Architectural

Architectural Research

Activate the /skill:engineering-research method and run it with this domain payload. Do not restate the research loop here.

Evidence landscape

• Codes/standards: IBC, local adopted building codes, ADA/ABA, NFPA

(life safety), ASHRAE (comfort/envelope), ASTM (materials), AIA documents. Cite section + edition, and check which edition the jurisdiction has adopted.

• Primary sources: code text and commentary, manufacturer data sheets and

ICC-ES/Product-specific evaluation reports for assemblies, material property data from the issuing body, peer-reviewed building-science literature.

• Prior art / practice: documented building failures and enclosure

forensics, post-disaster reconnaissance, trade association guidance (e.g. NIBS, building-science organizations), well-documented built precedents.

Verification criteria

• Code provisions: verify the standard exists and read the actual

provision; cite section + edition. Do not summarize a provision from memory.

• Assembly claims: an assembly (wall, roof, glazing) must trace to a

named system + evaluation report or manufacturer data, not a generic "a curtain wall".

• Units and conventions: every number carries a unit (R-value vs U-value

— know which), and the unit system is explicit.

• Performance values: thermal, acoustic, fire, and structural values must

trace to a named standard/test method (ASTM C518, ASTM E90, NFPA 285, ...) and the result that test produced.

• Precedent claims: a building's attributes must be checkable against a

named source (architect's record, journal, official project data) — do not infer a building's systems from a photo.

• Sign conventions / orientation: north arrows, sun paths, and floor

levels must be explicit when a claim depends on them.

Deliverable shape

Follow the method's artifact contract. In the final artifact, end with a Sources section citing code + section + edition and named assemblies + evaluation reports, marking performance values verified, inferred, or blocked.

Invocation Flags

Accept --deep and --quick flags and pass them through to the engineering-research method. See that skill for flag semantics.

Gap Detection

If research hits an evidence dead-end — no code provision, paper, or dataset addresses the question after exhausting the discovery layers — suggest running /gap-analysis architectural to formally validate and document the gap. Do not invoke gap-analysis automatically; offer it as a next step and wait for the user to confirm.

Scope and Boundaries

• This skill produces research — it does NOT produce final designs or construction documents.
• Research-only, not for final engineering sign-off. Licensed engineers must review and approve any design based on this research.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: adeerkhan
• Source: adeerkhan/vitruvius
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.