Featured Guests
Kate Grimes, Director of Knowledge
Webinar Summary
We are pleased to share this inside look at the Guide, Snøhetta’s Synthesis intranet. Our tour guide is Kate Grimes, Director at Snøhetta.
When Snøhetta set out to transform its knowledge management approach, the team leveraged Synthesis to build a dynamic and visually rich knowledge hub. The result is an intranet that balances structured information with creative flexibility—bringing together critical resources like:
visually compelling design standards
a model library showcasing design evolution + precedent examples
a proposal archive to enable distributed business development efforts and
a vibrant discussion forum about design, technology, and project updates
Whether an employee is referencing design standards, exploring past projects for inspiration, or engaging in firmwide discussions, the Guide ensures that Snøhetta’s collective knowledge remains dynamic, discoverable, and deeply embedded in the firm’s culture.
In this Intranet Tour, Kate shares:
The evolution of the Guide from print to Squarespace to Synthesis
How Snøhetta uses Synthesis to organize key knowledge areas like project and proposal archives, design standards, and mentorship programs
Lessons learned from balancing firmwide consistency with creative autonomy
The role of AI-powered search in unlocking knowledge across the firm
Enjoy!
Webinar Timeline
Introduction
00:00 KA Introduction
Evolution of the Guide
01:45 Introduction to Snøhetta and Kate
03:10 The Beginning: No Intranet (2012)
05:45 Printed Booklet: The Snøhetta Guide (2015)
07:39 Squarespace Digital Mockup: SnUS Guide (2018)
08:36 Increased Need for an Intranet (2020)
09:10 Why Synthesis?
10:15 Synthesis Implementation (2023)
11:39 Launching the Guide (2024)
Intranet Tour
12:00 Activity Stream: Firmwide Communication
13:40 Essential Content: Home, HR + Office, Technology
14:40 Employee Directory + Profiles
16:53 Project Directory + Profiles
18:12 Data Management
19:00 HR + Office Community
20:17 Technology Community
20:48 Learning Community + Mentorship Program
22:03 Licensed Employees Page
22:35 Projects + Practice: Models, Project Management, Standards + Codes
26:22 Marketing: Templates, Brand Assets, Proposal Archive
AI Search Live Demo
28:30 How do I charge time for…?
29:40 AI search + video transcription
30:35 Who should I talk to about…?
30:58 IT questions
31:48 Project questions
32:10 Improving search results
Q+A
33:12 How do you balance creativity and standardization?
35:09 What does the time commitment look like?
36:45 What were the business goals of the Executive Sponsors?
38:35 Relationship between Synthesis + OpenAsset?
41:17 How do you decide which meetings to record and post?
42:28 How is uploaded media formatted consistently?
44:18 How much time do you spend reviewing/improving AI Search results?
45:36 Would AI Search have changed your original approach to navigation?
49:02 How has the Guide changed the way the firm uses Slack and email?
52:00 How do you maintain quality control with multiple editors?
53:55 How did you roll out the Guide?
55:00 How do you onboard new employees?
57:00 What’s next for the Guide?
