Leadership Edge

Why Thornton Tomasetti’s CORE Studio is a Model for the Future

📰 Rethinking practice through platformization, embedding data and AI into delivery, scaling R&D beyond experiments, and aligning culture, KM, and incentives to transform how architecture and engineering firms operate and compete.

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This newsletter provide key insights for forward-thinking leaders seeking innovation in AEC who are short on time, offering the context of each conversation without the need to listen to the full episode. It’s designed to keep you updated, spark your interest, and encourage you to tune in if the ideas resonate.

What if the very tools your firm depends on today are the biggest thing holding you back from building the practice you actually need for tomorrow?

Summary

I sat down with Robert Otani (CTO, Thornton Tomasetti) and Alexandra Pollock (Senior Director, CORE Studio) in TRXL episode 205 to unpack what it means for an established firm to re-platform its practice around data, computation, and AI. Not as bolt-ons, but as the foundation for how work gets won and delivered. We explored culture change, skills, R&D, platform thinking, and what it really takes to move beyond “tools” toward operational transformation. (Rob leads the well-known CORE Studio and firm-wide R&D programs; Alex now helps steer CORE’s product and practice enablement efforts.)

“The level of the common denominator is very high, right?” – Robert Otani

In other words, the talent is already there. The real question is whether your systems, culture, and platforms are actually unleashing it.

Key Takeaways

Here are my top takeaways from the podcast episode. Then we'll get into the deeper analysis.

Summary

Key Takeaways

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