Kestrel Labs
Kestrel running inside a BIM environment, highlighting building code issues on a model.

Check building code compliance as you design

Code review used to be a milestone. Kestrel puts it inside your BIM model and in your browser: move a wall, run it again. Thirty seconds, thousands of checks, the full codes for your project and jurisdiction, licensed directly from the ICC. Every violation on its element, exact section cited.

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Architosh Best of Show Innovation award, AIA26 San Diego.

[ Architosh · AIA26 San Diego ]

Best of Show for Innovation

Read why
Cover of Architectural Products magazine, July/August 2026: a BIM model with a Kestrel compliance check panel.

[ On the Cover · Architectural Products ]

Must-See Products from AIA 2026

See the cover
A modernist concrete tower with bold orange geometric shapes overlaid, evoking architectural intent meeting structured logic.

Tedious, fragmented code research shouldn't interrupt your workflow. Kestrel handles the detailed code checks so you can stay focused on the building, not the codebook.

Learn more

Partners:

ICC Code Connect API

Built on official code data through our collaboration with the International Code Council (ICC). Continuously updated.

[ Problem ]

Compliance issues surface too late

Checking compliance manually means issues stay hidden until they're disruptive, costly, and time-consuming to fix.

Manual

[01]

Architect reading a printed building code book — manually interpreting requirements against a project.

No way to check code directly against the model

You spend hours, days reading the code, to figure out what applies, and check it against the design by hand.

Disjointed

[02]

Designer interrupted mid-flow by a manual code check — design and compliance handled in disconnected tools.

Every compliance check pulls you out of the design

Every time you stop to check code, you lose the thread. So checks happen less often than they should.

Compounding

[03]

Stacked compliance issues growing in scale across project phases — small missed requirements compounding into rework.

Issues accumulate silently between manual checks

Missed requirements don't stay small, growing with every decision built on top.

Costly

[04]

Permit delays and rework costs surfacing late in the design process — illustration of expensive last-stage corrections.

By the time issues surface, they're expensive to fix

Hours or weeks of rework. Lost fees. Permit delays hitting developers with $12,000 in daily carrying costs.

[ What's Checkable ]

Kestrel checks every code issue your model can surface before the building department does.

[ Active code analysis · Phase 01 / Context assembly ]

Site map · 1:6000 34.04°N · 118.55°W Pre-design

Pacific Palisades

Los Angeles, CA

Coastal hillside · urban-wildland edge · Mid-rise multifamily / mixed-use

Project status
Context assembly active
Project type
Mixed-use multifamily
Building condition
New construction identified
Construction type
Type IIIA assumed
Fire protection
Sprinklered condition identified
Active overlays
17 conditions
Review authorities
6 jurisdictions
Applicable code set
IBC 2024 · CBC 2024 · LA Amendments
Compliance pathway
First-pass review · design phase
  1. Project Jurisdiction Identified
  2. Applicable Code Cycle Identified
  3. California Building Code Applies
  4. Los Angeles Building Code Amendments Applies
  5. Occupancy Classification Identified
  6. Construction Type Identified
  7. Allowable Height and Area Requires review
  8. Fire-Resistance Ratings Applies
  9. Means of Egress Applies
  10. Accessibility Applies
  11. California Fire Code Applies
  12. Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone Triggered
  13. Wildland Urban Interface Requirements Triggered
  14. Hillside Ordinance / Slope Conditions Triggered
  15. Seismic Design Requirements Applies
  16. Geotechnical Review Requires review
  17. FEMA Flood Map Review Cross-checking
  18. Stormwater / Low Impact Development Applies
  19. California Energy Code / Title 24 Applies
  20. CALGreen Applies
  21. Local Zoning Applies
  22. Community Plan / Specific Plan Triggered
  23. Coastal Development Permit Review Cross-checking
  24. Parking and Transportation Applies
  25. Construction Documents Noted
  26. Agency Review Path Noted

From one site location, Kestrel builds the full compliance context before review begins.

Topographic site map of Pacific Palisades, Sunset Mesa, Castellammare, and Inceville in the Santa Monica Mountains coastal interface, with the project parcel marked.
[ 01 ] Responsibility

Architects carry the compliance obligation from concept through submission. Reading, interpreting, and applying code requirements at every stage.

[ 02 ] Disconnection

That work happens outside the design itself, forcing you to step away from creative flow and revisit compliance in fragments.

[ 03 ] Clarity

Kestrel brings compliance into the design process, showing what passes and what doesn't, as you work, so you're not surprised at submission.

[ How It Works ]

Your model.

Your codes.

Connected.

Run AI building code compliance checks natively in your BIM model

How AI building code compliance works in Revit

One click in Revit, or from your browser on a model shared through Autodesk Forma. Kestrel applies the codes for your project type and jurisdiction, mapping results to the exact elements in your design. Every check is AI-powered and deterministically verified, with each issue tied to a cited code reference — so you know exactly what to fix and why.

Kestrel running inside Revit on a building floor plan, with the Compliance Analysis sidebar on the right listing live building code violations against the BIM model.

  1. 01

    Kestrel works inside Revit, or from your browser through Autodesk Forma: no new tools, no workflow changes

  2. 02

    Checks specific code requirements against your BIM model

  3. 03

    Shows what's wrong, where it occurs, and why

  4. 04

    Links every issue back to the code section it comes from

[ Kestrel // Revit live check ]

Basement 02 · IBC 2021 · Frame 01

Kestrel doesn't replace your judgment. It gives you something worth judging.

