Category: Point of View

Net Positive Intern Eugene Leung works with the Net Positive Committee

Net Positive Intern Helps Firm Progress Toward 2030 Challenge Goals

As part of our commitment to the Architecture 2030 Challenge, Hennebery Eddy welcomed a net positive intern to our Portland office earlier this year to support our design staff in creating project energy models and submitting energy performance data to the AIA 2030 Design Data Exchange (DDx). Here, Eugene Leung, a student at the University of Oregon, reflects on his experience. For more information about our internship program, please visit our Opportunities page.

It has been an overall fabulous experience working as the net positive intern with Hennebery Eddy for the past five months. The internship experience has broadened my horizons and inspired me to continuously learn and achieve.

For the last couple of months, I was given a variety of opportunities to work closely and learn proactively with the firm’s net positive team. I primarily worked with them to coordinate the firm’s AIA 2030 Design Data Exchange (DDx) portfolio by recording and producing energy models that can better help the firm to understand the overall energy performance of all the eligible projects. During the time I was producing energy models for various projects, I was assisted by project teams to better understand how to achieve lower energy consumption by improving building enclosures and building material. These fundamental relationships are effective in reducing heat gains within the building designs. The use of energy modeling helps predict and evaluate potential energy use through climate simulation and addresses the overall pEUIs data for project teams to alternate and achieve better energy savings in the design. As a result, I helped project teams to illustrate better energy-saving strategies through consistent testing and development.

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virtual construction site visits

Conducting Site Visits During a Pandemic

The new 800-foot extension of Portland International Airport’s Concourse E is slated to open this summer, the culmination of six years of design and construction. In Oregon, construction is designated an essential activity, allowing projects like these to move forward. But along with construction comes construction administration, or CA, by the design team — an in-person activity. How do you conduct safe site visits while practicing physical distancing?

CA is an inherently collaborative process that requires constant, clear communication. Our team is very large — much larger than many projects, with a design team of more than 30 consultants, including our Denver-based design partner Fentress Architects, and more than a dozen airport stakeholders. So, keeping people engaged and in the loop about what is happening on site each week has always been important.

During CA, owner/architect/contractor (OAC) site walks allow for efficient real-time quality control and problem-solving. When physical distancing guidelines were first rolled out, the OAC site walk was immediately limited to once a week, with a smaller-than-typical group all wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart. To include more team members, we incorporated a virtual meeting component broadcast via iPad and Microsoft Teams. Participants join remotely and interact with the on-site team from their home office.

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University of Cincinnati Co-op student

University of Cincinnati Co-op Gives Student Practical Design Experience

Coly Tabberson is an undergraduate architecture student and joined Hennebery Eddy in 2020 through the University of Cincinnati Co-op program, where students work full-time at a professional architecture practice. Learn more about Hennebery Eddy’s internal internship program here.

Before the University of Cincinnati co-op process even began, I knew that I was looking for an opportunity to live in the Pacific Northwest. I visited the region several years ago, and I was certain that I would one day find my way back. I greatly admire the regional focus of the firms in Portland and their genuine concern for the communities they serve. Further, the commitment to comprehensive sustainable design in the Pacific Northwest is seemingly unmatched in other areas of the country. Ultimately when it came time to choose a firm for my first co-op experience, I looked for one who embodied the qualities I admired most. Before even setting foot in the office, it was apparent that Hennebery Eddy was committed to sustainable, well-crafted, and regionally responsible design. Since beginning work here, my respect for the firm-wide commitment to Hennebery Eddy’s core principles has only grown, as I continue to learn more about the people and procedures that make great design possible.

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Digital Collaboration: Designing During COVID-19

Working in isolation is a strange feeling for architects and designers. Our discipline is, forgive the pun, built on the concept of iteration: sharing and critiquing ideas, revising our work, learning from one another, and turning moments of inspiration into viable designs solutions. At its best, the practice of design causes a buzz of excitement and collaboration; in our most frustrated moments, the support of colleagues to critique and question our work can make all the difference in driving ourselves to dig deeper for innovative solutions.

