How Coloc Cuts €11K/Month in Feasibility Costs with Rayon
Insights from a 5-person business development team
Challenge
Coloc Housing is a fast-growing coliving operator, operating 43 communities across five cities in Belgium—and counting. As the company rapidly expanded its portfolio of coliving spaces, the team struggled to work autonomously on floor plans.
They relied heavily on outsourced architects and found existing space design tools too complex, which slowed feasibility studies and design decisions.
Solution
By adopting Rayon, Coloc Housing’s business development team gained the ability to run feasibility tests and evaluate design options independently. The tool’s intuitive interface made it easy for non-technical team members to work with floor plans, while its collaborative features enabled real-time teamwork.
From testing layouts to reviewing DWG files, Rayon gave the team full control and helped them assess new opportunities faster and more efficiently.
Outcome
The team now saves an estimated €11,000 per month by reducing its reliance on external architects for early-stage design work. Feasibility studies that once required back-and-forth with experts are now handled internally—faster, cheaper, and more collaboratively.
“"Rayon is simpler than any other space design tool we've worked with - and it combines collaborative features. Thanks to that, our team can deliver floor plans much faster, giving us a significant competitive advantage."”
The story behind Coloc Housing
Christophe Vercarre started Coloc Housing seven years ago as a passion project to create homes where people could build lasting relationships. Through one of these coliving experiences, he met his future wife and co-founders.
What began as a hobby evolved into one of Belgium’s leading coliving networks. Today, Coloc Housing operates 43 communities across five cities and plans to grow to 74 locations and 650 rooms by next summer. With a lean team of five managing this expansion, operational efficiency is everything.
Why Coloc Housing needed more control over floor plans
As Coloc Housing grew, Christophe and his team needed a way to manage and evaluate dozens of properties simultaneously. However, they lacked direct access to usable layout information. The design tools available were overly technical, and communication with architects often led to confusion.
“There was kind of a 'black box' situation where architects I was working with would describe project restrictions, but I would not always be able to understand what they were referring to and if it was definitive.”
Without architectural training, Christophe needed a way to understand, evaluate, and iterate on floor plans—quickly and independently.
From outsourced to in-house: How Rayon transformed Coloc Housing’s workflow
Rayon unlocked a new level of autonomy for the team. They now import PDF or image floor plans into Rayon and test potential projects internally by checking layouts, inserting furniture blocks, calculating square meters, and more—all before involving architects.
When working on detailed designs, they use DWG files uploaded to Rayon to explore layout optimizations alongside architects and interior designers. With Rayon’s collaborative canvas, two or three team members can jump into a session, leave comments, and run test fits in real time.
“Since Rayon is a multiplayer software, we collaborate more effectively… very quickly and seamlessly.”
Rayon at Coloc Housing today
Rayon is now central to Coloc Housing’s workflow—from initial feasibility checks to design discussions with stakeholders. The tool enables their five-person business team to handle tasks previously outsourced to professionals, dramatically cutting costs and accelerating delivery timelines.
Looking ahead, Coloc Housing plans to shift toward an asset-heavy model by acquiring properties outright. As their ambition scales, Rayon remains key to maintaining agility, control, and speed.
Book a demo to discover how Rayon can benefit your team, and apply to our design partner program for a free team trial.