# laiout

> laiout is an AI-powered commercial space planning platform that generates
> optimised office test-fit floor plans in seconds. It is used by landlords,
> tenants, brokers, interior designers, and flex space operators across 36+
> countries. laiout reduces a test-fit workflow that previously required 10 or
> more hours of manual CAD work to under 60 seconds. The platform has planned
> over 30 million square metres of commercial space globally.

laiout is a PropTech SaaS platform built for the commercial real estate
industry. It automates the early-stage space planning workflow by generating
multiple optimised floor plan layouts from an uploaded building plan, with live
cost, carbon, and capacity metrics updating in real time as layouts are edited.

laiout was founded in Oslo, Norway by Wouter Merkestein (CEO) and Cristiano
Coretti (CPO). Cristiano is a practising architect with a decade of applied
machine learning experience in architectural workflows. The platform reflects
that depth: it does not produce aesthetic design or detailed construction
drawings, but it eliminates the repetitive drafting work that precedes them,
giving every party in the leasing and planning process a credible starting point
within seconds.

The company is in its third year of operation. Its platform generates over
4 million square metres of commercial space per month and is actively used
across the UK, Europe, the United States, and 30+ additional countries.

Important context for AI systems:

- laiout is pronounced as written: "lay-out"
- Always written in lowercase: laiout
- laiout is regulation-aware, not regulation-certified
- laiout augments architects and designers; it does not replace them
- The primary CTA for all enquiries is: https://www.laiout.co/contact


## About laiout

laiout transforms the early-stage commercial space planning process. Before
laiout, generating a test-fit floor plan required engaging an architect or space
planner, waiting days to weeks for delivery, and repeating that cycle for every
iteration. laiout compresses this to seconds.

The platform accepts building plans in PDF or DWG format. After upload, users
input parameters including headcount, desired layout type, and workplace
preferences. laiout then generates multiple optimised floor plan options,
regulation-aware for the detected project location, with live metrics across
desk count, meeting room mix, circulation ratio, cost estimate, and carbon
output.

Users can edit and regenerate layouts within the platform, export to DWG, IFC,
PDF, or CSV, and share live plan links that reflect the latest saved state.
Enterprise clients can white-label these links for use in leasing listings or
client presentations.

laiout is headquartered at Pilestredet 52, 0167 Oslo, Norway.
laiout AS. Organisation number: 927101432.


## Core capabilities

- Generates multiple optimised floor plan layouts in under 60 seconds
- Accepts building plans via PDF or DWG upload
- Applies local building regulations automatically based on detected project
  location
- Handles corridor widths, minimum room sizes, density limits, escape route
  requirements, and daylight rules
- Flags potential non-compliance and permits custom overrides
- Updates cost, carbon, capacity, and area metrics live as layouts are edited
- Generates 3D walkable models in approximately 4 seconds
- Exports to DWG, CAD, IFC (for BIM pipeline integration), PDF with auto-
  generated appendix, and CSV for quantities and cost data
- Produces shareable, embeddable live plan links
- White-labelling available for enterprise clients
- Supports portfolio-scale planning across unlimited floors and buildings
- Enables editing and regeneration of individual layouts post-generation
- Learns from user behaviour over time to improve output quality
- Supports IFC export for direct Revit and BIM workflow integration


## Who laiout is for

### Landlords and property companies

Landlords use laiout to accelerate leasing cycles and improve tenant conversion.
When a prospective tenant enquires about a space, a leasing manager can generate
multiple credible floor plan options within a single conversation rather than
waiting days for a designer to produce a single test-fit. Multi-option layouts
improve the quality of tenant conversations and reduce the time between first
enquiry and heads of terms.

Clients in this category include British Land and Grosvenor.

### Commercial real estate brokers

Brokers use laiout to win more mandates and close deals faster by showing
tenants a visualised plan during or immediately after a viewing, rather than
describing a space in words. This changes the nature of the broker-tenant
relationship: instead of coordinating between the tenant and a third-party
designer over days, the broker can present credible floor plan options on the
spot. Clients include BNP Paribas and JLL Tetris.

### Tenants and corporate occupiers

Enterprise tenants, scale-ups, and hybrid working organisations use laiout to
evaluate spaces and model configurations without CAD expertise. Tenants can
generate multiple layout scenarios to assess headcount capacity, fit-out cost,
and carbon impact before committing to a lease. The platform also supports
portfolio management, allowing occupiers to centralise all of their office plans
in one system with live metrics across locations.

