Just A Moment – "The Architecture of Experience" with Meena Krenek

Host: Brant Menswar
Guest: Meena Krenek, Global Practice Director for Venues Interiors at HKS
Date: October 13, 2025
Episode Length: ~26 minutes

Episode Overview

In this episode of Just A Moment, Brant Menswar sits down with award-winning architect and designer Meena Krenek. The conversation centers on the transformative moments in Meena’s life—from her unique upbringing in rural Pennsylvania as the child of Trinidadian immigrants to leading a groundbreaking, large-scale headquarters project. Together, they unravel how personal experiences, imagination, and the meaning imbued in spaces converge to shape the careers and identities of architects—and ultimately, the lives of those who experience their creations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Meena’s Upbringing and Early Influences

• (01:02-04:05)
  • Raised in Reading, PA, Meena grew up amidst conservative values as the middle child between an older sister and younger brother.
  • “Education was really important to my immigrant parents. Both my parents are from Trinidad.” (02:05, Meena Krenek)
  • Despite her parents’ desire for her to enter a traditional science field, Meena’s creativity and independence flourished through rebelliousness and a passion for drawing and building.
  • Weekend trips to the library fueled her imagination, drawing Dr. Seuss characters and envisioning her sketches as three-dimensional. "I do remember opening up these books and I really felt like all of the drawings became 3D. Like everything came off of the page." (03:33, Meena Krenek)
  • Childhood activities—like building “shelters” under tables, obsessing over the Smurf world, and playing with Legos—were formative in sparking her lifelong fascination with creating spaces.

The Emergence of a Dream

• (04:05-05:12)
  • Early encounters with unique home designs and an affinity for illustration crystallized Meena’s path toward architecture.
  • “Even if I look at some of my writings from Montessori, it always says ‘I love blocks’…design and voice came together.” (04:52, Meena Krenek)

From Education to Professional Life

• (05:12-08:05)
  • Meena completes an intensive five-year program at the University of Tennessee, spending time early in her career between the Cayman Islands and high-powered firms like Gensler and Perkins & Will.
  • She describes the architecture field as a world of apprenticeship–thriving on collaboration, mentorship, and the desire to absorb as much inspiration and experience as possible.
  • Meena’s technical superpower emerges: mastery of 3D modeling and rendering. She becomes the go-to for visualizing competition entries, describing the process as “so empathic that I felt like I was in the model with the people.” (07:13, Meena Krenek)

Breakthrough Moment: Leading a Landmark Corporate HQ Project

• (08:05-12:02)
  • During an industry lull in 2019, Meena is unexpectedly chosen to lead a $42 million, 450,000 sq ft headquarters project for AutoTrader.com, stepping in due to another architect’s maternity leave and the seismic changes in the industry at the time.
  • She describes an exhaustive, immersive research process, delving into the automobile industry to deeply resonate the design with the client’s business and culture, from car parts to employee experiences.
  • The team aspired to translate the essence of the AutoTrader brand into visual, tactile, and experiential elements across 14 unique floors: “Whatever we can create in that space that is visually stimulating, inspiring, that makes them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, is what we wanted to draw out.” (11:25, Meena Krenek)

The Power of Completion: A Transformative Personal Realization

• (12:02-14:23)
  • The culmination of the project provides a deeply emotional and career-defining moment for Meena.
  • “I had designed a lot of things before, but I had not designed something from A to Z like that…It was just like a very profound moment for me to believe in myself.” (13:50, Meena Krenek)
  • She likens finishing a major project to “having a child” and giving it to the client, realizing the personal investment and the sense of gift to the world.

The Experience of Tangible Creation

• (16:10-17:13)
  • Brant probes about the difference between digital design and seeing ideas built in the physical world.
  • “It’s probably the most surreal thing in the world...when you see people in it...they’re acting and behaving the way we thought they would do. Like, socializing or they’re bonding. I love it.” (16:36–17:13, Meena Krenek)

