Rebuilding space planning for the speed of today

The Origin

laiout started in January 2021, when Cristiano Coretti and Wouter Merkestein met during a 10-day hotel quarantine in Oslo. Cristiano was an architect who knew the test-fit process was broken: weeks of manual work for decisions that should take hours. Wouter had scaled a ride-hailing unicorn and understood how technology could fix it. They asked a different question: if you rebuilt this from scratch, what would you create? Isak joined as CTO to build the answer. Today, laiout has planned over 30 million square metres across 36 countries. Technology handles the repetition. Humans focus on the decisions that matter.

The Problem

Commercial space planning has been stuck in the same loop for decades. A company needs a layout, so they create a brief and wait days or weeks. If it doesn't quite fit, they request changes and wait again. The core tools haven't changed since the mid-90s. The process is slow, expensive, and fundamentally mismatched with the speed at which real estate decisions actually need to happen.

The Solution

laiout compresses that entire cycle into seconds. Upload a floor plan, enter your requirements, and the platform generates optimised, regulation-aware layouts immediately. Not rough sketches. Credible, data-backed plans that teams can actually use. The technology handles the repetitive work, so humans can focus on decisions, not drawings.

The Principles

Speed changes behaviour

When layouts take seconds instead of weeks, people explore more options and make better decisions.

AI should augment expertise, not replace it

The best outcomes happen when technology handles repetition and humans handle judgement.

Data should be embedded, not bolted on

Every layout comes with the metrics stakeholders actually need to make informed decisions.

Democratised access

High-quality space planning should not be limited to those who can afford support or wait weeks for drawings.