Archviz & AI news: week of 26 October 2026
A short roundup of the software and AI news from the past fortnight that matters to UK architects, planners and interior designers. Each item links to the original announcement, with a note on what it means in day-to-day practice.
Chaos buys Vyssuals to put BIM data inside Enscape
28 October 2026 · Source: AEC Magazine
Chaos, the company behind V-Ray, Corona and Enscape, has acquired Vyssuals, a tool that turns Revit and IFC models into live dashboards. It tracks quantities, costs, room counts and embodied carbon as the design changes, and can compare model versions and flag missing BIM parameters. Chaos plans to bring it into Enscape, following Enscape Impact, its performance-analysis add-on from 2025.
Why it matters for architects: the tools you use to check how a scheme looks are starting to tell you how it performs as well. It is early days, but area and carbon figures sitting next to the real-time view could save a round of spreadsheet checking at each design stage.
Revit 2026.5.1 lands as Autodesk moves to .NET 10
27 October 2026 · Sources: CADPILOT, Autodesk support
Autodesk has released Revit 2026.5.1, a stability and security update with fixes to IFC, PDF export and data exchange. Like 2026.5, it is built on .NET 10, because Microsoft ends support for .NET 8 and 9 on 10 November 2026. The update cannot be uninstalled, and Autodesk warns that some third-party add-ins will need .NET 10 versions.
Why it matters for architects: if you run Revit 2026 with rendering or export plug-ins, check that each one supports .NET 10 before you update, ideally on one machine first. A plug-in that fails to load midway through a planning deadline is a bad way to find out.
SketchUp 2027 brings tabs, procedural tools and section hatches
21 October 2026 · Source: SketchUp release notes
SketchUp 2027 lets you open several models in tabs in one window, and adds non-destructive "procedural" versions of Follow Me, Copy Along and the Solid Tools. Section cuts can now show proper hatch patterns, LayOut gets a faster hidden-line engine, and models can be placed using a project coordinate system. On the Mac it now needs Apple silicon, and Windows and macOS share the same interface.
Why it matters for architects: section hatches and faster LayOut linework help anyone who produces drawings directly from SketchUp. Better DWG, IFC and USD export also makes it easier to pass a SketchUp model to a visualiser without rebuilding parts of it.
Veras 5.3 adds a node editor for AI image and video workflows
19 October 2026 · Source: Chaos blog
Veras, Chaos's AI rendering plug-in for Revit, Rhino and SketchUp, now has a NODES tab (in beta). You wire steps together, such as generating an image, removing a background, making a video or building simple parametric massing, and then run the whole chain or save it as a reusable tool. Results can be baked back into Revit, Rhino or SketchUp, and the cost of a run is shown before you press go.
Why it matters for architects: this suits repeatable early-stage tasks, such as running the same massing through three material options for a design review. Fully modelled and lit visuals remain the safer choice for planning submissions, where accuracy matters more than speed.
Krea 3 focuses on fast, controlled image editing
15 October 2026 · Source: Krea blog
Krea has released Krea 3, an image-editing model that returns most edits in under eight seconds at 2K resolution, priced at $0.06 per image. It accepts up to six reference images and is designed to change only what you ask for, for example swapping the furniture in a room while keeping the rug, view and lighting. Krea's examples include turning a line drawing and a colour palette into a photographic interior.
Why it matters for architects: quick, targeted edits are useful for testing finishes or furniture options on an existing render before committing to a full re-render. As with any AI edit, check the details closely, because small changes to joinery or proportions are easy to miss.
Lumion updates Axogram, its free diagramming plug-in
15 October 2026 · Sources: Axogram release notes, AEC Magazine
Axogram, launched by Lumion this autumn, creates 3D diagrams (context, sequence, section and circulation) that stay linked to your live SketchUp, Revit or Archicad model. Version 26.2 adds multi-select, copy and paste between diagrams, raised zones and new diagrams that pick up your current CAD camera. The free plan allows five saved diagrams at full HD, and paid plans remove the watermark and go up to 4K.
Why it matters for architects: diagrams for design and access statements are often redrawn by hand every time the scheme changes. A tool that keeps them tied to the model could save real time at Stage 2 and 3, and it is free to try.
Magnific One: an image model with art direction built in
11 October 2026 · Source: Magnific blog
Magnific, best known for AI upscaling, has launched its own image model, Magnific One. It adds composition, lighting and camera choices to short prompts, offers a Draft mode that produces 8 or 16 directions for the price of one image, and has a Brand Kit that keeps outputs to a set palette and style. Final images come out at 2K or 4K on paid plans.
Why it matters for architects: this is aimed more at marketing teams than at design accuracy. It may help with mood boards or social posts in a consistent house style, but it does not know your building, so it is no substitute for a render of the actual design.
Need visuals that show the real design?
AI tools are improving quickly, but planning submissions and marketing still need images that match the drawings. See our recent work, or get in touch to talk through your next project.