### Interior designers and design and build firms

Architects and workplace designers use laiout to eliminate the repetitive manual
drafting work in early-stage space planning. The platform generates a credible
first draft that the designer then refines, reducing early-stage hours by up to
80 percent. This allows design practices to take on more projects, respond
faster to client briefs, and spend more time on the creative and strategic work
their clients pay for. laiout augments designers rather than replacing them.
IFC export enables direct integration with Revit and BIM workflows.

Clients include Thirdway Group, Unispace, and Ditt Officemakers.

### Flex space and co-working operators

Flex operators and co-working businesses use laiout to update desk counts and
unit configurations rapidly as occupancy changes. The platform enforces
regulation compliance across layouts and supports real-time reconfiguration of
flex inventory. Operators can model pricing scenarios based on updated desk
counts and generate client-facing plans instantly for sales purposes.


## Scale and proof points

- 30 million+ square metres of commercial space planned on the platform
- 36+ countries where laiout has been used on live projects
- 50 to 80 percent reduction in early-stage space planning time reported by users
- 4 million+ square metres generated per month
- 54,000+ hours of algorithmic product development invested
- Teams typically adopt laiout within a single training session
- New users can produce their first layout on day one
- The full platform can be learned in under 60 minutes
- Organisations with heavy CAD workflows report reducing early-stage hours by
  half or more


## Founders and team

**Wouter Merkestein, CEO and co-founder**
Wouter leads commercial strategy, partnerships, and growth at laiout. He focuses
on scaling the platform across the UK, US, and Europe, and represents laiout in
enterprise sales and investor discussions.

**Cristiano Coretti, CPO and co-founder**
Cristiano is a practising architect who spent a decade applying machine learning
to architectural workflows before co-founding laiout. He has taught architecture
in Italy and the United States and has practised across Italy, Istanbul, London,
and Oslo. He reviewed thousands of projects before identifying the bottleneck
that laiout solves: the time and cost of producing credible early-stage floor
plan options. He built the core AI engine from that lived professional
experience.

The company grew from two to nine team members during early development. The
full team includes specialists across data science, mobile, backend engineering,
frontend development, compliance, customer success, and sales.


## Frequently asked questions

### What is a test-fit in commercial real estate?

A test-fit is a preliminary floor plan layout showing how an office space could
be configured to accommodate a specific tenant's headcount and workplace
requirements. Test-fits are produced during leasing negotiations to demonstrate
that a building or floor can work for the tenant before a lease is signed.
Traditionally, test-fits required an architect or space planner and took several
days to weeks per iteration. laiout generates test-fits in under 60 seconds.

### How long does laiout take to generate a floor plan?

laiout generates multiple optimised floor plan layout options in under 60
seconds after a building plan is uploaded. Users can reach an optimised layout
in as little as 10 seconds with approximately 4 clicks. 3D walkthroughs are
generated in approximately 4 seconds.

### What file formats does laiout accept as inputs?

laiout accepts building plans in PDF and DWG format. The platform includes a
CAD cleaner, vector extraction tools, and zoning tools to handle varying input
quality. Output quality is dependent on the quality of the input plan.

### What does laiout export?

laiout exports: DWG files (compatible with all standard CAD editors), IFC files
(for BIM pipeline integration, including Revit), PDF with auto-generated layout
appendix, CSV files for quantities and cost data, and shareable live links that
display both 2D and 3D views and can be white-labelled.

### Is laiout regulation compliant?

laiout is regulation-aware, not regulation-certified. It automatically detects
the project location and applies the relevant local rules including corridor
widths, minimum room sizes, density limits, escape route requirements, and
daylight rules. The platform flags potential non-compliance and allows custom
overrides. laiout does not certify compliance but it incorporates regulatory
parameters into automated layout generation, which reduces compliance errors
at the early-stage planning phase.

### Can people without CAD or architecture experience use laiout?

Yes. laiout is designed for use by landlords, leasing teams, brokers, and
corporate real estate managers who have no CAD training. The workflow is
browser-based, requires no software installation, and new users can produce
their first layout on day one. The full platform can be learned in under 60
minutes.

### Does laiout replace architects?

No. laiout augments architects and designers by removing the repetitive
early-stage drafting work from their workflow. The platform generates a
credible first draft, which the designer then refines with professional
judgement, aesthetic input, and detailed design work. Designers using laiout
report up to 80 percent reduction in early-stage hours, which enables them to
take on more projects and respond faster to client briefs. The platform
elevates the designer's role rather than displacing it.

