AI for architecture and planning firms. More design time, less paperwork.
AI can speed up code and zoning research, draft specification sections, organize RFIs and submittals during construction, write proposals from past projects and turn meetings into minutes and action items. Modern Thesis helps principals of architecture and planning firms put that to work, so architects spend more of their time on design and clients.
At a glance
- Who it's for: principals, owners and studio leaders of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning firms with $10M+ in annual revenue.
- What Modern Thesis does: AI strategy, change management, implementation and ongoing stewardship, from one team.
- How it starts: a strategic assessment that measures how the work moves today and ranks where AI pays first. See the assessment.
- Where: based in the Denver area, with an office at 11001 W 120th Ave, Ste 400, Broomfield, CO 80021. On site across the Denver metro and Colorado, and remote anywhere in the US.
- What it doesn't do: stamp or sign professional work, give regulatory or legal advice, or publish a rate card. Each engagement is priced to its scope after a first conversation.
Who is this page for?
This page is for the people who run an architecture or planning firm. Design is what clients hire you for, but much of the week goes elsewhere: researching codes and zoning for each site, writing and coordinating specifications, answering RFIs and reviewing submittals during construction administration, writing proposals and documenting meetings. Fees are often fixed, so hours over budget come out of the firm's margin. AI helps with the research and paperwork around design.
Where does AI help an architecture firm?
These are examples of what can be built, not past results:
- Gather the zoning, building code and local amendment requirements for a site into a research memo with citations for architect review.
- Draft and update specification sections from the firm's master spec and the project's decisions.
- Log RFIs and submittals, compare submittals against the specifications and draft responses.
- Write proposals and qualification packages from past project sheets, resumes and the client's request.
- Turn meeting recordings or notes into minutes, decisions and action items for the team and the client.
Can AI help with construction administration?
Yes, and it is often where fee overruns happen. During construction, RFIs and submittals arrive from the contractor on deadlines. AI can log each one, find the relevant drawings and specification sections, check a submittal against the spec and draft a response for the architect to review. It can also track response times. The architect decides every answer.
What does Modern Thesis do for a firm like this?
Modern Thesis covers four disciplines with one team. In strategy, Jim Coleman and the team map how the work moves from first contact to final invoice. In people, we work with the professionals and staff on incentives and training, so they trust and use what gets built. In implementation, our AI specialists and Forward Deployed Engineers build private systems on the firm's own documents and connect them to the software you run. In stewardship, we stay to check accuracy, keep pace with new AI models and report the return against the baseline.
How does an engagement start?
Every engagement starts with a strategic assessment. We sit with the people who do the work, map how it moves through the firm today, and measure a baseline on the workflows that matter most: hours per project phase against fee, code research time, RFI and submittal response time, proposal hours and meeting documentation time. Then we rank the opportunities by return and define the first build. If AI won't pay for itself somewhere in your business, we'll tell you.
When is something else the better choice?
If your project management or specification software's AI features cover your needs, use them. If your firm is small, a general assistant and a good master spec may be enough. If the main need is better writing, the ChatGPT or Copilot licenses you already pay for may be enough; our comparison of Copilot or ChatGPT and an AI partner walks through the difference.
How Modern Thesis handles this
We put AI to work inside xFusion, the 70-person company Jim co-founded, and then for several of its clients. For an architecture or planning firm, we usually start with construction administration and proposals, because both are deadline-driven and repeat on every project. Ongoing stewardship has no set end date, and you own your data, accounts, code and documentation throughout.
Questions
How are architecture firms using AI?
Beyond image generation, the practical uses are in research and documentation: code and zoning research, specifications, construction administration, proposals and minutes. These tasks take a large share of staff time and repeat on every project. The architect stays responsible for every decision and every sealed document.
Can AI do code research for a project?
It can prepare a first pass with citations: which codes and local amendments apply, the zoning standards for the parcel and the requirements likely to shape the design. An architect checks it against the adopted codes. A good system always shows where each requirement came from, so checking is fast.
Will AI change how we design?
That is your choice. Our work is mostly about the hours around design: research, documentation and coordination. If you want help with design tools too, the assessment can look at it, but the clearest returns usually come from the paperwork.