Hennebery Eddy hosted two interns this summer, both of whom are working on Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Oregon – Portland focused on historic preservation. In this two-part series, Michael Moran and Shannon Hines share highlights from their historic preservation internship and takeaways from their time with the firm. Read on for Michael’s experience, and click here to read about Shannon’s internship.
I was first introduced to Hennebery Eddy through my second studio at U of O in Portland. We adopted Hennebery Eddy’s Albina Vision urban design concept and focused on the design of a cultural building that would connect the Rose Quarter to the Willamette River by spanning a plaza over Interstate Avenue. The studio collaborated with the Portland Opera for the program. It was great to have Tim come in to present the urban vision, and to have such an aspirational framework to provide inspiration for our designs. I like the philosophy of the firm, especially the commitment to thinking about the long-term life of a building.
Currently, I am completing a professional focus in historic preservation, so working with the Historic Resources Group at Hennebery Eddy has greatly supplemented my studies. So far, I have worked on a number of historic projects and have had the opportunity to visit many of them to understand them more completely in their context. These projects have included a condition assessment of depression-era cabins in Washington State Parks, an exterior renovation of a dormitory and schematic design for a new maintenance building in Yellowstone National Park, and a terra cotta façade replacement study for a federal courthouse in Seattle. It has been great to take part in some of the critical thinking conversations with these projects, and to develop skills in interpreting historic buildings and specifying appropriate designs.
Going on project site tours was a great experience. Shannon, the other summer intern, and I were invited to sit in on OAC (“owner/architect/contractor”) meetings at the Clackamas Fire District and PDX Airport projects. Seeing the projects under construction, walking the site, and hearing the issues discussed in the meetings allowed us to understand the projects in a more in-depth way. The site tours have been a good way to get to know others at the office that I do not work with regularly. Doing concept design for the NIR center (private laboratory development) was also a lot of fun. The wood structure of the building as well as the program are very different from what I have worked on in the past, so I learned a lot.
Through working on projects with different types of consultants, clients, and government officials, I have seen a variety of interpretations of “preservation.” We discuss these issues in my coursework, but it’s informative to see preservation principles and strategies debated firsthand.
One thing that has been different from my program is that I finally met a bunch of people that are from the state of Oregon! I think because U of O in Eugene offers a 5-year B.Arch, most students in the 2-year M.Arch in Portland are from out of state. It’s been great to meet more Oregonians — and especially to get good hiking advice for the weekends.
I’ll be heading back to the northeast in September to get married and take a couple of weeks off to road trip before school starts at the end of the month. I’m excited to start working on my terminal studio and soak up as much as I can at the U of O before graduating. I also hope to start taking the AREs and be licensed within a year or two from now.