AI + KM = Smarter AEC Firms | KM 3.0 Podcast Series - Episode 1

We’re excited to announce a new limited podcast series, Welcome to KM 3.0, a partnership between Knowledge Architecture and Evan Troxel of the TRXL Podcast. 

Knowledge Management has always evolved alongside technology and today, powered by AI, a new golden era of KM is emerging — KM 3.0. 

In this series we’ll profile a range of firms—each with a distinct approach to knowledge management. From program structure to measurable impact, we’ll explore how AEC firms are using knowledge management to get smarter in an AI-driven world.

You’ll hear from a CEO, a marketing director, a technology leader, a sustainability expert, and a dedicated knowledge manager. Each will bring a different lens—showing us how knowledge leadership can emerge from different corners of an organization and take shape in distinct ways.

In every episode, we’ll aim to get to the heart of how AEC knowledge management functions in practice—what’s working, what’s changing, and what others can learn.

The series kicked off with a conversation between Christopher Parsons, our Founder and CEO, and Evan, where they talked about his journey into knowledge management, what knowledge management looks like in an AEC practice, how it’s evolved, and why AI is poised to reshape what is possible.

We hope you’ll join us as we explore.

🎧 Welcome to KM 3.0

In this episode of the TRXL Podcast, Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture, joins host Evan Troxel to explore the evolution of knowledge management in AEC—from the early days of digitizing and capturing firm knowledge (KM 1.0), through the rise of collaboration and social intranets (KM 2.0), to today’s emerging era of AI-powered answers delivered in the flow of work (KM 3.0).

Christopher shares how leading AEC firms are preparing for this shift by operationalizing knowledge in practical, high-impact ways—such as upskilling emerging professionals, scaling expert knowledge, driving technology adoption, and improving onboarding effectiveness. These firms are beginning to unlock the full value of the knowledge they already have by leveraging AI-powered knowledge management approaches that make content more accessible, discoverable, and actionable across the firm.

Later in the episode, Christopher explains how this KM 3.0 transformation is made possible through new technologies like retrieval augmented generation (RAG), semantic search, domain-specific AI tuning, and intelligent search agents that know how to route queries to the right sources using tools and reasoning. But more importantly, he emphasizes that AI alone isn’t the solution—people, process, and culture, working alongside AI, are what truly unlock value.

This transition to KM 3.0 is helping AEC firms connect their people to the knowledge and expertise they need—right in the flow of work.

If you're leading innovation, knowledge management, or AI initiatives in your firm, or just trying to make your people smarter, this episode is for you.

▶ Watch or Listen:

📺  YouTube
🎧  Spotify
🎧  Apple Podcasts

About the TRXL Podcast

The TRXL podcast is a leading voice at the intersection of architecture and emerging technology, hosted by Evan Troxel. Each episode features thoughtful conversations with architects, technologists, and industry leaders who are shaping the future of the built environment. With a focus on innovation, practice, and the people behind the work, TRXL offers listeners an inside look at how architecture is evolving—one insight at a time.

In addition to the free weekly show, TRXL+ offers an extended experience with bonus content, early access, behind-the-scenes commentary for subscribers who want to go deeper, ad-free episodes, and the Leadership Edge newsletter. You can explore the full archive and learn more about TRXL+ at https://trxl.co.

Introducing Advanced Employee Search

Finding the right person with the right expertise at the right time is one of the most persistent challenges in AEC firms. 

That’s why we built Advanced Employee Search—a powerful new AI search feature in our Synthesis intranet platform that helps employees find the experts they need, when they need them, whether they’re searching by role, skills, certifications, committees, or experience.

Advanced Employee Search combines structured employee data from integrations with AEC software like Deltek, Unanet, aec360, and OpenAsset, with unstructured employee data from intranet pages, documents, videos, and posts. The result: AI-powered answers that connect your team directly to the experts they need.

In this short video, you’ll see how Synthesis can answer questions like:

• Who are our registered architects in California?

