Pulse Design Group
Pulse Design Group is a 45-year-old, Kansas City-based architectural firm specializing exclusively in healthcare facility design, offering architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, and virtual reality visualization to 50+ health systems across the U.S.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersKansas City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Pulse Design Group does
Pulse Design Group is a privately held, Kansas City-based architectural design firm founded in 1980 that has operated exclusively in the healthcare vertical for 45 years. The firm provides integrated architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, and virtual reality (VR) design visualization services to hospitals, health systems, ambulatory surgery centers, behavioral health facilities, children's hospitals, clinical laboratories, military healthcare facilities, and employer-sponsored clinics. Its core technology stack includes in-house VR modeling for pre-construction design review, comprehensive equipment planning (drawings, specifications, inventory, procurement, transition, and move management), and Lean design facilitation. The firm's client base spans 50+ healthcare systems and more than 2,000 completed projects, with recent marquee engagements including a 164,000 SF patient tower for CHRISTUS Health in Texas, a 243,000 SF ambulatory campus for LMH Health in Kansas, and a 96,000 SF BSL-2 clinical laboratory conversion for Eurofins Viracor.
The firm's revenue model is professional-services based, with fees generated on a project-by-project basis for architectural, interior design, equipment planning, and VR visualization engagements. Pricing is project-based and determined by scope, scale, and complexity; no public pricing exists. Pulse wins work primarily through direct enterprise engagement with healthcare C-suite and facilities leadership, supplemented by referrals and competitive procurement. Its go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, supported by a portfolio-anchored website, the annual Healthcare Design Expo & Conference, regional earned media (Kansas City Business Journal, Ingram's Magazine), and social media. Geographic footprint is concentrated in the Midwest, with active expansion into the Mountain West, Southeast (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina), and Southwest (Texas).
Pulse is principal-led with no disclosed external investors or private-equity backing. Leadership includes President Dennis Burns, Vice President of Growth and Strategy Mary Moore, and multiple Principals and Directors overseeing architecture, interior design, equipment planning, marketing, and operations. The firm employs approximately 25-50 professionals, including architects, interior designers, equipment planners, VR developers, and administrative staff, many holding specialty credentials such as AIA, LEED AP, NCIDQ, CHID, EDAC, and ACHA. Strategic direction is captured in recent moves into clinical laboratory design (2025), deepened behavioral health vertical (Children's Mercy, 2025), geographic diversification into the Southeast and Southwest, and operational investments including a 2020 headquarters relocation to the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.
Pulse Design Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pulse Design Group
- Legal name
- Pulse Design Group
- Website
- https://pulsedesigngroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Pulse Design Group is a 45-year-old, Kansas City-based architectural firm specializing exclusively in healthcare facility design, offering architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, and virtual reality visualization to 50+ health systems across the U.S.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pulse Design Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthcare Architecture Services
- NAICS
- Interior Design Services (54141)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)
Keywords
Where Pulse Design Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kansas City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pulse Design Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Architectural and Design Services: Revenue is generated through professional fees for architectural design, interior design, medical equipment planning, and virtual reality design services on a project-by-project basis for healthcare clients. Projects range from new ground-up facilities to renovations and expansions of existing healthcare infrastructure.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Pulse Design Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pulse Design Group provides full-service architectural and interior design services exclusively for healthcare facilities, including new construction, renovation, expansion, and modernization projects. The firm delivers integrated capabilities spanning architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, virtual reality design visualization, and Lean design facilitation, serving hospitals, health systems, behavioral health facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, and government healthcare facilities across the United States.
Product overview
Pulse Design Group is a full-service architectural design firm with 40+ years of experience specializing exclusively in healthcare architecture. The company offers an integrated suite of services including Healthcare Architecture, Interior Design, Medical Equipment Planning, and Virtual Reality Design Services. Their core offering is end-to-end healthcare facility design spanning new construction, renovation, and modernization projects. The firm has worked with more than 50 healthcare systems on over 2,000 projects. Their specialized capabilities include Hybrid Operating Room design, Ambulatory Surgery Center design, Behavioral Health Facility design, and Clinical Laboratory design. The company operates primarily in the Midwestern United States with projects extending to other regions. As a services firm rather than a software product company, Pulse Design Group does not offer APIs, integrations with third-party software platforms, or AI/ML capabilities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Kansas City's largest hybrid operating room delivered at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission (3,550 SF)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Pulse Design Group
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Pulse Design Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Pulse Design Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, notable and core.
- J+J FlooringminorPulse Design Group partnered with J+J Flooring on the Holiday Heroes program, participating in the Helping Hands initiative by decorating a holiday tree with a Harry Potter theme for a patient room at Children's Mercy Hospital.
