LSI Architects – Digital technology team
LSI Architects’ digital technology team has been exploring how AI can be integrated into workflows. While AI assistants within CAD software will become increasingly capable of manipulating geometry and data, LSI recognises that robust verification systems are essential to maintaining high-quality outputs.
Existing QA processes, operating under 9001 Quality Management standards, rely on manual checks within Archicad in combination with external tools such as Solibri and Excel. While adequate, these established workflows are manual, convoluted and prone to error, particularly when working with large datasets.
Design development changes could also fall through QA gaps undetected and existing methods lack audit trails to monitor changes to verified elements. These all create barriers to efficient AI adoption within CAD systems.
Thus, the digital technology team developed an AI verification system featuring ‘verification sets’, which define filtering criteria. The verification tool checks that the AI agents have correctly updated specific building elements, such as adding fire ratings to walls. It flags different elements to show verification status, and records who verified each item and when. If these verified elements are later changed, the tool automatically flags them for rechecking.
The system mitigates AI hallucinations and supports teams’ upskilling.
Challenges included the niche nature of the Archicad API, teamworking reservation requirements and initial data storage limitations. These were addressed through automatic reservation solutions, a rewrite of the data storage methodology to support near-limitless data formats, and systematic performance testing to minimise slowdowns. The tool has also been futureproofed to support seamless upgrades.
The verification tool establishes a pathway to check models against project standards (such as building regulations), positioning it as a comprehensive compliance platform.
Early feedback suggests significant efficiency gains, with manual room elevation checks reduced from 15 minutes to just five minutes per room, saving hours per project.
[This case study is reproduced with kind permission of the Digital Construction Awards, and is for a 2026 finalist shortlisted for Digital Team of the Year – a category sponsored by nima. Read all the shortlisted profiles on Digital Construction Plus. The winner will be revealed at the Awards dinner on 18 March at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square.]
