Stanislas Chaillou is an architect, machine learning engineer, and co-founder of Rayon, a Paris-based startup developing the next generation of architectural software. Rayon is reimagining the drafting experience through a browser-based, AI-native CAD platform built for designers across the built world. Stanislas is also the author of several books, including “Artificial Intelligence and Architecture” (Birkhäuser, 2025). He was previously a Fulbright Scholar, an Arthur Sachs Fellow, and a Jean Gaillard Fellow at Harvard University.
As AEC software converges with the web and AI, our industry is beginning to confront a widening gap between two design and technical cultures: that of ordinary buildings, and that of landmarks.
For decades, a single class of software has been expected to serve both. Yet the everyday buildings that make up 90% of our cities have become an underserved, but no less fascinating, majority.
By addressing ordinary buildings — their specific design culture, construction practices, and forms of complexity — we believe AEC software is reaching a turning point. A new generation of online, lighter, AI-ready tools is beginning to challenge the “one platform fits all” model on which much of our industry has been built. In this talk, we share the realisations, technical challenges, and opportunities we encountered while building Rayon for the 90%.