- KVC Health SystemsnotablePulse Design Group volunteered through the KVC Health Systems Holiday Heroes program, providing gifts for 12 children across the state, and has also completed multiple design projects for KVC including the KVC Hospital Youth Psychiatric Facility (30,906 SF, 54-bed behavioral health facility in Wichita) and the Camber Children's Mental Health Hays facility.
- Cannon DesigncorePulse Design Group's equipment planning team worked in conjunction with Cannon Design to transform a 6,500 SF storage space into a state-of-the-art microbiology laboratory at The University of Kansas Health System's Strawberry Hill campus. The partnership combined architectural and equipment planning expertise.
- Compass Surgical Partners / Bon Secours St. Francis Health SystemnotableCompass Surgical Partners and Bon Secours St. Francis Health System collaborated with Pulse Design Group to establish the Millennium Ambulatory Surgery Center on the Bon Secours campus in Greenville, South Carolina. Pulse Design Group provided architectural and interior design services for this 22,000 SF ground-up facility.
- MedDevelopmentnotablePulse Design Group worked with MedDevelopment alongside Treasure Valley Hospital leadership to determine project goals and maximize the lot footprint for the 33,000 SF Surgical Center of Treasure Valley project in Boise, Idaho.
- DIRTT (Modular Wall Systems)notableDIRTT's modular wall systems were incorporated into the Corbin Park Clinic project (The University of Kansas Health System), allowing maximum flexibility to remain responsive to the community's evolving needs and dynamic healthcare landscape.
- McCownGordon ConstructionnotableMcCownGordon Construction collaborated with Pulse Design Group and The University of Kansas Health System to bring the Friendship Inn hospitality house vision to life. Pulse Design Group provided interior design services in this partnership.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Pulse Design Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EwingCole: Mid-sized architecture and engineering firm with healthcare as a core vertical, including complex clinical environments. Directly comparable in size, vertical mix, and project types (hospitals, ambulatory, specialty).
- Array Architects: Healthcare-specialized architecture firm focused on acute, ambulatory, and behavioral health facilities. Similar scale and vertical purity to Pulse Design Group.
- HGA Architects and Engineers: Multi-discipline design firm with a substantial healthcare practice, comparable to Pulse in scale and project mix (acute care, behavioral health, ambulatory, research).
- E4H Environments for Health Architecture: Dedicated healthcare-only architecture and engineering firm with comparable vertical specialization in clinical facility design. Most direct comparable to Pulse in single-vertical focus and mid-market project scale.
Broad incumbents
- SmithGroup: Integrated design firm with a dedicated healthcare practice, including complex clinical and research facilities. Larger-scale competitor for major healthcare systems.
- Perkins&Will: Large global architecture practice with a dedicated healthcare studio. Competes for large academic medical center and health system work at the higher end of Pulse's addressable market.
- CannonDesign: Large multi-discipline design firm with substantial healthcare practice. Pulse's Strawberry Hill Microbiology Lab was a joint project with CannonDesign, confirming direct overlap in healthcare facility design and equipment planning.
- HKS Architects: Major national healthcare architecture practice with deep hospital planning expertise. Pulse has co-presented healthcare VR webinars with HKS, and HKS is the dominant scaled competitor for large healthcare systems.
- HDR Architects: Global architecture/engineering firm with one of the largest healthcare design practices. Competes with Pulse for hospital master planning and large healthcare system engagements.
Regional players
- LS3P: Southeast/Mid-Atlantic-based architecture firm with healthcare practice overlap, including medical office buildings and acute care. Comparable in size; competes in overlapping geographies where Pulse has expanded (e.g., South Carolina, Florida).
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Pulse Design Group social profiles
Digital presencePulse Design Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pulse Design Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Pulse Design Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pulse Design Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pulse Design Group
What does Pulse Design Group do?
Pulse Design Group provides full-service architectural and interior design services exclusively for healthcare facilities, including new construction, renovation, expansion, and modernization projects. The firm delivers integrated capabilities spanning architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, virtual reality design visualization, and Lean design facilitation, serving hospitals, health systems, behavioral health facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, and government healthcare facilities across the United States.
Is Pulse Design Group a public or private company?
Pulse Design Group is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Pulse Design Group founded?
Pulse Design Group was founded in 1980. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Pulse Design Group based?
Pulse Design Group is headquartered in Kansas City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Pulse Design Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: architectural and Design Services.
Who are Pulse Design Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EwingCole, Array Architects, HGA Architects and Engineers and E4H Environments for Health Architecture. Broad incumbents are SmithGroup, Perkins&Will, CannonDesign, HKS Architects and HDR Architects. LS3P is listed as a regional player.
Does Pulse Design Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pulse Design Group.
What industry is Pulse Design Group in?
Pulse Design Group's product category is Healthcare Architecture Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAB, Interior Design Services. Its NAICS code is 54141.