Matthew Griffith – Barge Design Solutions

When it comes to healthcare design, few understand the balance between innovation, collaboration, and empathy better than Matthew Griffith. As Senior Vice President and Director of Healthcare for Barge Design Solutions, he brings two decades of experience and a passion for creating healing environments that serve communities and strengthen client relationships.

In his nine years with the firm, Griffith has been instrumental in shaping Barge’s healthcare portfolio, guiding strategic growth in Florida and Georgia while mentoring the next generation of healthcare architects. His approach is rooted in the belief that architecture can only succeed when people work together toward a shared purpose.

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit,” he said, quoting former President Harry Truman. “That’s a philosophy I try to live by and one that drives how we approach every project.”

Founded in 1955, Barge Design Solutions has long been recognized for its commitment to people—employees, clients, and the communities it serves. The firm provides full-service capabilities across multiple sectors, reliably serving individual clients, public agencies, and municipal authorities. Guided by a simple purpose—“to create a better life by unleashing the potential of our people, clients, and communities”—Barge continues to be a trusted name in architecture and engineering. Its values, known internally as the CARES model, emphasize collaboration, accountability, respect, excellence, and service.

Guided by relationships, not projects

For Griffith, relationships are the cornerstone of successful design. Rather than chasing projects, he and his team focus on aligning with clients who share Barge’s values and long-term vision. Among these are serial builders with significant capital plans, including long-standing partnerships with major healthcare systems like HCA Healthcare.

“Relationships are everything in this business,” Griffith said. “If you form strong, honest connections and deliver consistent quality, the projects will follow naturally.”

Healthcare architecture, he explained, presents unique challenges. Codes and technologies evolve constantly, requiring designers to stay flexible and informed. But the real challenge lies in understanding how these facilities serve patients, caregivers, and communities. Every decision, from layout to lighting, can affect outcomes.

Griffith emphasizes proactive communication and transparency as critical to managing those complexities. His philosophy is simple: never keep secrets from clients. “We work through problems together,” he said. “Our clients trust us because they know we’re not just delivering drawings—we’re helping them solve real-world challenges.”

That mindset of partnership reflects Barge’s broader culture. The firm’s founders built the company on a foundation of people first, believing that when employees are supported, clients benefit, and communities thrive. That legacy continues today through an employee-owned structure that gives every team member a stake in the company’s success.

Mentorship and legacy

Griffith’s leadership style was shaped early in life by his father, a longtime college tennis coach. Watching his father lead young athletes taught him lessons that now guide his approach to teamwork and mentorship.

“My dad was all about developing people,” Griffith said. “He cared about every player, not just as an athlete but as a person. That’s the same way I look at my team.”

He credits several mentors throughout his career for helping him develop both the technical and interpersonal sides of architecture. Some taught him the fundamentals of healthcare design, such as best practices for patient flow and infection control. Others showed him how to build relationships and manage business development.

“I’ve been fortunate to have mentors who invested time in me,” he said. “Now it’s my turn to pay that forward by helping younger architects grow and succeed.”

In an industry that can sometimes reward competition over collaboration, Griffith sees mentorship as essential. He encourages open dialogue, shared credit, and cross-disciplinary learning. “The more you share knowledge, the stronger your team becomes,” he said. “That’s how we elevate the profession and ensure that the next generation of architects is ready to take the reins.”

This philosophy extends beyond project work. Within Barge, Griffith has helped foster an internal culture that values wellness, work-life balance, and creative freedom. These priorities, he believes, are what enable employees to deliver their best work. “When people feel supported and respected, they’re more innovative, more engaged, and more willing to go the extra mile,” he said.

Strategic growth and a shared vision

As Barge Design Solutions continues its growth across the Southeast, Griffith is focused on ensuring that expansion happens with purpose. In Florida and Georgia, he has led initiatives that position the firm not just for more work, but for the right kind of work—projects that align with Barge’s values and expertise.

“Our growth isn’t about how many offices we can open or how fast we can expand,” he said. “It’s about growing in the right way, with the right people and clients who share our vision.”

That vision ties back to Barge’s guiding principles: to be the firm best known for being selected when it matters most. For Griffith, that means being the trusted partner clients call when projects are complex, timelines are tight, or communities are counting on meaningful outcomes.

The firm’s healthcare portfolio now includes over a thousand completed projects, ranging from acute-care hospitals to specialty clinics and outpatient facilities. Each one represents a collaboration between designers, engineers, and clients working toward a shared goal—to improve lives through better spaces.

Employee ownership has also played a major role in sustaining that success. By giving team members a tangible stake in results, the firm fosters a sense of shared responsibility and pride. “When you’re an owner, you think differently,” Griffith said. “You’re not just doing a job—you’re building a legacy.”

That sense of ownership resonates with clients as well, who recognize that Barge’s people are personally invested in outcomes. It reinforces the firm’s reputation for reliability, creativity, and integrity—qualities that have kept clients coming back for nearly 70 years.

Designing for the future

As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, Griffith sees enormous opportunity for innovation in design. From modular construction and virtual design technology to sustainable materials and adaptable floor plans, new tools and ideas are reshaping how healthcare spaces are imagined and built.

Barge’s teams are leveraging these advances to design facilities that are not only efficient and cost-effective but also resilient and patient-centered. “Technology will keep changing,” Griffith said, “but our focus remains the same—creating spaces that help people heal and help caregivers do their best work.”

For Griffith, the future of healthcare design is as much about people as it is about buildings. It’s about listening, learning, and leading with empathy. Whether mentoring young architects, advising clients, or guiding teams through complex projects, he brings the same steady perspective that has defined his career: success is shared.

That perspective has helped him and Barge Design Solutions strengthen their presence in key markets while maintaining the collaborative spirit that has defined the firm for nearly seven decades. In an industry driven by deadlines and competition, Griffith’s team remains grounded in purpose and partnership.

“Our goal isn’t just to design great buildings,” he said. “It’s to create a better life for everyone involved—for our clients, our employees, and the communities we serve.”

With leaders like Matthew Griffith at the helm, Barge Design Solutions continues to live out that purpose every day, proving that architecture rooted in collaboration and care can make a lasting difference—one healing space at a time.