Featured Guests
Corey Squire, Director of Sustainability at Bora
Webinar Summary
Knowledge management is key to unlocking success with sustainable design, but designers live in a noisy world filled with conflicting priorities. By taking the time to capture and share “what good looks like”—in other words, to separate the signal from the noise—a firm can provide its designers with a solid baseline for designing projects.
This pursuit to deliver better project outcomes led Bora’s Director of Sustainability, Corey Squire, to build and launch Chaco, the firm’s Synthesis 6 intranet. Through the sharing of best practices and process knowledge—information staff “can’t find anywhere else”—Chaco is helping Bora embrace the firm’s core design philosophies of health, climate and equity while transforming the design process.
In this Synthesis Spotlight, you’ll learn how Chaco allows Bora’s designers to:
Find best practices for building typologies, systems, materials, construction, and specifications
Use process knowledge ranging from pre-design, design, products + materials, client feedback, and archiving in their projects
Ask questions and get answers from other designers around a variety of design and technical topics
Continuously improve Bora’s knowledge base as the firm evolves and grows
Webinar Timeline
INTRODUCTION
01:12 Introduction to Bora
02:50 Knowledge Management Challenges
04:58 Broad Overview of Chaco
BEST PRACTICES
06:20 Vision → Outcome → Strategy → Documentation
08:58 The Meaning of “Best Practices” at Bora
10:55 Bora Best Practices vs Standard Best Practices
12:17 The Bora Perfect Project
14:25 Best Practices by Typology
16:33 Interior Construction / Wall Finishes
19:45 Best Practices by Division
21:05 Best Practices Posts + Hashtags
PROCESS
22:34 Process Overview
24:30 Project Start Up
26:06 Environmental Graphic Design
27:16 Contextual Research
27:45 Performance Requirements
28:40 Volta Indoor Air Quality
30:13 Connecting Tools and Resources to Explanations
30:35 Sample Drawing Set
34:35 Construction Administration Guide
35:40 Process Posts + Hashtags
36:40 Post: Joint Sealant Question
PROJECTS
38:00 2030 Dashboard Directory View
39:34 Performance Metrics on Project Profiles
40:36 Projects by Glazing Area Directory View
QUESTIONS
41:43 How will you make sure your best practices don’t go stale?
45:18 How do you enforce best practices?
47:20 Start with the Firm Vision / Mission
49:10 How do you find the time to maintain intranet content?
51:38 How was your intranet content developed? How much time did it take?
55:55 What’s next for Chaco?
More Case Study Webinars
Featured Guests
Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture
Webinar Summary
Over the last two years, Synthesis has evolved from a social intranet into an integrated knowledge, learning, and AI platform for AEC firms.
In this webinar, I shared the next phase of that evolution and demonstrated how new Synthesis LMS, AI, and integration capabilities are coming together to help firms put their knowledge to work.
We explored:
How the Search Connector API enables firms and technology partners to build custom connectors and bring more firmwide knowledge into Synthesis
How firms are using Synthesis Knowledge Agents across informational, creation-based, and process-based use cases
How the Synthesis MCP Server connects Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, and other compatible AI platforms to a firm’s knowledge and learning foundation in Synthesis
How Assignments, Recommendations, and Notifications in Synthesis LMS will help firms deliver the right learning to the right people at the right time
How SCORM support in Synthesis LMS will allow firms to centralize access to courses from learning-content partners and the course-authoring platforms they choose
The emerging vision for the Synthesis Knowledge Marketplace, which will bring trusted industry expertise into a firm’s knowledge, learning, and AI ecosystem
This session is useful for current Synthesis clients, firms evaluating Synthesis, and AEC leaders responsible for knowledge management, learning and development, technology, AI, and digital transformation.
Enjoy!
Featured Guests
Nicole Rogers, Senior Principal and Director of Architecture
Graham Parker, Knowledge Manager
Webinar Summary
What changed when SMRT Architects & Engineers implemented Synthesis wasn't just the platform. It was the mindset.
