Architosh has named Kestrel Labs the Best of Show winner in the Innovation category at its 12th annual Best of Show Honors, recognizing the digital technologies that stood out at the AIA Conference on Architecture and Design 2026 in San Diego. The honors are selected by Architosh founder and editor-in-chief Anthony Frausto-Robledo, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP — himself a licensed architect.
“Kestrel Labs’ new compliance platform focused on building codes was one of AIA26 San Diego’s biggest highlights with respect to digital tools,” Frausto-Robledo wrote. “While other AI code tools exist, Kestrel’s solution puts their compliance engine directly inside the design and documentation environment, whilst also having an intelligent web-based code analysis space for its users.”
He singled out an idea at the core of how we think about the product: that a project’s code work should move with the project across tools and phases — from Revit today, to Trimble Connect and SketchUp and other BIM environments as we grow.
The part we’ll be thinking about for a long time is how he framed the moment:
“Every few years, maybe around every five, a brand-new tool comes out that really has the ability to capture a critical beachhead — that Omaha Beach moment — where we just know a tool and its strategy is super strong and will have rapid success. We believe Kestrel is that.”
On the build itself, he added that Kestrel’s “implementation is also particularly strong for a new application, with a visually appealing GUI and brand identity that speaks to architects” — comparing the experience to award-winning practice software.
In the judging notes, Architosh observed that Innovation winners “often herald new directions in digital technologies, often solving age-old pain points,” calling Kestrel’s AI-powered compliance platform “a rather textbook example” — with “the quality of attack on addressing code review in practice” particularly impressive at version 1.0.
We’re grateful for the recognition, and for a read of the product that matches exactly why we built it: keep decades of hard-won code expertise inside the model, visible to the whole team, at every phase of design.
Read the full Best of Show feature on Architosh: AIA26: Architosh’s 12th Best of Show Honors →
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