preview for Revit 2027 and later. It works on Revit cloud models in projects stored in the United States, European Union or Australian data regions, and a project administrator turns it on one project at a time. The Autodesk pages cited here give no price for it.
Civil 3D will start as a tech preview, and Autodesk gave no date. Autodesk says Forma Data Management Essentials is included in standalone subscriptions to AutoCAD, Revit and Civil 3D. Several of the construction features announced at AU 2026 are in beta on separate timelines, and Autodesk points customers to its Forma product roadmap for dates.