An AI-Enhanced Architectural Visualization Workflow Using Enscape and Veras

With the recent acquisition of EvolveLAB by Chaos, it will be exciting to see how the strengths of the Chaos AI Enhancer and Veras combine to create a more complete and robust workflow for architects and visualization specialists.

This article will highlight how I have used both Enscape and Veras, from early design in Forma to Revit renderings and book covers.

Introduction to AI visualization

Veras is a versatile AI-based tool used to create renderings based on geometry in Autodesk Forma, Autodesk Revit, or Trimble SketchUp, as well as rendered images and 3D models exported/saved to a file. Compared to more well-known text-to-image tools like Midjourney and Adobe Firely, the value here is extra control afforded the designer. However, Veras still allows for measured deviations on geometry and material assignments (if any have been made) to explore options and be inspired.

Compared to Veras, Enscape offers the most control over the rendered result, but the results are often discernible from reality. Enter Enscape’s built-in Chaos AI Enhancer tool, designed to carefully replace the people and vegetation with incredibly realistic-looking versions.

As with any AI tool for architects, the results must be reviewed for accuracy and appropriateness. For example, these tools might change the gender or ethnicity, which may be fine in some cases but not in others. It is also worth noting that, for better awareness and ability to mitigate the potential challenge, the same scene or different vantage points of the same space can look very different. Plus, these AI enhancements do not apply to videos or VR, only static rendered images.

Veras extension in Autodesk Forma

Autodesk Forma is gaining popularity among architects, given its ability to analyze early-phase massing (e.g., CFD wind, Traffic noise, embodied carbon, etc.). Since Forma is not a closed system, Versa developed an extension for it.

The model below is an example of a massing model with geometry created in Forma as well as imports from Rhino and Revit. This sample project is from a YouTube playlist series I created on Autodesk Forma, click here to learn more about Forma. I will also be presenting on Forma at the 2025 national AIA conference in Boston later this year.

When Veras is launched in Forma, several pre-baked options are presented on the Explore tab. Simply click Render for 1-4 options, like the “Balsa Wood Model” example below.

Switching to the Compose tab offers a custom text prompt to be entered as well as some self-explanatory controls over geometry and material deviations.

On the Edit tab, Veras results can be refined using the selection tool. Just the selected area can be modified with a text prompt and geometry/materials controls. In the following example, I selected the proposed buildings, inverted the selection, and then entered a prompt to make all the background buildings white.

Another interesting example to share within Forma is how Veras renders a view with a section box applied in Forma. Notice how the faces of the section box become something akin to a plexiglass model cover (or snow globe) in the Veras-generated images.

Chaos AI Enhancer

Enscape also has an AI tool built in. This tool will render a scene based on the current settings, upload it to Chaos Cloud, and then use AI to enhance the people and vegetation. Compare the first two images below. Then, the third and fourth images below zoom in on the plant to more clearly show the impressive quality improvements gained by the process. The final AI-enhanced image can then be downloaded to your computer.

Veras enhanced Enscape rendering

In addition to Veras being an add-in for Revit, SketchUp, and Forma, it is also a standalone web-based tool. This allows a simple massing model or even a scanned sketch to be uploaded and turned into an AI-rendered image.

In the examples below, I uploaded an Enscape rendered image. Where the Chaos AI Enhancer mainly focuses on people and vegetation, the Veras tool can enhance and/or change everything.

Veras does not handle the people as well as the Chaos AI Enhancer. This is a perfect example of how the strengths of each tool could now be combined to create a much more robust workflow!

The first image below is simply the Enscape rendering uploaded into Veras. The second image is an enhancement based on a text prompt adding wood flooring and set to minimize geometry changes. The last image in this section increases the ability for AI to change the geometry… remember this “geometry” is being interpreted from a flat/static image, which is really cool.

My Autodesk Revit book covers

Finally, in this last section, I will share how I used the Veras add-in for Revit to generate book covers for four of my Revit 2025 textbooks. In previous years, I have used Enscape to create the covers. The following image compares the varied benefits and qualities of my residential Revit 2024 (Enscape rendering) and Revit 2025 (Veras rendering) book covers. By the way, this is the #1 Revit textbook in North America 😊.

Here is the view composed in Revit:

Here is the Veras interface within Revit, which closely matches the interface of the web version covered above in this article:

Within minutes, it is possible to generate many, many results, as depicted by the thumbnails below:

Conclusion

It is easy to see how the coming together of Chaos and EvolveLAB is going to lead to even more exciting things for architects and visualization specialists alike! We already have an amazing collection of tools, and they are only going to get better.