Though the Hennebery Eddy team is working remotely, we definitely aren’t isolated. In fact, we became a fully remote workforce in a single business day and smoothed out minor wrinkles in about a week. To do so, we drew from lessons learned by our aviation projects team, which has a field office at Portland International Airport (PDX), and digital collaboration with partner architectural firms in Denver, Chicago, and the Bay Area and other consultants across the United States and internationally.

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design-build trends discussed at an educational event

Lessons Learned: Design-Build Trends & Best Practices Discussed at DBIA Event

In February, the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) Oregon chapter hosted its first regional education event to encourage use of the delivery method and provide resources for the A/E/C/ industry throughout Oregon and Washington. Hennebery Eddy associate principal Jon McGrew serves as the Oregon chapter president and helped conceive of and organize the event along with Steve Tatge, president of the DBIA Western Washington chapter. A panel of experts discussed design-build trends, best practices, and positive experiences with the aim of advancing the conversation around design-build delivery. Below are takeaways from the event shared by Jon and Hennebery Eddy associate Nick Byers, who also sits on the DBIA Oregon board.

What was the goal of the conference?

Jon: We wanted to host a regional convocation of owners, builders, and designers interested in progressive design-build project procurement and delivery from across the Northwest. Sharing good information and experiences helps advance the conversation on best practices for progressive design-build. I always say the DBIA is the best professional social club in the region — you won’t find this blend of owners, builders, designers, and associated industry partners in any other organization.

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interior design internship at Hennebery Eddy Architects Portland Oregon

Continuing Education Through an Interior Design Internship at Hennebery Eddy

This fall, our studio welcomed recent-graduate Jacqueline Tellez for an interior design internship. Here she shares about her experience working with several project teams as part of our integrated approach to interior architecture. See the Opportunities page for more information about our internship program.

Q: What appealed to you about working at Hennebery Eddy?

A: What appealed the most to me about Hennebery Eddy was the kind of projects the firm focuses on. As a designer, I wanted to see how different firms take on different kinds of projects and understand what I would like to focus on (in my career).

Q: How is your internship related to your studies?

A: I graduated from the Art Institute of Portland in winter 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in interior design. During my internship, I’ve been able to have the experience to work on different kinds of projects, whether the tasks were small or big. It’s been a great experience as a designer to be able to dive deep into a project; in college, we don’t have that ability.

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Philippe Bernard meets with other staff members for a design charrette.

COTE Top Ten for Students Internship Focuses on Net-Positive Design

This summer, Hennebery Eddy has the pleasure of hosting three design interns. In a three-part series throughout the summer, each intern has shared their internship experience and takeaways from their time with the firm. This month, Philippe Bernard, a COTE Top Ten for Students winner and graduate of Laval University, reflects on his time with the firm. Read previous posts by interns Haley here and Jordan here.

This internship opportunity came at a pivotal moment in my development as a future architect. As a student, I participated in the AIA COTE Top Ten for Students 2019 contest, and our team was the first Canadian contestant to win this international competition! It was excellent news, considering that I was also completing my master’s degree at Laval University in Quebec City. It is thanks to this sustainable design competition that I was put in contact with Hennebery Eddy, an architectural firm also very committed to eco-friendly design. This is a very rewarding experience for me, given the important language adaptation that I have to demonstrate as a French-speaking Canadian. French is my mother tongue, so immersion in an English-speaking country and workplace is very instructive.

Prior to this internship in Portland, I had the chance to complete other work experience in various architectural firms in Quebec. The corporate scale of Hennebery Eddy is very interesting, combining the advantages of a large firm and the welcoming side of a smaller office. It is a firm with significant resources given its size of 65 employees, which offers a stimulating work environment. I really appreciate the attention of all the Hennebery Eddy staff in listening to my questions and comments. Everyone is treated equally, creating a very democratic and pleasant working environment.

