Renn Halstead

Renn has always been drawn to design and the built environment, starting with woodworking and working construction jobs in his youth. He harnessed his passion for art and science and seeing design come to life in college, where he studied architecture and sustainability.

Always curious about the environments that facilitate some of the most significant scientific developments, Renn quickly specialized in lab and secure facility design. With years of experience working with DoE and national laboratories, he has fluency in navigating different government agency and department needs and specifications.

His deep expertise in SCIF design, lab planning, acoustics, environmental controls, clean room and dry room design, and campus masterplanning advances technical excellence and sustainable design strategies in all of his projects. Renn approaches every project with a service-oriented collaborative mindset and a dedication to resilient holistic design that furthers the client's mission.

In his role as Principal of the Federal Government studio, Renn leads with a service-first approach and hopes to continue to grow the impact of the studio to serve DoE and DoD labs throughout the country. With an eye towards collaboration, he hopes to continue to grow Dekker's strong science and government technical design excellence.

Outside of the office, Renn's service mindset has led him to be active in leading many community organizations including serving on the Albuquerque Environmental Planning Commission. When not designing critical secure and scientific environments, Renn enjoys his free time with his family outside, fly fishing, snowboarding, camping, or hiking. He is still an avid tinkerer, continuing to feed his curiosity and keeping his hands busy with renovations and other projects.