Most building envelope consultants position themselves as outside reviewers — the firm you bring in to find what your team missed. ACE is different. We work alongside architects as a design peer, not a critic. Our role is to extend your envelope expertise without adding headcount, strengthen your specifications without slowing your design schedule, and provide the specialized technical knowledge that transforms good design intent into defensible, constructable details that pass inspection and perform for the life of the building.
We serve licensed architects across two distinct engagement models — Architect of Record for the waterproofing scope, where ACE produces stamped drawings that integrate into your document set, and Design Peer Review, where ACE provides independent technical review of your existing envelope design with redline markups and sample details. Our existing architect clients include firms like Dahlin, Lowney, HKIT, STS, ADC, SDG, and AO. The American Institute of Architects recognizes specialty envelope consulting as a critical risk-reduction practice for licensed architects, particularly on multifamily, mixed-use, and institutional projects where envelope failures drive professional liability claims.
Architect of Record for the Waterproofing Scope
The most under-communicated capability in ACE's service portfolio is our Architect of Record (AOR) for the waterproofing scope. This positions ACE as a design peer to the architect — the same way a structural engineer provides stamped structural drawings as a subconsultant under the architect's prime contract. ACE produces stamped waterproofing drawing sets and written specifications that integrate directly into the larger architectural package. The architect retains authorship of the building and remains the prime designer; ACE takes design responsibility for the waterproofing scope as the subconsultant of record.
This engagement model fundamentally changes the relationship dynamic from advisory to design partnership. For architects, the AOR arrangement reduces professional liability exposure on the waterproofing scope to near zero — design responsibility shifts to ACE. For the project, the AOR arrangement produces a level of waterproofing detail that an architect's in-house team simply cannot match: every flashing condition, every transition, every below-grade tie-in is detailed and specified by a firm that has investigated dozens of envelope failures and knows exactly which design choices produce litigation versus zero post-occupancy claims.
AOR vs. Peer Review: Which Engagement Fits Your Project?
The two engagement models serve different needs. Most architect clients use both — AOR on complex multifamily and institutional projects where waterproofing risk is highest, and peer review on simpler projects or specific design questions.
| Architect of Record (Waterproofing) | Design Peer Review | |
|---|---|---|
| What ACE Produces | Stamped waterproofing drawings + written specifications integrated into the architectural set | Redline markups, written recommendations, sample details on the architect's existing design |
| Design Responsibility | ACE bears design responsibility for the waterproofing scope as subconsultant of record | Architect retains sole design responsibility; ACE provides advisory input |
| Document Output | Stamped sheets in the construction document set, fully coordinated | Markup PDFs, written reports, sample detail libraries |
| Liability Impact | Reduces architect's professional liability on the waterproofing scope to near zero | Strengthens architect's defense if claims arise — documented vulnerability identification |
| Best For | Multifamily over podium, mixed-use, complex institutional, affordable housing, high-risk envelopes | Smaller projects, design check-ins, specific assembly questions, pre-CD review |
| Engagement Stage | Engaged at SD or DD; produces drawings through CDs | Engaged at any stage; most valuable late SD through pre-CD issuance |
How ACE's Service Pillars Serve Architects
While AOR and peer review are the primary architect-facing engagements, our other pillars also serve architect clients on specific project needs.
Design Development (AOR)
Stamped waterproofing drawings and specifications. The deepest engagement model — ACE serves as your waterproofing subconsultant of record.
Design Peer Review
Independent review of your envelope design with redline markups, written recommendations, and sample details — distinct from AOR and separately scoped.
Window Testing (FGIA Accredited)
Independent fenestration testing per ASTM E1105, E783, and AAMA 501/502/503 — the testing record that validates your envelope design and protects your firm.
Construction Administration
Field oversight on the waterproofing scope during construction — submittal review, mockup observation, installation monitoring with database-tracked observations.
Reviewing CDs Right Now?
If your envelope design is approaching CD issuance, this is the highest-value moment to engage ACE for peer review — before the design is locked in.
Schedule Peer Review Discussion →Or call (866) 389-8883
What Architects Want from a Specialty Consultant
ACE's architect engagement model is structured around what architects actually value — not what consultants assume they value.
Common Frustrations
Outside reviewers who criticize without collaborating. Specifications copied from generic boilerplate. Consultants who slow the design schedule. Recommendations that aren't constructable in the field.
How ACE Engages Differently
We strengthen your design rather than challenge your authority. We respect your schedule. Our forensic-investigation experience means our recommendations come from real-world failure analysis — not theoretical best practice.
What You Get
Defensible envelope documentation. Reduced professional liability on the waterproofing scope. Specifications that bidding contractors price consistently. Field-constructable details that pass inspection.
Project Types We Peer-Review and AOR
ACE's architect-facing work spans the full range of building types in the Western U.S. market — including the highest-risk envelope assemblies where peer review and AOR provide the greatest value.
- Multifamily over podium — the highest-risk envelope assembly in California, where podium waterproofing transitions drive most CD claims
- Affordable housing — LIHTC-funded projects with HCD compliance documentation requirements
- Mixed-use residential / commercial — complex transitions between podium retail and residential above
- Institutional — universities, healthcare campuses, government facilities with high-performance envelope requirements
- Curtain wall and glazing systems — complex unitized systems with seismic and thermal movement requirements
- Below-grade and podium waterproofing — concealed conditions where construction-phase corrections cost 40x design-phase costs
Frequently Asked Questions
ACE produces stamped waterproofing drawings and written specifications that integrate directly into the larger architectural document set — the same way a structural engineer provides stamped structural drawings as a subconsultant. The architect retains authorship of the building; ACE takes design responsibility for the waterproofing scope.
Peer Review is independent technical review of your existing envelope design — ACE provides redline markups, written recommendations, and sample details, but you remain solely responsible for the design. AOR is a design partnership where ACE produces stamped drawings and bears design responsibility for the waterproofing scope as a subconsultant.
On the waterproofing scope, yes. When ACE serves as AOR, design responsibility for that scope shifts to ACE. When ACE provides peer review, you retain responsibility but benefit from documented vulnerability identification before CDs are issued — a record that supports your defense if claims are filed.
Multifamily residential (including affordable housing), commercial, mixed-use, institutional (universities, healthcare, government), and complex assemblies including curtain walls, podium waterproofing, green roofs, and below-grade systems. ACE has reviewed envelope packages on hundreds of projects across our seven-state territory.
For AOR: at SD or DD, before construction documents are developed — ACE needs time to coordinate the waterproofing package with the architectural set. For peer review: any stage works, but the highest-value moment is late SD through pre-CD issuance, when vulnerabilities can still be corrected before bidding.