After four intranet iterations spanning nearly two decades — from hand-coded HTML to ThoughtFarmer to SharePoint — SMRT, a 130-person integrated architecture and engineering firm based in Portland, Maine, made a different kind of commitment. They decided that internal work is real work, that their firm is a worthy client, and then treated their Synthesis implementation accordingly.
Nicole Rogers served not just as executive sponsor, but as principal in charge. Graham Parker, who had already proven the ROI of data-driven process improvement on the accounting side of the business, moved into a dedicated knowledge management role. A project number was created in Deltek. Hours were tracked on timesheets. The implementation got the same rigor and attention SMRT gives its external clients and the results showed.
That investment didn't end at go-live. Nicole has continued to drive adoption at the senior leadership level because SMRT understands that launching Synthesis is just the beginning, not the finish line. Meanwhile, Graham has expanded his work into AI, helping build the digital knowledge foundation that makes tools like Synthesis Knowledge Agents and AI Search valuable.
Knowledge management can't be the ninth thing on somebody's to-do list in the AI era. SMRT's story is a case study in what happens when it isn't.
In this webinar, Nicole Rogers, Senior Principal and Director of Architecture, and Graham Parker, Knowledge Manager, share their firm's story — from the organizational shifts that unlocked knowledge management to a live look at where they're headed with AI and learning management.
We explore:
How treating the Synthesis implementation like a real client project changed the outcome
The change management and internal marketing work that drove adoption before, during, and after launch
How Nicole's continued executive sponsorship keeps the platform alive and growing past go-live
How and why Graham moved from the finance team to a dedicated knowledge management role
What it takes to build the digital knowledge foundation that enables AI agents to actually deliver value
A live tour of CALVIN, SMRT's Synthesis platform, and a look at their early work with Synthesis Knowledge Agents and LMS
If your firm has struggled to give its knowledge management program real momentum, SMRT's story offers an honest, hard-won perspective on what it actually takes: the right investments in mindset, people, process, and culture — alongside the right technology.
Enjoy!
Featured Guests
Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture
Webinar Summary
Knowledge agents are emerging as one of the most promising applications of AI for AEC firms—helping teams accelerate learning, scale expertise, and streamline workflows.
In this webinar, Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Architecture, will provide a live demonstration of Synthesis Knowledge Agents, showing how agents are created, refined, and deployed to solve real business problems.
Along the way, Christopher will share what we're learning from firms participating in the Synthesis Knowledge Agents private beta, highlighting the patterns and strategic insights emerging from early adoption.
We'll explore:
A live demonstration of Synthesis Knowledge Agents, including how to create and refine agents from scratch
Real-world examples spanning informational, creation-based, and process-based use cases
The progression from informational AI assistants to workflow-transforming knowledge agents
The common characteristics shared by firms making the fastest progress with knowledge agents
How firms are capturing and structuring knowledge to power more capable agents
Where knowledge agents are headed and what that means for AEC firms
This session offers a practical look at how knowledge agents are evolving and what early adopters are teaching us about the future of AI-enabled work in AEC firms.
Enjoy!
Featured Guests
Kristina Williams, Design Technology Director at Lionakis
Brandon Norton, Senior Multi-Media Manager at Fuscoe Engineering
Webinar Summary
As AEC firms rethink how knowledge and expertise are shared internally, learning is beginning to move beyond traditional training formats. Instead of relying solely on live sessions or long recordings, firms are increasingly designing learning experiences that are shorter, more flexible, on-demand or hybrid, and accessible in the flow of work.
This shift is being accelerated in the Knowledge Architecture community by Synthesis, a platform built for Modern Learning Organizations, that combines intranet knowledge, learning management systems, AI-powered search, and knowledge agents to enable employees to discover and apply expertise exactly when they need it.