• Who’s on the sustainability committee?

• Who can help me plan a flexible wet lab?

• Who is our mass timber expert?

• Who can I ask about reclaimed structural steel? 

You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes look at how Advanced Employee Search uses Agentic RAG (retrieval augmented generation with reasoning and tools), and a preview of the next Synthesis AI Search feature we’re working on: Advanced Project Search.

If your firm is curious about how Synthesis can support knowledge sharing, expertise discovery, and intranet search, we’d love to show you how it works.

KM 3.0 CASE STUDY | Improving Onboarding Effectiveness @ Shepley Bulfinch

Shepley Bulfinch is a 200-person architecture, planning, and interior design firm with offices in Boston, Hartford, Houston, and Phoenix. Like every AEC firm, they face the same universal challenge:

How do you give new hires the right amount of information—without overwhelming them or leaving them stranded?

The tension is familiar. Too much information, too early, and it becomes a blur. Too little, too late, and new employees are left guessing. But Shepley has found a way to strike a better balance—one that goes beyond orientation and delivers support when it’s needed most.

In this 8-minute clip from my “KM 3.0” webinar, I share how Shepley is reimagining onboarding not as a one-time event, but as an ongoing knowledge experience.

They’ve built a rich onboarding ecosystem within Finch, their Synthesis intranet, including:

• An “I’m New Here” page that puts all key resources in one place: office groups, firm standards, tech setup, and more.

• A Benefits Guide and Shepley Standards manual that go beyond policies to explain the thinking and philosophy behind how the firm works.

• A Ropes Course Guide—a seven-part series of discussion prompts introducing new hires to Shepley’s approach to design, project phases, client engagement, and team roles.

• A Working Groups directory so employees can join voluntary communities around Revit, interiors, sustainability, and more.

• A course catalog for BirdFeeder, their internal learning and development program covering project management, technical skills, professional development, and more.

All of this forms a powerful foundation. But Shepley didn’t stop there.

They’ve paired great onboarding content with intelligent AI Search—so employees can find the right answers not just in week one, but in week twenty or week fifty.

Need to know if gym memberships are covered? Just ask.
Wondering about the work-from-home policy after a life change? Ask.
First time submitting expenses? Ask.
Trying to understand how project assignments work—or who decides them? Ask.

Even more impressive, AI Search surfaces precise responses, citing the source and often pointing directly to relevant documents, videos, or even the person responsible. For example:

• “Who’s on the staffing responsible body?” returns the current roster, filtered from the employee directory.

• “Who knows Affinity Photo in Houston?” surfaces a colleague you can reach out to directly for help.

This is where KM 3.0 shines.

Shepley isn’t just onboarding people more thoughtfully—they’re extending the learning journey into daily work. They’ve built a system where the right information (or the right person) is always within reach, long after the orientation ends.

It’s onboarding designed not just for day one, but for year one.

KM 3.0 CASE STUDY | Driving Technology Adoption at Scale @ Turner Fleischer

Turner Fleischer is a 250-person architecture firm based in Toronto with a long-standing commitment to design technology. Over the past decade, they’ve not only adopted new tools—they’ve built them, structured a robust DT department, and established themselves as leaders in technical innovation.

But as anyone in change management knows, building great tools is one thing. Getting people across the firm to actually use them—that’s the real challenge.

Turner Fleischer’s approach to driving tech adoption is layered, thoughtful, and grounded in a progression from KM 1.0 to KM 2.0 and now KM 3.0.

In this 8-minute clip from my “KM 3.0” webinar, I walk through how they’ve built a solid knowledge foundation and then used AI to scale learning and support at the moment of need.

They’ve created:

• A deep, well-structured intranet (named Newton) with curated documentation, from Revit standards to computational design guides—complete with subject matter experts listed on every page.

• A series of monthly Tech Talks that spotlight emerging tools, trends, and internal innovations—recorded and posted to the intranet so learning becomes part of the firm’s knowledge fabric.

