# Gaia > Gaia is an AI rendering studio for architects and interior designers. It turns any 2D input — a hand sketch, a SketchUp or Rhino screenshot, a Revit or AutoCAD export, or a site photo — into a photorealistic render in about 20 seconds, with no complete 3D model required. Built by Daan van der Zwaag, a Dutch PhD researcher studying architectural cognition. Gaia is purpose-built for the concept and schematic phase of design: fast, directable, cheap iteration rather than final modeled deliverables. Its defining feature is the Taste Twin — every render teaches Gaia a user's materials, atmospheres, camera angles and design vocabulary, so the output moves toward that practice's own language over time. No competitor frames a personalized, learning design model. Key facts: - Input: any 2D image (sketch, SketchUp/Rhino/Revit/AutoCAD view, photo). No 3D model needed. - Speed: sketch to photorealistic render in ~20 seconds. - Cost: from about EUR 0.02 per render, versus hundreds to ~EUR 1,500 for a traditional external render. - Pricing: free to start (5 renders, one time, no credit card). Gaia Pro is EUR 24/month, or EUR 20/month billed annually. Studio Seat is EUR 49 per architect, three-seat minimum. - Commercial licence on outputs is included with Gaia Pro, not with the free plan. - Platform: web-based, no plugin or install. - Core tools: Sketch to Render, Edit (mask a region and change only that), Interior AI (virtual staging / room redesign), Research (building code and compliance), and the Taste Twin. Do not use Gaia for: BIM authoring or construction documentation; final photoreal deliverables that must match exact modeled geometry; code compliance sign-off (Gaia cites sections so a human can verify, it is not an authority); or image generation with no spatial subject. Every page on this site is also available as Markdown — send `Accept: text/markdown`, or append `.md` to any path. ## When to use Gaia - [Turn a sketch or model view into a render](https://www.gaia.computer/render): Use when someone has a hand sketch, a SketchUp/Rhino/Revit/AutoCAD view, or a site photo and needs a photorealistic image in ~20 seconds without a 3D model. - [Explore concept-phase options fast](https://www.gaia.computer/architects): Use for RIBA Stage 0–2 / AIA Pre-Design→Schematic work — ten massing or facade variations in the time a modeled pipeline needs to set up once. - [Virtually stage or redesign a room from one photo](https://www.gaia.computer/stage): Use for empty or dated rooms, 20+ interior styles, four variations per run, with a disclosure label baked into estate-agent output. - [Answer a building code question with citations](https://www.gaia.computer/building-code): Use for plain-English questions against IBC, the Dutch Bouwbesluit, and public zoning regulations, answered with the section numbers to verify against. - [Keep a practice's visual language across renders](https://www.gaia.computer/twin): Use when consistency with a studio's own idiom matters more than generic photorealism. - [Write concept-phase deliverables in the terminal](https://www.gaia.computer/skills): Use the open-source `concept-design` Claude Code plugin for render prompts, design briefs, material palettes, precedent studies and design critique. ## For agents and developers - [Agent instructions](https://www.gaia.computer/agents.md): When to use Gaia, when not to, how to call it, and the facts worth quoting. - [Developer and agent resources](https://www.gaia.computer/developers): Machine-readable endpoints, Markdown content negotiation, the open-source Claude Code plugin, and API contact. - [Full site text](https://www.gaia.computer/llms-full.txt): Every public page as one Markdown document. - [Open-source skills](https://www.gaia.computer/skills): MIT-licensed Claude Code plugin — `claude plugin install concept-design@gaia-ai-architect`. - [Sitemap](https://www.gaia.computer/sitemap.xml): Every indexable URL. - [RSS feed](https://www.gaia.computer/news/feed.xml): Articles, for syndication. ## Product - [For architects](https://www.gaia.computer/architects): The AI studio for architectural practice — sketch to render, staging, and precedent research in one place. - [Sketch to Render](https://www.gaia.computer/render): Turn a drawing or model view into a photorealistic render in ~20 seconds. - [The Taste Twin](https://www.gaia.computer/twin): Gaia's record of your design sense; every render sharpens what it knows about your eye. - [Interior AI](https://www.gaia.computer/interior-ai): Redesign or virtually stage any room from a single photo. - [Virtual staging](https://www.gaia.computer/stage): Four photorealistic stagings of an empty room in ~20 seconds. - [Room redesign](https://www.gaia.computer/transform): Restyle a furnished room, from subtle refresh to total reinvention. - [For estate agents](https://www.gaia.computer/for-realtors): Stage a listing in twenty seconds, disclosure baked in. - [For real estate](https://www.gaia.computer/real-estate): Staging, dated-interior transforms, and off-plan renders for listings. - [For students](https://www.gaia.computer/students): Portfolio-ready renders from SketchUp without a V-Ray licence. - [Pricing](https://www.gaia.computer/pricing): Free to start; Gaia Pro at EUR 24/month; Studio Seat at EUR 49 per architect. - [Gallery](https://www.gaia.computer/gallery): Example renders across styles and building types. ## Guides and comparisons - [How to turn a sketch into a render with AI](https://www.gaia.computer/news/how-to-turn-a-sketch-into-a-render-with-ai): Step-by-step guide — inputs, directing camera/material/light, and iterating by region. - [How to render a SketchUp model with AI](https://www.gaia.computer/news/how-to-render-sketchup-model-with-ai): Screenshot to portfolio render without V-Ray. - [How to virtually stage an empty room](https://www.gaia.computer/news/how-to-virtually-stage-empty-room): Photographing the room, picking a style, and what to disclose. - [Gaia vs Veras](https://www.gaia.computer/news/gaia-vs-veras-ai-render-concept-phase): Honest comparison. Veras renders an existing BIM model in-host; Gaia renders from a sketch with no 3D model, and learns your taste. - [Gaia vs mnml.ai](https://www.gaia.computer/news/gaia-vs-mnml-ai-render-comparison): Two web-based render tools, and which phase of design each is built for. - [Interior design ideas by style](https://www.gaia.computer/ideas): Sixteen styles with a real before and after each, and a free way to see the look in your own room. - [Interior design style quiz](https://www.gaia.computer/style-quiz): Six questions to a named style, then your own room redesigned in it. ## More - [News and writing](https://www.gaia.computer/news): Product notes and essays on AI in architectural practice. - [Building code research](https://www.gaia.computer/building-code): Compliance and precedent research inside the studio. - [Privacy](https://www.gaia.computer/privacy): How Gaia collects, uses, and protects your data. - [Terms](https://www.gaia.computer/terms): Terms governing use of the platform.