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Buildcheck CEO Alexander Michalatos published in Western Built Magazine on what AI can and can't do in construction. Here's what the analysis covers.
The piece, titled "What AI Actually Does in Construction (and What It Doesn't)," appears in Western Built's Technology section and draws on Michalatos' background spanning Stantec, Honeywell, EllisDon, and QuadReal before founding Buildcheck.
Read the full article in Western Built Magazine.
The core argument
Most AI tools generating industry headlines — large language models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google — are optimized for text. Construction, Michalatos argues, runs on drawings. Until AI can reliably interpret 2D construction documents — distinguishing walls from dimensions, mechanical equipment from lighting fixtures, or fire-rated assemblies from standard partitions — its practical impact on construction risk remains limited.
Buildcheck's approach centers on proprietary computer vision models trained specifically on architectural, structural, and MEP drawings. The platform performs over 300 automated checks across drawing sets, ranging from missing wall tags to cross-discipline fire-rating conflicts and electrical capacity mismatches between mechanical equipment and power design.
Documented results
The article cites a recent deployment at Primex Investments, a multifamily developer in British Columbia, on a 230-unit, multi-building project. Buildcheck's review identified coordination errors that resulted in $500,000 in documented cost savings and 27 days recovered on schedule.
Jared Krish, Director of Development at Primex, noted: "Every coordination issue that Buildcheck caught saved us from expensive field modifications and potential delays that could have impacted our delivery schedule."
Buildcheck's current client base includes EllisDon, Cressey Development Group, AvalonBay Communities, HCMA, and Dempsey Construction.
Market context
The piece frames the timing around structural pressures facing Western Canadian contractors: tightening margins, increasing design-build contract volumes that push design risk onto GCs, and a competitive mid-market where preconstruction capability is a differentiator.
Design errors and coordination gaps cost the global construction industry over $200 billion annually. In markets where contractors are absorbing more design responsibility, that exposure is growing.
In December 2025, Buildcheck closed a $5.9 million financing round to expand its engineering team and broaden deployment across its customer base.
Buildcheck AI is a construction technology company applying computer vision to detect design coordination errors in construction drawings before they reach the field. The platform serves general contractors and real estate developers across commercial, multifamily, and institutional projects. Learn more at buildcheck.ai.