• A microlearning video library called eTutor, with over 370 short videos (most under 10 minutes), each laser-focused on specific tools or tasks—from Bluebeam to Autodesk Construction Cloud.

• A formal L&D program called TF Academy offering cohort-based courses to deepen team expertise.

This multi-pronged strategy meets people where they are—whether they want to skim a summary, attend a course, or watch a short video before jumping into a task.

But what makes this KM 3.0 is how it all comes together at the moment of need.

Let’s say you’re new to the firm and keep hearing about “BXP”—but aren’t quite sure what it means. Rather than asking around, you simply search “What is BXP?” and instantly get a clear answer: it’s a BIM Execution Plan, here’s how we use it at Turner Fleischer, and if you want to learn more, go talk to Brent Mauti.

Or maybe you need to create a door schedule. A quick search pulls up a structured page plus a relevant microlearning video from the eTutor library.

Need to request a laser scan? Search the question, get the steps, and click directly to the form.

Curious who knows Grasshopper or how to operate the laser cutter? Search the tool name and Synthesis points you to the right people instantly.

This is the heart of KM 3.0.

Turner Fleischer isn’t just educating their team—they’re delivering knowledge in the flow of work. They’ve moved from “just in case” training to “just in time” answers. From centralized expertise to distributed access.

The result? A more empowered, more confident, and more capable team—ready to adopt and apply new technology when it matters most.

KM 3.0 CASE STUDY: Scaling Expert Knowledge @ Boulder Associates

Boulder Associates is a 250-person architecture, interior design, and consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado. The business challenge they’ve taken on with knowledge management is a big one:

How do you scale expert knowledge across a firm of 250, when your subject matter experts are busy, billable, and deeply embedded in project work?

In this 8-minute clip from my “KM 3.0” webinar, I share how Boulder Associates is doing just that—starting with one of their top experts in healthcare design, Darci Hernandez, and a looming deadline that’s reshaping hospital planning in California.

Darci has deep experience navigating SB 1953, a seismic safety mandate requiring California hospitals to meet compliance standards by 2030. While the legislation itself is public, Darci’s knowledge goes beyond the text—into the messy reality of how health systems are actually responding, what trade-offs they’re making, and how architects can help clients manage risk and make informed decisions.

So how do you capture all that insight without asking Darci to write a white paper she doesn’t have time to write?

Todd Henderson, Boulder’s Director of Practice Improvement, sat down with her for a recorded interview. Then he used Synthesis to automatically transcribe the video, ran it through AI tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT to generate takeaways and summaries, and published the resulting page to their intranet—where it’s now indexed by AI Search and easy to retrieve when teammates have questions like:

• “What is SB 1953 and how are our clients responding to it?”

• “How can I help a hospital client weigh their retrofit options?”

• “Who at Boulder can help me go deeper on this topic?”

The same playbook was used with Emily Nightingale, a Bluebeam expert at Boulder, to answer questions like:

• “When should I use Bluebeam Sessions vs. Projects?”

• “What’s the best way to do redlining in Bluebeam for project workflows?”

This approach—record, transcribe, summarize, publish, index—delivers on the promise of KM 3.0.

It’s efficient for experts. It respects their time. And it turns deep, tacit knowledge into accessible, actionable assets that scale—without sacrificing nuance.

And when AI Search surfaces an answer from one of these interviews, it doesn’t just give you information—it links directly to the expert who said it, so you know where it came from and who to follow up with if you need more.

This is KM 3.0 in action.

Not just storing knowledge—but helping people find it, trust it, and use it in the flow of work.

KM 3.0 CASE STUDY | Upskilling Emerging Professionals @ BWBR

BWBR is a 200-person architecture firm based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Last year, they hired 70 new employees, many of whom were placed on healthcare projects.

Healthcare, as anyone in AEC knows, is an especially complex building type. The regulations are intense. The jargon is endless. The user types are specialized. You’ve got equipment standards, room layout logic, infection control procedures—plus a sea of acronyms that only make sense once you’re fluent. It’s a steep learning curve, even for experienced professionals, let alone those new to the industry.

