Design Review for Architects

Why Architects Need Design Review

Architects carry accountability for overall design intent, code compliance across the building envelope, and coordinating between all consultants. A common friction point: getting blamed for coordination conflicts that actually started in a consultant's drawings but show up on the architectural set.

That's exactly where Design Review comes in. It runs during design development, before drawings are finalized, and the point of it is to catch issues early, while they're still cheap to fix, instead of after documents are further along.

What Structured AI Checks for Architects

For architects running design review, Structured AI uses Document Chat paired with Custom Checks, so the team can interrogate the drawing set as it evolves and run firm specific checks throughout design. Findings are scoped to what this role is actually on the hook for, not a generic error list, but issues organized around overall design intent, code compliance across the building envelope, and coordinating between all consultants.

On a Stage 4 submission with a 500-page set, fire strategy, waterproofing, and accessibility all need to be checked against the fire report, sheet by sheet. Structured checks the same package in about 20 minutes and returns every compliance check with the exact page and a recommended fix.

Where This Fits in Your Workflow

Design Review for architects usually happens during design development, before drawings are finalized. Structured AI works on .pdf, .dwg, .rvt, and .ifc files, and for Revit modeled projects, the Revit Add-In runs the same checks directly against live geometry with element level results, no export needed. Findings can be exported and assigned by trade or discipline, so the review step slots into the existing document workflow instead of adding a new one.

FAQ

How is design review different from a general plan check? Design Review is scoped to what actually matters at this stage of the project and for this role: catch issues early, while they're still cheap to fix, instead of after documents are further along. It uses Structured AI's deterministic checks rather than a confidence-scored, probabilistic flag.

Do architects need special training to use this? No. Upload the relevant drawings and specifications, or connect the Revit model directly, and findings come back organized the way architects already review work. Teams can also build Custom Checks in plain English without writing any code.

Can findings be shared with the rest of the project team? Yes. Every finding links back to the exact sheet and location, and can be exported and assigned by trade or discipline for team wide visibility and follow up.