Yep, you go directly to/from the interface. However, there ARE ways to make this work better, and since you've mentioned tile rows, have a look at PulpLogic's Link and Tether tiles. If you use an DC-coupled interface that can handle D-sub I/O, all you'd then do would be to connect the interface to the Tether and there you are. The other nice thing about this sort of setup is that you're purely limited by the amount of D-sub I/O on the interface.
For example, this: https://reverb.com/item/40573842-motu-2408-mk3-pci-audio-interface?bk=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqdGkiOiIxMDIzNWMzMy0yMWFiLTRkMzQtODJlMS1iNzJjNGNkOWI2OGUiLCJpYXQiOjE2MjY2NjMwMTcsInVzZXJfaWQiOiIyOTQ1MjI0Iiwic2Vzc2lvbl9pZCI6IjdkNzVkNjc0LTYwMzQtNDhiNS05ZDY1LTEyZGJjZTE1ZjM4OSIsImNvb2tpZV9pZCI6IjRmNzU1OTYyLTM3OTItNDQ0My05OWFjLWI2YWQ5NTI5YThjZiIsInByb2R1Y3RfaWQiOiI0MDU3Mzg0MiIsInNvdXJjZSI6Ik5PTkUifQ.bYfOV-bjfEPC1dlMxZQhf12lY9yiAqV-cpZ5EZibnzM Wow...what a hideous URL...anyway, this has three pairs of 8-channel D-subs plus eight more analog I/O channels. So if you wanted the MADNESS of having 32 channels of CV/gate/trig/clock I/O, you could do that with six Tethers and six Links for the first 24, then another 8 would patch directly (preferably through an outboard patchbay...those things make life much easier in a studio). Just BE SURE to get any necessary PCIe cards and such, as these denser interfaces often rely on things like that.