When you've got architectural plans that need to be perfect, you have to have other eyes look over the plans. You can do this informally with colleagues at your firm, or you can have an official architectural peer review completed through another design firm. The advantages to having the architectural peer review done are many, not only because the firm would be impartial (as opposed to a colleague who might be biased for or against your project), but also because you get a very thorough evaluation from people who have not seen the project before – meaning they aren't susceptible to the phenomenon of filling in missing information automatically.

When you create an architectural plan, you do your best to take everything into account and create a blueprint for a safe, well-designed building. An architectural peer review helps ensure the plans really do describe what you want them to.

Address Code Changes

Changes to building codes are usually announced well in advance, but with everything going on in the news and the need to redesign buildings to have better ventilation, it's always possible that you could miss a small change or two. The people conducting the peer review will look for potential code violations and point out areas where known code changes will soon take effect. They want your plan to meet all of those codes so that the building remains in good shape and remains safe to occupy.

Evaluate Safety Designs

Speaking of safety, your plans will have safety features, such as emergency exits and paths to safe gathering areas in case of fire. The peer review will look at all of these to determine if any changes need to be made or if any of your plans seem to be missing information. Think of peer review as a form of editing, where someone is going over your plans to see if they make sense to those who know nothing about them. If someone is in your building, according to your plan, will they be able to evacuate safely? Will they know where safety items like fire extinguishers are? They have to be able to find those easily, and the peer review will let you know if your plans would allow them to do that.

Identify Opportunities for Efficiency

Sometimes designing a building really lets you use your creativity to dream up beautiful buildings. Yet sometimes that goes a little far, and a plan you think is beautiful would be annoying to experience in real life. Think of building lobbies and atriums where walkways wind around decorative features but force people to walk a lot more than they really have to, to reach their destination. The peer review will point those out and note that they could be redesigned for better efficiency.

For more information on architectural peer review, contact a professional near you.