Professional judgment remains with the architect.
Reasonable Control names the proposed verification and documentation method. It helps architects exercise and demonstrate responsible control, as defined by applicable licensing law.
Revision 2 · October 8, 2026
ReasonableControl
Reasonable Control: Verification and Documentation of Machine-Assisted Work in Architectural Practice
A voluntary practice framework for licensed architects and architectural firms.
The premise
Artificial intelligence has not altered the architect’s standard of care. It has created new ways to breach it. When production outruns review, a firm can issue material machine-assisted content without having verified it or recorded how it was checked.
What the Guide contributes
The sources state the obligation. The Guide supplies the working method.
Verification is defined as an operation.
Verification brings together a stated criterion, an authoritative source, and a recorded result.
The work can be reconstructed.
The record identifies what was machine-assisted, how it was verified, by whom, when, and with what disposition.
The complete publication
Read by Part
Part IPart IIPart IIIPart IVPart VPart VIPart VIIPart VIIIA–E
The Condition Observed
The production-verification gap and the questions it creates.
Seven Principles
Responsible control, verification, source identification, competence, confidentiality, records, and reserved decisions.
Artificial Intelligence and Professional Judgment
Evidence on automated advice, training, and the information available during a task.
Reasonable Control by Area of Practice
Verification and documentation for architectural tasks.
The Record
The project context and verification entries that make the work reconstructable.
When the Record Is Examined
What adoption and conformance can show when the firm must account for its work.
Implementation and Conformance
Implementation at three practice scales and the Guide’s conformance statement.
Scope and Use of the Guide
Definitions, source distinctions, recommendations, and limits.
Appendices
Working sheets for firm decisions, task classification, project sources, verification records, and the decision to issue.
For principals & practice leaders
Bring the method
into everyday work.
Your firm may already have an AI policy. The next question is how one project team puts it into practice.
Begin with a leadership decision, a review of one workflow, or a focused implementation pilot.
Explore support for your firm →The publication
Read freely. Apply thoughtfully.
The full eight-part manuscript establishes the framework. Working appendices provide adaptable records, and the implementation deck demonstrates their use.
The Guide remains available without registration. Professional assistance is optional.
The author & practitioner
Daniel Hutchins, AIA, NCARB
A licensed architect practicing in forensic architecture, examining how deficiencies enter instruments of service. Reasonable Control brings that perspective to the review of machine-assisted work before issue.
About Daniel and the publication →