Meet Our Summer Intern: Ren Henniger
Ren Henniger (she/they) is a rising third-year M. Arch student at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Originally from Belmar, New Jersey, Ren began their college career on a pre-med track at the University of Pittsburgh. They discovered a passion for architecture through a summer course and switched paths, pursuing a minor in studio art alongside their architectural studies. Ren enjoys working with their hands, whether in architecture, sculpture, or their past job as a barista. One of Ren’s most rewarding projects was an integrated greenhouse, market, and composting facility on the East River on the Bushwick Inlet. The project featured a parametric concrete slab mirroring the edge conditions of the inlet, elevated walkways to protect the surrounding wetlands, and natural ventilation systems for the greenhouse and market. Ren is particularly interested in passive house design and material experimentation, including mycelium bricks and organic material 3D printing. Inspired by their mother’s background in historic preservation, they hope to apply their skills to restoring a mid-century modern home one day. Outside of architecture, Ren enjoys crocheting, which influences their design projects, and creating posters and logos for friends’ bands. They envision a future where architecture addresses climate change through sustainable materials and architectural reuse.
Where are you studying? Have you always known that you wanted to become an architect, or did you consider other professions before choosing this path?
Ren: I'm getting my M. Arch at Pratt Institute. I'll be starting my third and final year in August. I originally started college at the University of Pittsburgh on a pre-med track but was torn because I wanted to do something that would help people but was disillusioned with the lack of options for creativity/the general culture. I took a summer introduction to architecture course the summer after my freshman year and fell in love with architecture. I also have a minor in studio art since the architectural studies program at Pitt was very encouraging to take drawing and sculpture classes as part of our core curriculum and allowed us time to take on minors or double majors. I really enjoy working with my hands, whether it's in architecture, sculpture/fabrication, or even in my undergraduate barista job - crafting something with your hands and having a physical output is very rewarding.
Have you completed any architectural projects or coursework that you found particularly challenging or rewarding? Could you tell me about your experience?
Ren: My studio project last semester was an integrated greenhouse/market/composting facility located on the east river on the Bushwick inlet - this is probably my favorite project from graduate school so far. I worked with my partner Nate Cole (interning at SLADE architects) and we designed a parametric cast-in-place undulating concrete slab that mirrored the edge conditions of the inlet. We really focused on sustainability and created elevated walkways around the site to protect wetlands. We also designed a system to work with rising flood waters - our basement allowed for an area to fill with water, creating a below grade reflection pool. We designed air intake vents to run along the water and come up through cutouts in the floor, effectively circulating cool air throughout our interior greenhouse and integrated market. This effectively eliminated the need for interior cooling mechanical systems like chillers and allowed us to just have some ceiling fans and use the louvered façade system to ventilate our facility.
Are there any specific areas of architecture that you are particularly interested in exploring or gaining more experience in?
Ren: I'm really interested in passive house design and how we can respond architecturally to the climate crisis. I've done a lot of fabrication work in the past and through working at the fabrication shops part-time during the semester at Pratt I am interested in material experimentation - mycelium bricks, organic material 3d printing, living green walls/facades, cross-laminated timber and unconventional materials as well as ways we can use engineering techniques with passive house technology to create efficient, green systems.
Is there a specific project or type of building that you aspire to design someday? What makes it personally significant to you?
Ren: I really enjoy designing public buildings - schools, markets like the project I was describing above, libraries, largely urban design. Personally, my long-term goal for myself is to one day fully restore an old mid-century modern home for myself back to its former glory (my mom majored in historic preservation in college and has drilled the importance of preservation into me).
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of architecture that influence your creative thinking or inspire your design sensibilities?
Ren: I love to crochet - this inspired my previous semester's fabrication final project as well as being a nice break from staring at a computer all day at school. I had a structures professor open our first day of class in undergrad saying that indigenous processes of weaving or creating knots were the first instances of people creating structure and leading to the development of architecture. I also design posters/logos for my friends' bands back in Pittsburgh - I really enjoy working on graphics and playing around in Adobe Illustrator.
How do you see architecture evolving in the future, and what role would you like to have in that evolution?
Ren: I think architecture must respond to the current climate crisis since it contributes significantly to carbon emissions throughout the building process. We have so much technology being developed now to mitigate this and a lot of really cool research into sustainable materials or utilizing architectural reuse. I'm a big fan of Julia Watson's work in Lo-Tek and looking towards vernacular architecture based on the environment in which you're designing to properly harness things like the stack effect or passive heating/ventilation to reduce the amount of mechanical intervention. I've been following the urban reef project as well that's using 3d printing technology to increase biodiversity in cities.
What are some of the notable projects or experiences you've had during your time as an intern at ESKW/Architects?
Ren: I really enjoyed getting to work on some RFPs, site visits, and punch listing projects. Graduate school gives you a lot of experience of expectations and project lifecycles, but being physically present on site is something that can't be replicated in a classroom.
Lastly, what has been a highlight of your stay in NYC? If you already live in NYC, what was the highlight of your summer?
Ren: I've lived in NYC for the past 2 years but have recently been trying to go out and explore new food and restaurants across New York! I loved going out to the DUMBO flea market and searching for cool antique furniture!
