How a LotFabric™ Analysis is made
Five steps, from your product library to concepts you can compare. The design stays yours. We do the lotting, the counting and the rendering.
Define
We start from your products, not a generic density. Together we set up your product library: each product, its lot parameters, and the mix you're aiming for.
From you: your products, their lot parameters, and a target mix.Prepare
You send the concept with each block typed to a product, such as detached, townhouse or rear lane. We clean up the CAD and draft the frontage linework the calculation needs.
From you: the concept plan.Calculate
The frontage data goes into our LotFabric workspace, which lots out every block against the target mix. A detached block can accommodate several lot sizes, so the system works out which combination of sizes hits your mix. Its rules consider how products relate to each other: large detached lots are not placed near non-detached product, and the larger, premium lots sit furthest from other product types, in the more premium areas of the plan.
Show
The concept is rendered as a hand-drawn style plan with a legend and unit counts, so anyone can understand it.
Iterate and compare
We repeat steps 2 to 4 for each concept, then put them side by side in one PDF: units and mix per concept, and the blocks that changed against your base.
What we need from you
- A concept plan as a CAD file, with each block typed to a product.
- Your products and related lot parameters.
- Your target mix.
- No concept yet? Send the site location. We can develop concepts too.
What you get back
- Unit counts by product for every concept.
- A rendered plan of each concept, with legend.
- A LotFabric™ Analysis PDF comparing the concepts.
- An Excel workbook of the block-by-block evaluation, with live formulas, ready for your proforma.
- PowerPoint slides of the same analysis, for teams that present from their own template.
- Nothing to reformat. The analysis is ready to present as delivered, so your team has no visuals or slides to prepare.
- Available as extras: area breakdown, ROW takeoffs and revenue analysis.
What is exact
The unit counts and the mix. They are calculated against the geometry you supply and the frontages and target mix set in your product library.
What is a concept
The rendered plan. It is an illustration of the concept: not to scale, areas approximate, and not an engineered or approved plan. Lot lines are not drawn on it.
Questions
Who does the work?
Eric Mueller, Principal of Mueller Development Group. You deal directly with the person doing the work, and the delivery date is agreed before it starts.
Can we license the software?
Not at this time. LotFabric is the system we run in-house to produce your analysis. You get the output without a new tool to learn.
Does this use AI?
No. No part of the system uses AI to produce the results. The counts are calculated from your geometry and product library, and the plans are rendered from your concept.
Can we use the numbers in our own proforma?
Yes. Each concept comes as an Excel workbook, not a CSV: frontage, lots by product and leftover frontage for every block. It feeds the proforma you already use. Area breakdowns, ROW takeoffs and revenue analysis are available as extras.
We already do this in-house. Why change?
By hand it takes close to a day per concept: labelling blocks, drafting frontage linework, copying data into a spreadsheet and adjusting counts until the mix is close. A junior's work still has to be checked, and you end up with a working CAD plan you can't present. We return the counts, the rendered plans and a comparison your team can present as delivered. Not sure? Send one concept you've already lotted and compare the two. If our run tells you nothing your own count didn't, you don't pay for it.
Our consultant already gives us frontage takeoffs. What's different?
Takeoffs usually give total frontage by unit category. We go to unit type for every block, lotted against your target mix and product rules, and we render every concept.
Do we have to change designers?
No. Send concepts from any designer. We work from the plans you already have.
We work exclusively with a planning or urban design firm. Is that a problem?
No. Your firm keeps doing the base concepts. We can work with them as needed on additional concepts, and credit them on the renders and on the analysis title page if you want.
We are a planning, urban design or engineering firm. Can we offer this to our clients?
Yes. You can add it to your own service and stay the point of contact, so your client works only with you. You send the concepts and the product direction, and the analysis comes back to you to present, with your firm credited on the renders and the title page. It keeps the LotFabric™ Analysis name.
Can you draft the concepts too?
Yes. Most clients arrive with concepts in hand, but we can develop new ones for a site.
What if a concept misses our target?
We can adjust it within its existing structure to get closer to your targets, keeping the direction of the plan you preferred, then run the numbers again to show the result.
How long does it take?
1 to 3 business days from receipt of clean files. Exact timing is confirmed when the contract is signed.
Are our plans kept confidential?
Yes. Client plans are kept confidential, stored securely, and never shared. We can sign an NDA before you share anything: yours, or a template we provide.
Can the rendered plans follow our standards?
Yes. Colours can be matched to your products, the lettering can be changed, and trees or unit counts can be shown or hidden.
Is the rendered plan to scale?
No. The render is a concept illustration: not to scale, with approximate areas. The unit counts are what is exact.
Does the plan show individual lot lines?
No. The lotting is mathematical: it gives the unit count by product for every block, and the rendered plan shows each block by product. Once you settle on a concept, your designer already has the unit mix for each block to add lot lines to the plan.