In this webinar, Kristina Williams, Director of Design Technology at Lionakis, and Brandon Norton, Senior Multi-Media Manager at Fuscoe Engineering, shared how their firms are designing modern learning experiences that take advantage of this new paradigm.
Each presented a case study of a high-priority learning experience their firm is building or modernizing—experiences designed not only for formal learning, but also to support self-directed exploration, knowledge reuse, recall, and AI-powered discovery through Synthesis.
We explored:
How firms are identifying high-value opportunities to modernize learning experiences
How learning content is being structured for both human learning and AI-powered retrieval
How on-demand courses and hybrid learning experiences are designed to support self-directed learning
What early feedback firms are receiving from staff using these new formats
Lessons learned from the first generation of modern learning experiments
What these efforts may mean for the future of knowledge management, learning, and firmwide expertise development
Each speaker shared a 20-minute case study, followed by discussion and open Q&A.
This session offered a practical look at how firms are beginning to redesign learning experiences for a new era—one where knowledge, learning, AI search, and knowledge agents work together to help employees access the right expertise at the right time.
Enjoy!
Featured Guests
Hillary Thompson, Principal
Webinar Summary
As AI-powered search and learning tools become more capable, their effectiveness depends on something far more fundamental: the quality, structure, and completeness of a firm’s knowledge foundation.
Over the past year, MBH Architects has advanced a series of focused initiatives to strengthen how knowledge is captured, structured, and maintained across the firm. What began as a small proof of concept quickly expanded into a broader effort spanning marketing, studio-level practice knowledge, structured project data, and now firmwide learning.
In this webinar, Hillary Thompson, Principal at MBH Architects, shares how MBH is deliberately investing in its knowledge foundation to enable better AI outcomes, improve access to expertise, and create a continuous pipeline connecting project experience, institutional knowledge, and learning.
We explore:
How MBH scoped and executed targeted knowledge capture initiatives to demonstrate early, measurable value
How capturing practice knowledge, studio standards, and best practices is becoming essential groundwork for smarter retrieval and collaboration
The role of structured project data in unlocking new possibilities for search, storytelling, and institutional insight
How MBH is beginning to translate project experience and expertise into scalable learning through Synthesis LMS
Practical strategies for communicating value, building momentum, and sustaining long-term knowledge management initiatives
This session offers a practical, behind-the-scenes look at how one firm is strengthening its knowledge infrastructure to ensure the right knowledge reaches the right person at the right time—and how that foundation is enabling the next generation of AI-powered knowledge and learning.
Enjoy!
Featured Guests
Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture
Webinar Summary
Are you taking advantage of the data gold mine your AEC firm is sitting on? Is the institutional knowledge of your firm’s most valuable professionals available to others? Christopher Parsons of Knowledge Architecture shares 5 “We Gotta Try That!” examples of AEC firms applying an Intranet + AI Search solution to unlock the full value of their in-house knowledge:
BWBR created a healthcare upskilling series with 18 learning modules, best practice guides, and expert-curated content. AI search makes it all accessible to new hires so they can quickly get answers to their questions.
Turner Fleischer combined structured standards, #TechTalk videos, a searchable eTutor library, and an internal learning academy to build a robust KM foundation. AI search delivers just-in-time answers that support technology adoption at scale.
Boulder Associates uses expert interviews to capture knowledge, such as seismic compliance strategies and Bluebeam project workflows. AI search then surfaces this expertise so project teams can get answers and connect directly with in-house experts.
Bora Architecture & Interiors built a digital twin of their sustainability lead, Corey Squire, by integrating his best practices, project reflections, and even his book into their intranet. AI search (aka “Robo Corey”) now helps employees find standards, strategies, and subject matter experts for sustainable design decisions.
Shepley Bulfinch created a comprehensive onboarding knowledge ecosystem, answering questions such as “How do I get staffed on projects?” or “Who knows Affinity Photo in Houston?” in the flow of work. AI search allows access to answers long after orientation.
Enjoy!