Travis Tyson brings two decades of healthcare design experience from Cleveland Clinic to his new role as DesignGroup Principal and Healthcare Market Leader. In this recent interview with DesignGroup President Jennifer Horvath, he shares insights on healthcare industry transformation, sustainable design, and the unique perspective he brings from the client side.
Horvath: What drew you to DesignGroup after nearly 20 years with Cleveland Clinic?
Tyson: Over my career, especially at Cleveland Clinic, I've worked with many architectural firms—from small practices to large firms, those specializing in healthcare and others where it's secondary. Whenever I worked with DesignGroup, I was consistently impressed by their business approach, their high-quality team, and how they truly put the client's best interests at heart. They take careful consideration in everything they do.
I've always admired the people here—their personalities, how much they enjoy working together, and what they do. There's a strong 50-year history. They started in healthcare and it remains one of their core competencies after five decades.
In my career and personal life, this felt like good timing for a change. Instead of helping just one organization like Cleveland Clinic, I now have the opportunity to engage with multiple healthcare organizations and build on DesignGroup's existing client relationships. There's also significant transformation happening in healthcare, and I believe now is an optimal time to be part of the solution.
How does your client-side experience inform your approach to projects?
Working with many architectural firms and projects at Cleveland Clinic gave me a solid understanding of what clients expect internally, perspectives that design firms might not always hear in external conversations. I have firsthand knowledge of operational challenges that happen during and after project completion, information that doesn't always make it back to design teams.
This operational insight helps me understand the nuances that firms might not be aware of. For instance, I can bring knowledge about how rooms are actually used post-occupancy, what works well operationally, and what could be improved on future projects.
What projects from your Cleveland Clinic tenure are you most proud of?
I've worked on hundreds of projects, from small office renovations to major new builds. They're all important because each had unique challenges and meant something special to the specific users involved.
That said, two projects stand out. The Avon Hospital was Cleveland Clinic's first ground-up regional hospital in their history. It was also their first project connecting a new hospital to existing facilities, including a family health center, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery center. Being engaged from beginning to end on this pioneering project in Cleveland's west market was especially meaningful.
More recently, the Mentor Hospital presented a unique challenge: designing a hospital at minimum code and FGI requirements. Leadership challenged us to create a very efficient operational hospital while maintaining quality care. We developed a modular design concept—think Lego blocks—where spaces could be picked up and transplanted with minimal modification. This flexibility allows for converting entire floors between inpatient and outpatient use as needs evolve.
Beyond individual projects, I helped lead development of Cleveland Clinic's enterprise-wide design standards. This initiative brought together multiple departments to create guidelines ensuring that when you're in a Cleveland Clinic facility anywhere in the world, you recognize the consistent design intent, brand, and care environment.
What excites you most about leading DesignGroup's healthcare practice?
DesignGroup already has an outstanding, passionate healthcare team that's been developed over several years. It's not about changing what's here, but building on what's established. I want to learn from the team as much as they might learn from me.
"Together, we can continue building our collective knowledge and look at future strategies for healthcare clients. We can work together to do the right thing for healthcare organizations while challenging ourselves and our clients to push boundaries and innovate."
The mentorship aspect is particularly important, from young interns all the way up to seasoned professionals. Healthcare architects are hard to find, so it's crucial that we make this specialty of healthcare enjoyable and engaging for the next generation. I’ve partnered with several architectural programs, and being on the Architectural Advisory Board (AAB) at BGSU allows for key developmental interaction with young professionals. We need to develop together and build our future talent base.
Every project matters, from the smallest renovation to major new construction. They all have unique challenges and are important to the people they serve, whether they are caregivers, visitors, or patients. That perspective—combined with DesignGroup's legacy and my experience from Cleveland Clinic—creates exciting opportunities to serve healthcare organizations across the spectrum.
What industry trends are you most excited about?
Healthcare is experiencing significant transformation across several areas. Current policy changes and reimbursement impacts are major factors affecting capital expenditures and operations.
"As designers, we must understand these pressures and provide better solutions for the financial realities healthcare institutions face."
Technology and AI will continue being pivotal, though it's challenging to determine which solutions will truly stick and be implemented long-term. We view these as tools to make staff and caregivers' jobs easier, not replace them.
With workforce shortages, we can rethink space design to be more efficient, flexible, and adaptable for multi-use purposes. When staffing is limited, spaces should make it easier for nurses and physicians to do their work. This includes creating respite spaces where staff can decompress and take breaks. Addressing burnout and stress is crucial.
