Portland, Maine (August 4, 2026) – HKS, a globally recognized architecture and design firm, evaluated and chose VisiSpecs®, the Visual Specification System, developed by Chalkline, Inc., to improve specification coordination, streamline documentation workflows, and support project delivery across its diverse portfolio.
With offices around the world and expertise spanning healthcare, sports, hospitality, education, data centers, and commercial projects, HKS relies on coordinated documentation to support multidisciplinary design teams. By using VisiSpecs, HKS can integrate construction specifications with BIM workflows while working within the familiar Microsoft Word environment.
VisiSpecs’s intelligent Doc Key Filtering gave HKS the ability to create a simple checklist with linked paragraphs and optional text to automate the editing process. This facilitates consistency and higher quality across the organization on the various projects HKS designs. Then, the familiar Word interface, QA reporting, collaboration, and publishing streamline the spec editing process. Next, HKS is evaluating the BIM integration with their specs to further coordinate the models and specifications to improve quality and design.
“VisiSpecs has helped us improve consistency throughout our specification process while allowing our teams to continue working in Microsoft Word,” said Karl Sonnier, Principal Architect at HKS. “The Doc Key Filtering functionality has streamlined specification editing, making it easier to produce accurate, coordinated documents and establish a more efficient workflow across our projects.”
“We’re proud to support industry-leading firms like HKS as they continue to advance innovation across the AECO industry,” said Seamus McGrady, COO of Chalkline, Inc. “HKS is a leader in the market and look forward to their continued design integrated process using VisiSpecs.
For more information about VisiSpecs, contact info@chalklineinc.com.
About HKS
Founded in 1939, HKS is one of the world’s leading architecture, design, and planning firms. With more than 1,400 professionals across offices in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, HKS delivers award-winning projects in healthcare, sports and entertainment, hospitality, education, commercial, aviation, and civic markets. The firm is recognized for its commitment to design excellence, sustainability, and innovation, consistently ranking among the world’s top architecture firms.