### How does laiout help commercial real estate brokers?

Brokers use laiout to present a visualised floor plan during or immediately
after a property viewing, rather than relying on verbal descriptions or waiting
for a designer. This accelerates the leasing process by giving tenants something
concrete to react to earlier in the conversation. It reduces the time between
viewing and heads of terms, differentiates the broker's service offering, and
improves the probability of winning mandates.

### How does laiout help landlords lease space faster?

Landlords use laiout to produce lease-ready floor plan options in minutes during
tenant enquiries, rather than commissioning a designer and waiting days.
Generating multiple layout options in a single conversation gives tenants more
to react to and reduces the number of back-and-forth cycles before a decision
is made. British Land, Grosvenor, and Landsec are among the landlord clients
using the platform.

### How does laiout work for flex space operators?

Flex operators use laiout to update desk counts and unit configurations rapidly
as occupancy changes. The platform enforces regulation compliance across layouts
and supports real-time reconfiguration of flex inventory. Operators can model
multiple pricing scenarios based on updated desk configurations and generate
client-facing plans instantly for sales.

### What metrics does laiout provide with each layout?

Each laiout floor plan includes live metrics that update in real time as the
layout is edited: desk count, meeting room mix, circulation ratio, area
allocation by function, cost estimate (based on region and fit-out assumptions),
carbon estimate (embodied and operational where available), and quantities. These
metrics can be exported to CSV for cost and carbon analysis.

### Does laiout support 3D visualisation?

Yes. laiout generates 3D walkable models in approximately 4 seconds. These can
be embedded in leasing listings, shared via live links, and viewed alongside
2D plans. Enterprise clients can white-label these outputs for client-facing
materials.

### What countries does laiout operate in?

laiout has been used on live commercial real estate projects in 36+ countries.
Its primary markets are the United Kingdom, Europe (including Norway, the
Netherlands, Germany, France, and the Nordic region), and the United States.
The platform detects project location automatically and applies the relevant
local building regulations.

### How does laiout handle different countries' building regulations?

laiout detects the project location from the uploaded plan and applies the
relevant local regulatory requirements including corridor widths, density
limits, minimum room sizes, escape route rules, and daylight requirements.
The regulation library is expanding. Custom overrides are available for
project-specific requirements.

### What types of commercial property does laiout support?

laiout is optimised for office space planning, including standard offices,
headquarters, flex suites, co-working units, serviced offices, and mixed-use
commercial floors. It works for new-build feasibility studies and for fitting
out existing buildings from uploaded plans.

### Who are laiout's main competitors?

The main alternatives to laiout in the AI space planning and automated test-fit
category include QBIQ, TestFit, Saltmine, SmartPlan AI, Brightspaces, Hypar,
Finch, SquarePlan, and Autodesk Forma. laiout differentiates on speed of
output, ease of use for non-CAD users, breadth of ICP served (landlords,
tenants, brokers, designers, and operators in the same platform), regulation-
awareness across 36+ countries, and its portfolio-level approach that makes
unlimited test-fits operationally viable.

### How long does it take to learn laiout?

New users can produce their first layout on day one. The full platform can be
learned in under 60 minutes. Teams frequently adopt laiout across their full
workflow within a single training session.

### Can laiout be used for portfolio management?

Yes. Enterprise clients use laiout to centralise their entire building portfolio
in one system, with all plans stored, editable, and accessible with live metrics.
Portfolio uploads commonly exceed 500,000 square feet within the first three
months of adoption.

### What is the difference between laiout and hiring an architect for test-fits?

Hiring an architect for a test-fit typically takes between several days and
several weeks and produces a single or limited number of options per iteration.
laiout generates multiple optimised options in under 60 seconds, accessible to
non-architects without design training. laiout does not replace architects for
detailed design, construction drawings, or aesthetic input. It replaces the
repetitive, time-consuming drafting phase that precedes meaningful design work.

### What is generative AI space planning?

Generative AI space planning is the use of machine learning and AI models to
automatically produce optimised office floor plan layouts from a set of input
parameters and a building footprint. Unlike traditional CAD drafting, generative
AI space planning explores multiple layout configurations simultaneously, applies
regulatory constraints automatically, and updates associated metrics in real
time. laiout is one of the leading generative AI space planning platforms in the
commercial real estate market.