How can design help balance advanced, flexible spaces with budget constraints?
Flexibility and adaptability are key. We need to help clinicians understand that rooms can serve multiple purposes rather than single functions. This reduces overall square footage needs and helps manage costs.
We must understand how each room and building is used, and work with our engineering and contractor partners to find the right solutions. We also need to challenge the industry to develop more cost-effective materials and solutions while working within the cost constraints that are driving many healthcare decisions today.
You're involved in professional organizations like the Healthcare Design Advisory Board and FGI's Healthcare Guidelines Revision Committee. How does this inform your work?
These roles keep me connected to industry-wide discussions about key topics, potential solutions, and emerging trends. The FGI committee is particularly significant because we're developing healthcare design codes that affect the entire U.S.
Being part of these conversations—with professionals, owners, engineers, and others—helps me understand challenges facing organizations of all sizes. At Cleveland Clinic, we had resources that many smaller organizations don't, so these committees opened my eyes to different realities across the healthcare landscape.
How does your experience with Cleveland Clinic's scale benefit DesignGroup clients?
Cleveland Clinic is a massive organization—one of the world's top hospitals—but it comprises many individual projects and buildings of various scales. I understand how organizations scale from their main campus to tertiary facilities, and how these connect both physically and operationally.
I grasp the business operations of how outpatient facilities feed upstream into larger facilities, and how patient volumes and services interconnect. When you're designing a small outpatient facility, understanding its connection to the bigger picture affects why you make certain design decisions.
This scalability knowledge applies whether clients are large health systems or smaller community hospitals. I understand how different sizes of organizations operate and connect their various facilities and services.
How do you approach the balance between innovation and practical healthcare realities?
We must be innovative and forward-thinking—that's essential in our field with healthcare evolving so rapidly. However, we need to understand our clients and know what they're capable of implementing or how far we can push them toward new approaches.
It's about understanding who you're working with and what you're trying to solve, which helps determine how hard to push boundaries.
We must push boundaries because things are changing rapidly. Education for all clients is crucial. Often, it comes down to costs and helping them understand what may or may not be acceptable for their specific projects.
Technology and AI are rapidly evolving. How do you see this affecting the built environment?
Technology and AI will impact healthcare design in several ways. Obviously, we'll need bigger infrastructure within spaces to support these systems—more space in ceilings, walls, and rooms themselves.
Cleveland Clinic's neurological institute and global peak performance center with the Cleveland Cavaliers will feature advanced technology. Depending on the specific technology, we need to understand how it impacts room design, layout, and placement of components for optimal use.
For the profession, we shouldn't feel threatened by AI and technology platforms that can render images quickly. We still need skilled designers and architects to review and input information into these systems. Technology is a tool to help us, not replace us. If we can produce work more quickly for clients, and get decisions made faster, that can mean earlier opening dates. Which translates to accelerated ROI.
What are some emerging topics you think the industry should be discussing?
Rural hospitals are a significant concern, and we have health deserts similar to food deserts in urban areas. How do we reach people without immediate healthcare access? Technology, virtual visits, and remote connections are important tools for addressing this challenge.
From an urban perspective, many health systems are working with underserved surrounding communities. This involves demographic considerations and building trust with different groups. How do you provide healthcare in their communities, in their comfort zones, rather than expecting them to come to large hospitals where they might feel uncomfortable?
As cities and communities grow, more underserved populations emerge. These communities need education and healthcare just as much as everyone else. The same goes with the rural communities.
What role does sustainability play in healthcare design, and how do you balance environmental goals with operational demands?
Sustainability means different things depending on your perspective—whether you're focused on infrastructure, energy use, or building materials and finishes. The materials side is relatively straightforward: designing spaces with finishes that are sustainable, durable, easy to clean, and staff-friendly.
Energy usage presents the greater challenge. Healthcare facilities are enormous energy consumers, and implementing sustainable solutions often requires higher upfront costs versus long-term benefits. When organizations face capital and cost pressures, balancing sustainability goals becomes complex.
It's our job to educate clients on sustainable approaches and implementations that can help them long-term, even if they're not immediately aware of these options. For example, Cleveland Clinic has implemented "turnback" procedures in operating rooms—during off-hours, temperatures and systems are dialed down, but can be restored to surgical readiness within 10-15 minutes.
As a design community, we also need to advocate for code updates. Some codes drive requirements that aren't the most energy-efficient or sustainable, and many codes are outdated. We should push for advocacy and code changes that reflect current standards.
