Articles

HCC Interior Design students bring ingenuity, creativity to Coleman College’s Healthcare Innovation Center

By Donald Sparks, HCC Central Communications Director

Dec 19, 2025

When Houston City College (HCC) Coleman College for Health Sciences began planning its Healthcare Innovation Center one year ago, leaders turned inward to tap the creative talent of Interior Design students at HCC Central to help bring the vision to life.

The proposed 22,000-square-foot instructional and research facility is designed to support workforce development in biotechnology and life sciences. As the project leaders began conceptualizing the space, Mohamad Tlass, Ed.D., vice president of HCC Coleman College, reached out to the Interior Design Program faculty to explore whether students would be interested in contributing their creative talents to the large-scale initiative.

“They immediately embraced the opportunity, and their engagement became a key element of our business plan submission to the administration,” Dr. Tlass said. “The Interior Design students and faculty played an instrumental role in helping us visualize the center’s potential.”

Interior Design Professor Jackie Barry said faculty members immediately recognized the significance of being invited to participate in a project of this scale and complexity, particularly one centered on innovation, science, and the future of health care and biotechnology.

“Having leadership from another college within HCC specifically seek out our Interior Design program affirmed what we already believe – that our students are capable of doing work at a professional, real-world level,” Barry said. “From the first conversation, there was a strong sense of mutual respect, shared vision and excitement.”

Students in the Commercial Design Studio course participated in the project, working in collaborative teams. Each took on a professional role, including lead designer, lead technology specialist, lead FF&E and lead materials and finishes.

They conducted a needs analysis, reviewed academic and workforce goals and translated those requirements into detailed conceptual designs. Additionally, the students produced innovative layouts, functional room adjacencies, traffic-flow analysis, and designs incorporating flexible labs, collaborative learning zones, simulation spaces and faculty support areas.

“The collaboration provided significant value to the college,” Tlass said. “By leveraging the talent within our own Interior Design Program, we gained high-quality conceptual design work that would otherwise have required external consulting fees.”

Barry noted that projects of the Healthcare Innovation Center’s scale can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars in early-phase programming, conceptual design and 3D visualization services.  By having HCC students deliver full-space planning, digital models, and 3D-rendered visuals typically produced by professional design firms, the college reduced costs associated with initial schematic design and design development.

“Beyond the financial value, the college gained something equally important: multiple creative solutions [there were four student teams], rapid ideation and community investment,” she said. “All of it was generated by HCC students who directly benefitted from the hands-on experience.”

With so many students involved, there were moments of creative disagreement and growing pains with the teams.  Aquila Tippett, 28, a student team leader, admitted she and her teammates were initially intimidated by the scale and expectations of the assignment.

“Our goal was to learn, grow, and create something unique,” Tippett said. “The experience taught us how to balance a client’s direction with creative freedom. As a hands-on learner, working on a real-world project helped everything click by showing how classroom lessons translate into practice through deadlines, client meetings and real environments.”

At the conclusion of the project, the Milwaukee native felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

“Everything we learned leading up to this project played a key role in its success and in each team member’s growth,” she said. “The outcome showcased our collaboration and dedication and validated the knowledge and skills we gained throughout the Interior Design program at HCC.” 

Both Tlass and Barry agreed that the collaboration between HCC Coleman College and HCC’s Interior Design Program was a win for HCC as a whole.

“This partnership exemplified the best of what HCC can achieve when academic programs collaborate,” Tlass said. “The students’ professionalism, creativity, and attention to detail exceeded expectations, and their contributions remain an important part of the project’s planning and presentation.”

Barry added, “This collaboration validates our curriculum, our faculty expertise, and our commitment to experiential, workforce-driven education. It shows that our students are prepared to step into professional roles, communicate with stakeholders, and think strategically about space, people, and purpose.”

Coleman College President Lutricia Harrison, DNP, APRN-C, also praised students and faculty.

“The students and faculty did an amazing job,” Dr. Harrison said. “The level of talent and creativity that the students displayed is beyond impressive.”

Houston City College Interior Design program students give their final presentation for design concepts to be incorporated as part of the HCC Coleman College Healthcare Innovation Center.