The panelists don't deign to teach architecture to the proponent: that's not the purpose of the reviews. It's about the development benefitting from the collective experience.
I have seen some architects bristle at some of the comments given at DRP hearings, but that has been exception. The rule has been that the meetings are quite collegial (without being backslapping), and that comments are given to be helpful in producing a superior design. Not every panel member agrees on what constitutes an improvement, however, so some comments conflict with others, and it is left to the proponents as to which comments to take on board, and which ones to agree to disagree on. When the entire body of the DRP agrees on something, however, you better be willing to consider the input.
From what I have seen, the DRP can occasionally react too conservatively for my taste when faced with some bold moves, but generally the panel gets it, and the great majority of projects benefit from its scrutiny.
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