Abstract: A system in which logic and/or memory elements are automatically placed on an integrated circuit ("floorplanning") taking into account the constraints imposed by the logic designer, not only increase the density of the integrated circuit, and the likelihood of routing interconnections among the elements on that circuit, but it also enables the user to quickly modify the floorplan manually, and then graphically display the results of such modifications. By conforming itself to the logic designer's modular, hierarchical design, the system is capable of placing elements at each level of the specified hierarchy, based upon the number of interconnections between elements throughout that hierarchy.