Irene A. Brandt/Introduction
Irene Althea Brandt grew up in a different Detroit than you read about on the news. While most of us read about a city struggling with unemployment and ruin, Irene grew up among a built environment that spanned six decades and included many of the recent century's best known movements. Art Deco, Neoclassical, Bauhaus, Modern, Gothic, Post-Modern, and Roman - among others - are all in prolific display. Even the redevelopment that is so common among cities grappling with economic decline hasn't removed the rich architectural heritage of the City.
Young Irene was inspired by these surroundings as she and her father would take evening strolls or go for drives to the more distant parts of Detroit. An early interest in the visual arts kept bringing her back to the buildings around her. When her first and second choice schools rejected her application to pursue her bachelor's in the arts, she took her counselor's advice and tried for the Architecture program at Penn State where she was accepted, and would ultimately go on to finish a joint degree in civil engineering and architecture.
Irene never lost touch with her home town, though. As redevelopment and demolition became more and more common to make room for new casinos and stadiums, she ached to return home and protect the buildings she'd become so enamored with as a child. R&R was fortunate to have an opening, and she has proved to be an invaluable and insightful member of our team ever since. Her passion and intelligence are the perfect strengths for an architectural engineer and she has been the lead AE on three high-profile projects for R&R since 2010.