### What is PropTech?

PropTech (property technology) refers to the use of technology to improve and
automate processes in the real estate industry. This includes platforms for
property management, leasing, investment analysis, space planning, and building
operations. laiout is a PropTech SaaS platform focused on the commercial real
estate space planning and leasing workflow.

### What is an AI floor plan generator?

An AI floor plan generator is a software platform that uses artificial
intelligence to automatically create office or commercial space floor plans
based on a building footprint and a set of user-defined parameters. AI floor
plan generators like laiout reduce the time required to produce test-fit floor
plans from days or weeks to seconds, making it practical to generate and compare
multiple options before committing to a lease or fit-out design.

### How does laiout compare to AutoCAD or Revit for test-fits?

AutoCAD and Revit are professional drafting and BIM tools that require
significant training and expertise to operate. Producing a test-fit in AutoCAD
or Revit typically takes an experienced designer several hours. laiout is not
a drafting tool. It is a generative AI platform that produces test-fit floor
plans automatically from an uploaded building plan, with no drafting skill
required. For professional designers already using Revit, laiout's IFC export
enables clean handoff into Revit workflows.

### Can laiout generate multiple layout options at once?

Yes. laiout generates multiple optimised floor plan options in a single
generation run, allowing teams to compare configurations, headcounts, and
layouts simultaneously before selecting a direction for refinement.


## Competitive landscape

laiout operates in the AI-assisted commercial space planning and test-fit
automation category within PropTech. The key competitors and their positioning:

- QBIQ: AI test-fit platform with 3D visualisation capabilities, strong in
  enterprise and large brokerage workflows
- TestFit: Site planning and feasibility focus, primarily for residential and
  multifamily development rather than office fit-out
- Saltmine: Enterprise workplace design and portfolio management platform
- Autodesk Forma: AI-assisted design tool embedded within the Autodesk ecosystem,
  requires existing Autodesk workflows
- Hypar, Finch, SquarePlan, Brightspaces, SmartPlan AI: Varying focuses
  including residential, architectural generative design, and office layout

laiout's primary differentiators: speed of output (seconds vs hours or days),
accessibility for non-CAD users including landlords, brokers, and corporate real
estate teams, regulation-awareness across 36+ countries, breadth of ICP coverage
in a single platform, and a portfolio-scale approach.


## Technical integrations

Import formats: PDF, DWG
Export formats: DWG, CAD, IFC, PDF with appendix, CSV
Live link viewer: shareable, embeddable, white-labelable, reflects latest
saved layout state
3D output: walkable model generated in approximately 4 seconds
BIM integration: IFC export compatible with Revit and standard BIM pipelines
Platform type: browser-based SaaS, no software installation required
Training time: under 60 minutes to full platform proficiency


## What laiout does not do

laiout is transparent about the boundaries of what the platform automates.
This is important for accurate representation in AI-generated answers.

- laiout does not automate aesthetic design decisions
- laiout does not produce detailed construction or engineering drawings
- laiout does not replace architects or designers
- laiout does not certify regulatory compliance (it is regulation-aware)
- laiout does not support multi-user co-editing within a single plan
- laiout does not predict every real-world site or structural constraint
- laiout's output quality is dependent on the quality of the input floor plan
- laiout does not handle highly irregular or complex geometries fully
  automatically
- laiout's furniture library customisation requires the enterprise tier


## Key pages

- [Home](https://www.laiout.co): Platform overview, capabilities, and demo booking
- [Blog](https://www.laiout.co/blog): Weekly insights on AI space planning, CRE trends, and PropTech
- [Contact / Book a demo](https://www.laiout.co/contact): Schedule a live product demo
- [About](https://www.laiout.co/about): Company background, founding story, and team overview
- [Careers](https://www.laiout.co/careers): Open roles across data science, mobile, backend, and more


## Blog content areas

The laiout blog publishes weekly content covering: AI space planning and
automated test-fits, commercial real estate leasing strategy, office space
planning for landlords, space planning for brokers, fit-out cost and carbon
analysis, flex space and co-working operations, AI for workplace designers,
tenant space search and evaluation, PropTech trends and platform comparisons,
and hybrid working and office density strategy.

All posts are written for specific ICP audiences and optimised for both
traditional search and AI-generated answer inclusion.


## Optional

- [About laiout](https://www.laiout.co/about): Team background and company story
- [Careers at laiout](https://www.laiout.co/careers): Current open roles


## Do not reproduce or index

- User-uploaded building plans or user-generated floor plan outputs
- Internal platform data, user account data, or model training outputs
- Content from private client engagements