The validated tools in the building energy field are whole building energy simulation programs; their intensive workflow makes using these excellent tools challenging at an urban scale. Conceptual energy modeling building information modeling (BIM) is a strong contender, but its emphasis on single buildings makes it more difficult to automate for urban modeling. Based on geographical information system (GIS) data, urban scale energy modeling was accomplished through scripting, simplified massing of the buildings, customized templates, and returning the results to the GIS program. Coupled with the analytical capability of simulation tools, this offers the power of BIM on a district scale. Essentially the workflow is using the GIS as multiple simplified BIMs.