How One Architect Convinced His Colleagues to Embrace AI — Lessons from Henry J. Lyons

When Breffni Greene took on the role of Head of Artificial Intelligence and Design Innovation at Henry J. Lyons Architects, he faced a challenge familiar to many technology advocates in traditional industries: convincing a sceptical organisation that AI could enhance rather than replace creative work. In this episode of Chatting GPT, Mary Rose Lyons of AI Institute (Ireland & UK) sits down with Greene to explore how he built the case for AI adoption inside one of Ireland's leading architectural practices.

From Threat to Opportunity

Greene's journey began with a recognition that AI represented both a threat and an opportunity. He could see something simmering in the background—a technology that would profoundly influence creativity and how architects work. Yet few in the profession were paying attention. Some guiding voices were exploring AI's potential, but many were dismissive.

"I saw it originally as very much a challenge," Greene recalls. "It was an area that could eradicate our expertise, our value." Early AI tools were constantly criticised: they could not do the complex work of architecture, they would never replace human creativity, they were merely toys. Greene understood that this defensive posture missed the point. AI did not need to replace architects to transform the profession.

The Shadow AI Catalyst

The real catalyst for formal AI adoption at Henry J. Lyons came from an unexpected source: shadow AI use. Greene discovered that teams across the studio were already using AI tools without any governance, strategy, or oversight. This unauthorised adoption created risks—data security concerns, inconsistent outputs, and no way to capture or share learnings across the practice.

Rather than clamping down on this activity, Greene used it as evidence that the firm needed a formal AI strategy and dedicated leadership. The practice was already using AI; the question was whether it would do so strategically or continue to stumble forward in the dark.

First Wins, Not Big Bangs

Greene's approach to change management rejected the big-bang rollout in favour of individual "first wins." He tracked successes at three levels separately: junior staff, management, and board level. Each group had different needs, different concerns, and different measures of success.

For junior architects, wins might involve automating repetitive drawing tasks or using AI for rapid visualisation. For management, the focus was on efficiency gains and quality improvements. For the board, Greene had to demonstrate strategic value and competitive positioning. By segmenting his approach, Greene ensured that each constituency could see AI's relevance to their specific context.

Building AI Literacy Across Levels

A key insight from Greene's experience is the importance of establishing a broad base layer of AI-literate staff across all levels rather than siloing expertise in one corner of the business. AI cannot be the preserve of a single "AI person" or innovation team. It needs to be understood and used throughout the organisation.

This literacy-building approach extends beyond the firm itself. Greene points to a graduate from SETU who built a computer vision model to quality-assure architectural drawings during a Yale-collaborated module. This demonstrates that AI literacy programmes in universities can produce job-ready, practice-changing talent. The pipeline of AI-capable professionals is growing.

Lessons for Other Practices

For architecture firms and other professional services practices considering AI adoption, Greene's experience offers several lessons. Start by acknowledging the shadow AI use that is probably already happening. Use this as the foundation for building a business case for formal strategy and governance. Focus on first wins rather than wholesale transformation. And invest in building AI literacy across all levels of the organisation.

AI Institute (Ireland & UK) delivers AI training for teams, AI adoption workshops, and AI strategy for leadership teams across professional services sectors including architecture and construction. This episode directly illustrates the change management challenges that AI Institute's AI literacy programmes and custom GPTs for businesses are designed to address.

Want the full conversation? Watch the Chatting GPT episode on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIvogyhHnj0