PRP Now! Asher Intebi // Ennead Architects

PRP Now! aims to showcase the great experiences students encounter within the Professional Residency Program. PRP offers upper-level architecture students a unique opportunity to expand their education through work experience in the architectural profession. Over the past twenty years, our students have been linked with 260 firms in 29 countries. We will feature a handful of students within each session, graduate and undergrad, domestic and international firms. PRP staff most recently had the pleasure to speak with Asher Intebi [B.Arch. '17] about his experience. 

PRP: Tell us about your PRP firm. Where are you working?
I’m working for Ennead Architects in New York, New York. We’re a firm of about 180 people located just along the Hudson River on the West Side of Manhattan (plus a small satellite office in Shanghai, China). Formerly known as Polshek Partnership Architects, Ennead recently rebranded to reflect a shift towards a more collaborative leadership structure and away from traditional firm nomenclature, which recognizes only the head designer(s). In fact, it sparked an interesting New York Times article about the industry-wide trend: http://nyti.ms/1HthZme

PRP: Do you enjoy the city you’re working in? Favorite aspects?
New York is certainly unlike any other city I’ve lived in before. The range of things to do and the plethora of significant buildings to visit have made living here an experience I would recommend to any aspiring architect. It has also been great to explore the other boroughs, Long Island, and upstate New York on the weekends. There’s so much to do here, I know that even after my 7 months here I will have barely made a dent!

PRP: What is currently on your desk? What are you working on?
Currently, I’m working on a major renovation and addition to a landmark performance hall in Houston, Texas. As a result, my desk has been taken over by giant 36”x48” prints of the original, As-Built drawings from the 1960s. Although it feels ironic to come all the way to the Northeast to work on a project back home in Texas, so far this project has been an interesting challenge. Oh, and I also have a monkey piñata wearing an Ennead shirt on my desk.

PRP: Describe the firm culture? The office atmosphere?
Although the office is relatively big compared to many other architecture firms, Ennead maintains the atmosphere of a much smaller office. We have office-wide happy hours every week, Lunch & Learns, internal lectures, and there have already been several office parties since I’ve been here. I especially love how passionate everyone here at Ennead is about architecture; it’s great to be able to have such insightful conversations with all of my colleagues.

PRP: What is the first thing you'll tell your classmates upon your return to UT?
The first thing I’d like to do when I return to Austin is see how far along the construction is on Ennead’s two projects on campus! While I did not work on either of those designs personally, it’s still exciting to be able to see work from our office bringing new life to the traditional UT campus.

PRP: As you’re finishing up the week, what are your plans for this weekend?
This weekend we have our annual office picnic! Our whole office is heading out of the city for a day to enjoy the beginning of the fall weather. These events and welcoming coworkers have made the transition into New York life much smoother.

PRP: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Come visit! (…bring Torchy’s with you)