It is with broken hearts that we share the sudden passing of our colleague and friend Travis Bridges. After a short but aggressive illness, he left us on Tuesday, January 31 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was 41.

We are doing our best, as individuals and as a company, to understand, process, and cope with this awful loss. Travis was a leader, a mentor, a compassionate friend, a loving father, and devoted husband. 

His personality was complex: he paired a playful spirit and undeniably wry sense of humor with a serious approach to the business of architecture. He cared about the people he worked with and took time to connect, reach out, and learn about what was important to them.

In talks with him – at events, in a cab on the way to our weekly bowling outings, or with a beer at a social gathering – we learned through his stories that he was a fighter. He lost his father early in life. Perhaps this loss taught him how to more closely connect with people and to never take these relationships for granted. We saw this in many clients who repeatedly came back to OKW because they specifically wanted to work with Travis again.

Architecture tickled his brain, to use his own words, because of its combination of technical finesse and creative freedom. After receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston (2006), he worked for a year before moving to Chicago.

He joined OKW in 2007, not long before the financial and economic crisis. During this time, he was an architect, a project manager, an accountant, and a salesperson depending on the hour. Whether he did it out of necessity from this tumultuous time or from a deeper commitment to order, Travis organized his life in spreadsheets and charts. These became famous at team meetings. We liked to poke fun, but we had to admit that his mastery of Excel kept us on task and moving forward. 

This discipline and attention to detail made him stand out among his peers very quickly. Thanks to his stewardship and relationship-driven approach, he helped bring to life such projects as Northwest Crossings, 900 North Michigan, Plantation Pointe, and Reyes Beer Division to name a select few.

“Do it the same but better” was a common refrain that he would (not so) jokingly say to his team members during project meetings. How is that possible, many would ask, only to see Travis smirk. His way of getting to people, for better or worse, was a superpower that he employed whenever he could. You may not have noticed until you’d see the clear look of friendly mischief in his eyes.

After working with him for long enough to begin to understand him, you discover his sincere commitment to his people — his loving wife Laura, his beautiful daughter Graysen, his team, coworkers, and those who share his passion for the built environment. Whether he was taking one of us out for coffee to ask if we’re alright or organizing a beer-tasting for the entire office, his purpose was sharing his life and love with others. 

We have lost a colleague, a mentor, someone we trust, a friend, a wonderful person who wanted us to grow and succeed, and a one-of-a-kind soul that for 16 years was inseparable from the character of our firm. 

“The same but better,” we think again. Tragedies like these, the sudden loss of a good person, are reminders that we must forge on, down the same path. But thanks to people like Travis, we’ve all grown into better people — more engaged, more connected to each other, more aware of what we’re here to do.  

We will miss him dearly. 

OKW Architects
February 1, 2023

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