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architecture industry mentorship

Staff Inspire High School Students Through Architecture Industry Mentorship

Architect Cara Wessel and interior designer Abby Cridland share about their experience volunteering with the ACE Mentor Program. The firm annually sponsors and enables staff to participate in this architecture industry mentorship as part of our Hennebery Eddy Gives program.

Cara (standing left) explains architectural design concepts to students during a mentor session in the Hennebery Eddy office.

Describe how the ACE program works.

Cara: ACE is an after-school program for high school students interested in Architecture, Construction and Engineering. Students are placed on teams and collaborate on a building design project under the mentorship of industry professionals from each of the three disciplines. Over the course of 12 meetings, the students learn about different phases of design through presentations, hands-on activities, and construction site visits. The mentors guide the students to complete their design project and present it at the end-of-year program.

Abby: These students are from all over the Portland metro area and are grouped together to create their own project. I even had a student who traveled from Jefferson County — that’s almost a three-hour drive! Each ACE session is hosted at a mentor’s office. This gives students a sense of not only how we work but were we work, helping make what they are learning more real.

What was your goal for the students in ACE?

Cara: I wanted to inspire the students and demonstrate the immense impact they can have on the built environment and the surrounding community.

Abby: My goal was to teach them about teamwork and communication: how it’s not up to a single person or discipline to make all of the decisions for a project, and all of the disciplines have to communicate for a project to be successful. I also wanted to teach the students there are multiple avenues in the ACE industry. I am the only interior designer in the ACE Mentor Program, so I show students how important it is to look at the interior of the building, the psychology of space, and different design principles to make building users comfortable.

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Intern at Hennebery Eddy, Jordan Micham, hiking with fellow interns

My Experience as an Intern at Hennebery Eddy

This summer, Hennebery Eddy has the pleasure of hosting three design interns. In a three-part series throughout the summer, each intern will share their internship experience and takeaways from their time with the firm. This month, Jordan Micham, an undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati, describes what he’s been up to during his time with the firm. Read the other posts in this series, by Haley here and Philippe here.

I’ve always been drawn to the West. The dynamic terrain and variety of cultural influences made Portland an appealing destination for someone born and raised in the Midwest suburbs. Prior to starting work as an intern at Hennebery Eddy, I completed three other internships, ranging from small- to large-scale firms. Approaching my final year of my undergraduate studio, I wanted the opportunity to explore a mid-size firm in attempt to find a niche that was less corporate but still tackled more complex projects; Hennebery Eddy’s ensemble of around 65 people was the perfect scenario to do just that. The firm rests in the heart of one of the most vigorously design-oriented communities in America; Portland is a hub for creative innovation. My theme for this summer is to learn from the lifestyle of the anti-conformist creative.

In my studies at the University of Cincinnati, we’ve focused on the conceptual design process, primarily concentrating on human-spatial interaction. Getting involved in the design world through the internship program has helped me gain a better grasp on the industry and has informed my perspective on architecture more toward the concept of creating an engaging blend of form and function while designing within constraints. What they don’t teach you in the classroom is that few clients have the budget for your extreme designs. I’ve learned that architecture is often less about creating an evocative design but more about finding a way to translate the wants and needs of the client into a design that blends form and function while still satisfying the various building constraints.

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innovative interior designers at Hennebery Eddy Architects

Lessons Learned: The Latest in Innovative Interior Design from NeoCon

Each year, Hennebery Eddy sends members of our interior design team to the NeoCon conference in Chicago, billed as “the world’s leading platform for the commercial design industry.” Jessy and Liz share what they saw at this year’s June show.

It’s well established that beige cubicles are no longer best practice for workplace design. But the world of innovative interior design and planning is constantly progressing to promote experiences that are productive, flexible, and inspiring. Because of Hennebery Eddy’s commitment to net-positive spaces that are healthy, efficient, and adaptive, our interior design team is always keeping tabs on these advancements.

This year, NeoCon showcased a fresh perspective on contract furnishings. We were inspired by the integrity of materials, attention to detail, tactile experience, expressions of structure, and a lighthearted intelligence. The following trends stood out among manufacturers at the show.

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