Speakers

Martin Ford

Futurist and Author, “Rise of the Robots” and “Rule of the Robots”

Rule of the Robots: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Everything

AI isn’t coming—it’s already here, and it’s moving fast. In this opening session, bestselling author and futurist Martin Ford makes the case that artificial intelligence is becoming a general-purpose technology on par with electricity itself. For healthcare design professionals, that means the environments you’re creating today will need to function in a world that looks radically different tomorrow.

 

Ford will cut through the hype to give you a clear-eyed picture of where AI stands right now, where it’s headed, and what both the opportunities and the real risks mean for your work.

Cas Holman

Toy Designer, Author of "Playful", Founder and Principal Designer at Toy Company Heroes Will Rise

How to Play: A Workshop on Creativity

Award-winning designer Cas Holman uses the principles of play and open-ended inquiry to unlock how teams think, collaborate, and create. Through hands-on group exercises, she’ll guide you through her approach to the design process: one that values curiosity, shared responsibility, and the kind of creative risk-taking that leads to better outcomes.

 

You’ll leave with new ways to work with your teams—and a fresh perspective on what good collaboration actually looks like.

Travis Laird

Chief Operating Officer, Hospital Planning & Operations, Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin

Anthony Treu

Principal, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Leading the AI Native Hospital

What does a hospital built for an AI-driven future actually look like? Travis Laird and Anthony Treu bring complementary perspectives—healthcare operations and architecture—to answer that question. They’ll explore how digital twins, integrated robotics, intelligent records systems, and connected platforms can work together as a single, coordinated system rather than a collection of added features.

 

This session is a practical look at what healthcare systems and their design partners need to rethink now, so the buildings they deliver are ready for what’s next.

Anne DiNardo

Editor-in-Chief, Healthcare Design magazine

Healthcare Design’s A/E/C Survey

This session will dive into the results of HCD magazine’s 2026 A/E/C Survey, which captures the business trends and project drivers defining the healthcare design industry today.