Desiree Braido
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AI Native Project Memory for Architecture & Design

Archen

Architecture and design teams make hundreds of decisions on every project and lose the reasons in email. Archen keeps that context automatically and answers questions with the source attached. As Founder & CEO, I took it from a problem to an investor-backed working product.

Industry
AEC Technology
Product
AI SaaS
Role
Founder & CEO
Stage
Prelaunch

My role

I saw this problem from inside studios during seven years as an interior designer. I defined the product, built the first working version with AI-assisted development in under 8 months, then brought in a Head of Engineering for production. I still own priorities and the experience.

The Problem

Architecture and interior design teams make hundreds of decisions throughout a project, but the context behind those decisions is scattered across emails, documents, and conversations.

When information becomes difficult to retrieve, teams lose time reconstructing decisions, verifying approvals, and resolving disagreements.

The opportunity was to create a persistent project memory without introducing another administrative task.

The Rework LoopThe rework loop diagram: scattered context sends decisions back to the start, while project memory cuts across the loop. Without project memory, teams reconstruct decisions. With project memory, context is captured as work happens and is already there when needed.THE PROBLEMThe Rework LoopScattered context sends decisions back to the start.Project memory cuts across the loop.Made againCapturedAlready thereTeam decidesThe context is clearContext scattersEmails, documents,conversationsSomeone needs itWhy was this decided?Team rebuilds itReconstruct, verify, resolveProject memoryCaptures context as workhappensWithout project memoryWith project memory
The rework loop: scattered context sends decisions back to the start. Project memory cuts across the loop.

Product Strategy & Key Decisions

From Project Management to Project Memory

Rather than building another project management platform, I focused on a different opportunity: preserving the decisions and context that traditional tools fail to capture.

Three principles shaped the product strategy:

Zero entry: Reduce the need for manual documentation by capturing information through existing workflows.

Context over storage: Organize information around decisions, approvals, and project history rather than simply collecting documents.

Intelligence over administration: Use AI to help teams retrieve relevant context and understand how decisions evolved.

Product strategy frameworkArchen's three principles: contextual intelligence over administration, structured project memory over storage, and zero entry over manual documentation. Zero entry makes structured memory possible, which makes contextual intelligence possible.PROJECT MANAGEMENT DEFAULTPROJECT MEMORYAdministrationTeams work for the toolOVERContextual intelligenceAI retrieves relevant context and shows how decisions evolvedStorageDocuments collected, context lostOVERStructured project memoryOrganized around decisions, approvals and project historyManual documentationSomeone has to write it downOVERZero entryCaptured through existing workflowsmakes possiblemakes possible
Each principle replaces a project management default, and each one makes the next possible.

AI Product Decisions

Project memory doesn't work without AI, so AI isn't a feature here; it does the filing. I made three choices around that.

Connect once: Archen reads the studio's email and drive, so nobody types anything in.

Save automatically: decisions, approvals and selections are pulled out as work happens.

Show the source: every answer points back to the email it came from, so no one has to reconstruct or re-verify a decision.

From Strategy to Execution

I translated the product vision into requirements, information architecture, workflows, and an initial application.

Using AI assisted development, I accelerated early product exploration and implementation before bringing in engineering leadership to strengthen the application for production.

Throughout development, I remained responsible for product priorities, experience design, and aligning technical execution with the original product vision.

Information architectureInformation architecture: the studio workspace connects email and drive, projects, a client portal and studio knowledge. Inside each project, project memory holds decisions, client approvals, specifications, selections, client threads and a timeline.Studio workspaceEmail and driveConnected once, read for youProjectsOne memory per projectClient portalA client view that updates itselfStudio knowledgeAsk your studio what it knowsThreads and filesINSIDE EACH PROJECTProject memoryThe living history of every project decisionDecisionsClient approvalsSpecificationsSelectionsClient threadsTimeline
One memory per project, fed by the tools the studio already uses.
User journeyUser journey: today an approval over email gets filed nowhere, so when someone asks, the team searches, re-reads and reconstructs, and the decision gets made again. With Archen the approval is saved automatically, the answer points to the email, and the decision stands.01 · DECISION MADE02 · IS IT SAVED?03 · SOMEONE ASKS04 · OUTCOMETodayContext is scatteredWith ArchenContext is keptApproved over emailLives in one inboxApproved over emailSame as todayNothing gets filedNo time to documentSaved automaticallyNo data entrySearch and re-readReconstruct and verifyAsk your studioAnswer points to the emailDisagreementDecision made againDecision standsWork moves on
The same approval, with and without project memory.
Product previewProduct preview: a project memory feed of decisions, approvals, selections, specs and messages, with a decision detail showing its source email and document.AllDecisionsApprovalsSelectionsSpecsDECISIONAPPROVALSELECTIONSPECMESSAGEDECISIONSOURCE
Every decision keeps its source.

Current Status

One of our first users liked Archen enough to also invest. The full product is built and studios are ready to onboard. Archen launches before the end of 2026. Private demos on request.

Visit archen.io →
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