So BWBR asked a timely and important question:

How do we get 70 people up to speed—quickly and effectively—using knowledge management, including the latest advances in AI-powered tools?

In this 8-minute clip from my recent webinar "KM 3.0: Connecting People to Knowledge and Expertise in the Flow of Work", I share how BWBR:

• Built a healthcare community of practice on their intranet (BHIVE), including 18 curated training modules

• Documented best practices, subject matter experts, and go-to resources for complex topics

• Layered on AI Search so new hires can ask real questions—“What’s an onstage/offstage layout?” or “What’s important in an imaging suite?”—and instantly surface the most relevant answers from training videos, expert-authored pages, and internal documentation

This is what KM 3.0 looks like in practice.

Not just capturing and sharing knowledge, but delivering it in the flow of work.

KM 3.0 CASE STUDY | Scaling Expert Knowledge @ Bora

What if you could teach AI to provide expert guidance on demand—while at the same time freeing up your human experts to spend more time on design, mentorship, and innovation?

At Bora Architecture & Interiors, a 70-person architecture firm in Portland, that’s exactly what they’re experimenting with. They call it RoboCorey—a digital twin of their Director of Sustainability, Corey Squire, AIA.

Corey is a nationally recognized leader in sustainable design and the author of People Planet Design. Like many experts, he wants to spend less time repeating the basics and more time pushing the work forward. So Bora built a system that captures his 101- and 201-level knowledge—from material choices to indoor air quality strategies—and makes it searchable, accessible, and actionable through their Synthesis intranet. (Corey even uploaded his book to Synthesis. 💡)

What makes the RoboCorey approach so compelling is that it’s not about replacing experts. It’s about scaling their insight—while freeing them up to focus on client challenges, mentor others, and drive deeper innovation.

It’s also a powerful way to make values real. At Bora, sustainability is centered on values and ideals—but also providing the knowledge and information people need to deliver sustainable solutions. RoboCorey turns knowledge into something anyone at the firm can access in real time, regardless of whether or not experts are available.

This is KM 3.0 in action.

Watch our full KM 3.0 webinar for more examples of how AEC firms are driving new business value with AI-powered Knowledge Management approaches.

Introducing the Smarter by Design Newsletter

Having spent nearly 25 years in the AEC industry helping firms manage their knowledge more strategically and effectively, I believe we’re in a moment of real change. Not just in technology, but in how architecture and engineering firms think about learning, growth, and the role of knowledge in their work.

AI is part of the story, of course. But so are generational shifts, new business models, and a growing recognition that firms can’t just work harder, they have to learn smarter and faster. 

To thrive in the decades ahead, I believe firms need to become learning organizations: places where knowledge flows, expertise grows, and insights compound over time. That kind of transformation doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design. Smarter design.

That’s the spirit behind this newsletter.

Every other week, I’ll share stories, patterns, and lessons from across the AEC industry drawn from my conversations with firm leaders, knowledge managers, and others who are quietly (and sometimes boldly) rethinking how their firms manage information, share knowledge, and build cultures of learning.

Sometimes I’ll zoom in on specific use cases — like improving onboarding, upskilling emerging professionals, or scaling expert knowledge. Other times I’ll step back to explore broader patterns: what’s changing in knowledge management, what remains foundational, and what new business value is being unlocked by firms embracing new technologies, practices, and cultural mindsets.

If you’re interested in how firms are scaling learning, supporting growth through intentional organizational design, and building resilience, this newsletter is for you.

And while I’ll be writing from my own experience, I hope this becomes a conversation.

As I wrote recently, I’ve found throughout my career that in times of change, community is the killer app. Community helps us navigate faster, more successfully, and with more ease, joy, and grace. None of us have all of the answers, but I believe we’ll get further, faster if we explore together. 

I hope you join me on the journey.

Christopher Parsons
Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture