People
Brent Hinrichs Architect
M.Arch. 1989 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A.B. Major in Architecture. 1980 Washington University in St. Louis
A third-generation Pacific Northwesterner, Brent grew up in the Columbia River Gorge forests of Southwest Washington, with family ties to Portland and Hood River, summers on the Oregon Coast, and trips into Canada and Alaska. This immersion in natural settings has been an important influence and resource within his thinking and design practice.
Attracted to both the visual arts and the sciences, Brent recognized an intersection of his interests during a year-abroad experience with his family in the simultaneously modern and historic built environment of Stockholm, Sweden. He subsequently pursued undergraduate studies in design, architecture and art history at Washington University in St Louis, and a graduate degree in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Brent has been a licensed architect since 1989; has worked with a number of practices on a variety of project types and sizes, and had also been involved for some years teaching at the university level; before deciding to start up Constructive Form. He has experience working in New York City, New England environs, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Pacific Northwest. In addition to studio practice he also maintains connections to colleagues around the world through independent research interests. He maintains an inventive approach and open working process; blending the practical application of ideas and critical thinking into built form.
Brent has long been interested in construction technologies, materials and methods from the handcrafted to the industrially fabricated. A particular interest is in the global benefits of transitioning from fossil hydrocarbon use to a renewable electrical energy model—in conjunction with more effective energy use, less waste, and lower consumption in buildings and transportation among other fields—to address for the impacts of climate change.
A connecting thread through many project types is in understanding the influence of landscape on built form and observing the inherent material culture of a given place. He is interested in how landscape, regional materials, and inventiveness can be combined to form fresh approaches to architecture. Value is placed on supporting human cultures, performance-based construction, regional ecologies and resources, and modern design.
Simone Goldfeder Architect, LEED AP
B.Arch. 1999 University of Oregon
Raised uniquely in ethnically and economically diverse communities in both very rural and very urban California, Simone brings nuanced and sophisticated ideas of community and place to her work as an architect. The questions, “How can buildings can be made humane and sustainable? How can people comfortably share space, both with family and co-habitants but also with neighbors and the broader public?” form the starting points for her practice.
Simone has been licensed as an architect since 2009, studying at the University of Oregon and the DIS Institute in Denmark, and has traveled extensively as both a means to formally study architecture and building technology, as well as to experience first-hand the ways in which other regions and countries approach their built environments. She has lived in Spain and Germany and is an alumna of the Glenn Murcutt Master Class sponsored by Architecture Foundation Australia.
Rooted in her local community and valuing civic engagement and diverse perspectives, Simone has helped shape public policy changes through her volunteer and board work at the neighborhood and citywide levels. She has served as the public member at large for the City of Portland Public Works Panel, and has served on the SWHRL Board and Land Use Committees and worked with the Housing Oregon Portland Policy Committee in advocating for affordable housing.
An expert in navigating complex municipal design standards, building codes and systems, Simone translates what many consider red tape into creative opportunities. She also has experience working with multiple stakeholders and partners, engaging in iterative and complex conversations, and exploring cultural variations. She relishes the iterative nature of complex projects. These qualities allow her to act as a strong client advocate, turning complex and multi-faceted challenges into understandable solutions.
Outside of the Studio, Simone has more creative interests than there is space to list, but let’s just say she gardens extensively for food and dyestuffs, and works towards re-wilding landscapes with native plant species.
Kina Voelz Landscape Designer, ASLA + Architect, LEED AP
M. LArch. 2024 Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
B.Arch. 1999 University of Oregon
In over 20 years of designing a wide variety of buildings and landscapes, Kina strives to expertly synthesize the multiple forces that influence a project. Informing all aspects of her diverse design practice is the intent to seamlessly integrate built and natural environments, with a particular emphasis and interest in resilient, interstitial places where waterways and land meet. This curiosity stems from a childhood spent in Northern California, traversing cultural landscapes, cities and towns, from forest to sea.
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In this interweaving, she works to create a world that delights and inspires; promotes physical and emotional health, safety, and accessibility; and counters the forces rapidly changing our planet.
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Along with her architecture, planning and landscape work, she makes photographic and time-based works, dances and draws. Additionally, she has taught carpentry and construction methods for Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.; lived for a time in Germany and Japan; and grew up in a multi-generational farming family.