[ The Kestrel Platform ]

Kestrel runs from Revit or your browser and puts every result in front of the whole team.

Kestrel finds the violation and explains it, citing the section a reviewer would cite. Results land on the model in the Kestrel Portal, where everyone on the project can see them without a Revit seat.

The Kestrel web portal: an isometric 3D view of a boutique hotel model with a flagged element marked, beside the checker results list showing five open items including ADA toilet clear floor space and door fire rating vs wall rating.

[ Kestrel // Portal · Results on the model ]

Boutique hotel · IBC 2021 · 5 open items

Results on the Model

[01]

See every violation in 3D, without launching Revit

Open the model shared through Autodesk Forma in your browser. Every violation sits on its element, with element-ID navigation, code citations, contextual chat, and issue dismissal, the same as in Revit.

A violation opened in the Kestrel web portal: ADA toilet clear floor space, with the explanation citing ICC A117.1 section 604.3, the individual result for the fixture in room W.C, and buttons to show it on the model, read the references, explain, or dismiss. Below, the run history shows what is new, resolved, and returned.

[02]

Open a violation

The element, the explanation, and the section it comes from. Show it on the model, read the references, ask Kestrel to explain it, or dismiss it with a reason. Every run logs what’s new, what’s resolved, and what came back, so the next review starts from the record, not from scratch.

[ Kestrel // Portal · ADA toilet clear floor space · ICC A117.1 §604.3 ]

Cloud Checks

[03]

Run the check without opening Revit

Run from the add-in, or from the portal on a model shared through Autodesk Forma. The run happens in the cloud, so no one’s Revit session is tied up, and lands in the same project history on the same element IDs.

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Explore the platform →

The Autodesk Forma cloud checks panel in the Kestrel portal: a linked Revit cloud model, version and phase selectors, and a Run cloud check button.

[ Kestrel // Portal · Autodesk Forma cloud checks ]

Run from the browser · no Revit session

[ Design Phases ]

Built across every phase of design

From the first program sketch through the last RFI, Kestrel works with how you already design — applying the right code lens at every stage.

Concept / Pre-Design

[01]

Before a wall is placed, Kestrel helps you understand the code parameters you're designing into — occupancy classifications, height and area limits, and jurisdictional constraints that will shape every decision downstream.

Schematic Design

[02]

Occupancy, egress, and life safety constraints — caught while the design is still easy to change.

Design Development

[03]

Accessibility, clearances, and fire safety — resolved before they're locked into your drawings.

Construction Documents

[04]

Full compliance review before the set goes out. Your first submission is your best submission.

Construction Administration

[05]

When field questions arise, you already know where you stand on code. No surprises. No unexpected Change in Services.

[ Compliance Infrastructure ]

Kestrel is the first structured compliance data layer for the built environment.

The rules that decide what gets built have always lived in books and PDFs. Kestrel structures them into logic your model can be checked against, jurisdiction by jurisdiction.

Architects use case illustration. Interior designers use case illustration. Owners and developers use case illustration. Code consultants use case illustration. AHJs use case illustration. Universities use case illustration: a figure ascending a monumental stair. Insurers use case illustration: a cantilevered walkway with guardrails.

[ Use Cases ]

Every role. Every phase. One platform.

[01] Architects

Check compliance continuously in your BIM model, so issues surface during design: not at submission.

[02] Interior Designers

Catch accessibility, egress, and clearance issues early, before they turn into redesign.

[03] Owners / Developers

Permit delays can cost tens of thousands a day. Kestrel catches compliance issues during design, well before they become your problem at submission.

[04] Code Consultants

Run comprehensive checks across applicable codes in a fraction of the time of manual review.

[05] AHJs

Spend reviewer time on judgment calls, not checklist items. Submissions arrive pre-checked against your jurisdiction's requirements.

[06] Universities

Bring jurisdiction-specific code checking into the studio, so code literacy is something students practice on their own designs, not just read about.

[07] Insurers

A code issue caught during design never becomes a claim. Less defect risk reaches the job site, and cleaner projects reach underwriting.

[ Best of Show · Architosh AIA26 ]

“Every few years … a brand-new tool comes out that really has the ability to capture a critical beachhead — that Omaha Beach moment. We believe Kestrel is that.”

Anthony Frausto-Robledo, AIA

Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Architosh

Read the announcement

[ Awards & recognition ]

Architosh Best of Show Innovation award, AIA26 San Diego. Best of Show for Innovation Architosh · 12th Best of Show Honors · AIA26 San Diego Trimble 0-60 Global Innovation Challenge 2025 Finalist badge. Finalist — Global Innovation Challenge Trimble 0-60 · 2025 Cover of Architectural Products magazine, July/August 2026: a BIM model with a Kestrel compliance check panel. On the Cover of Architectural Products Must-See Products from AIA 2026 · July/August 2026 Rosette medallion with the numeral 1, marking Kestrel's No. 1 ranking on the Colorado Startups Leaderboard, Q3 2026. No. 1 Fastest-Growing Startup in Colorado Colorado Startups · The Leaderboard · Q3 2026

[ As seen in ]