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Facing the organizational and technological complexity of nuclear infrastructures (NI), the public reluctance in nuclear technology and the increasing restrictive regulatory environment, improving the conceptualization and evaluation of NI architecture is crucial for the successful completion of NI projects. Indeed, many technical engineering difficulties or delays in delivery can be avoided by deepening the design and evaluation of NI architectures. In a context where model‐based systems engineering (MBSE) is becoming more and more relevant, it is interesting to integrate evaluation into this process. Although the architecture evaluation (AE) process is rather well defined in the literature and linked to system analysis practices, it is quite difficult to deploy and pilot within complex NI projects. This article proposes a model‐based method, EVAluation for Critical Infrastructure Model Based System Engineering (EVA‐CIME), to facilitate the deployment of AE processes on a project. The components of this method are described and illustrated in a study of a NI design. The benefits and limitations of EVA‐CIME in its state of development are discussed and lead to the conclusion that the method should be extended to foster an AE culture within the company itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]