Creativity, Influence, and Authenticity

• (17:13-18:57)
  • Meena discusses balancing client boundaries with pushing creative limits: “I have to hear the meter of the client…then I want to test it.” (17:50-18:08, Meena Krenek)
  • She reflects on her growth from youthful imitation to mature intentionality: “Then I found my thing where…I have to get this message out that has to be said, or a voice that needs to be heard.” (18:32, Meena Krenek)
  • The importance of authenticity: “There are people that shouldn't be designing because then they’re putting this thing in the world that isn't the truth, or it's not quality, or it's not representation of something.” (19:37, Meena Krenek)
  • She wants people to feel something from experiencing her spaces: “I would want our people or patrons or guests…to feel something. Walk away with something.” (19:59, Meena Krenek)

The Transformative Power of Space

• (20:02-21:04)
  • Brant and Meena discuss the overwhelming emotional response to ancient buildings and how emotional resonance outlasts technical details.
  • “What did people see? What did they feel? What did they smell? What did they taste?...all of that stuff just blows your mind.” (20:59, Meena Krenek)
  • Brant observes: “When you lead with the experience, you lead with the emotion of the experience, and it’s the emotion that matters.” (22:11, Brant Menswar)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I do remember opening up these books and I really felt like all of the drawings became 3D. Like everything came off of the page.”
  (03:33, Meena Krenek, childhood creative spark)

• “Architecture and design…is such an apprenticeship world of thinking, right? You're always in this kind of world of learning from others and growing…”
  (07:29, Meena Krenek, on creative growth)

• “I would just be doing [modeling] for different competition projects. And that became my kind of superpower.”
  (07:51, Meena Krenek, on discovering technical mastery)

• “Whatever we can create in that space that is visually stimulating, inspiring, that makes them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, is what we wanted to draw out…”
  (11:25, Meena Krenek, on designing for belonging and meaning)

• “It’s like having a child…you’ve spent 18 months talking and building up this vision for him, and then you’re leaving the building after the punch, and you’ve given the child to the client, you’re giving it away, and you’re looking up…It was just like a very profound moment for me to believe in myself.”
  (13:35–13:50, Meena Krenek, on the emotional impact of finishing a project)

• “When you see people in it, you’re like, oh my God. They’re acting and behaving the way we thought they would do. Like, socializing or they’re bonding. I love it.”
  (16:49–17:13, Meena Krenek, on witnessing her designed spaces in use)

• “There are people that shouldn't be designing because then they're putting this thing in the world that isn't the truth, or it's not quality, or it's not representation of something.”
  (19:37, Meena Krenek, on design integrity)

• “What did people see? What did they feel? What did they smell? What did they taste?...all of that stuff just blows your mind.”
  (20:59, Meena Krenek, on the layered experiences within ancient spaces)

• “When you lead with the experience, you lead with the emotion of the experience, and it's the emotion that matters.”
  (22:11, Brant Menswar, on the heart of design)

The Missed Moment: A Career Decision

• (23:12-25:17)
  • Meena reflects on a pivotal decision to turn down an especially meaningful job offer from a CEO who “understood [her] deeply,” opting instead to join a globally renowned design firm.
  • In hindsight, she values being around people “that are in it with you, give you the energy to do great things together...meeting people and connecting with people is just what makes life rich.”
  • This moment taught her that success is not just about prestige, but about community, collaboration, and personal resonance.
  • “I just think about that moment sometimes and I'm like, what if I did take that gentleman's offer?” (25:15, Meena Krenek)

Connect with Meena Krenek

• Instagram: @MinaKrennic
• LinkedIn: Mina Krennic
  (25:23)

Flow & Tone

The episode is warm, open, and insightful—imbued with Meena’s imaginative spirit and Brant’s empathetic listening. Their dialogue unfolds naturally, blending reflective storytelling with tangible lessons about growth, creativity, and the “architecture of experience.”

Key Timestamps

• 01:02 – Meena’s early life and family background
• 03:06 – Imagination and childhood creativity
• 04:16 – First architectural inspirations
• 05:29 – Early career journey and finding her niche
• 08:22 – Breakthrough: Leading the HQ project
• 12:02 – Emotional moment after project completion
• 16:10 – The surreality of seeing ideas take physical form
• 18:31 – Creative influences and finding her voice
• 19:59 – On the role of feeling in design
• 20:32 – Experiencing historic architecture
• 23:16 – The missed moment: career choice
• 25:23 – How to follow Meena’s journey

This episode offers a masterclass on turning personal moments into powerful creative fuel—showing that the most meaningful designs are born from both skill and soul.