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Andres Alfaro, AIA

We are excited to announce that another one of our team members, Andres Alfaro, is officially a licensed architect! In May, Andres passed his final Architectural Registration Exam (ARE), has logged all the necessary Intern Development Program (IDP) hours and can now officially be titled “architect.”

Andres joined us in 2016 when Blackbird Design Studio merged with Helix Architecture + Design. Over the past two years at Helix, he has been instrumental on some of our biggest and most prominent projects: McCownGordon Construction Headquarters, Michael Smith’s new restaurant Farina, and the renovation of the historic Corrigan Building and WeWork tenant improvement. Andres is currently finishing up the his involvement with AIA Kansas City’s Pillars Leadership Program, which is leadership training program for AIA Kansas City members, the purpose of which is to prepare the chapter’s emerging leaders for their role in shaping the future of both the architectural profession and the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. In addition to being a talented architect, Andres is one to always liven up company meetings with a joke or invite the whole office out for happy hour.

We asked Andres to shared some of his ARE exam secrets:

Q: How long did it take to pass all of the exams?

A: I took my first test in February of 2014, and my last in May of this year.

Q: Where was your favorite place to study?

A: My front porch, weather permitting.

Q: Any studying tips?

A: Like Nike, just do it! Like anything else that’s new, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. If you don’t pass an exam, just get back up and try again.

Q: What’s one surprising thing you learned while studying for your exams?

A: Process and procedures, contracts

Q: Any good study music or favorite snacks?

A: Nope. I can’t multitask so reading by myself in a quiet place was ideal.
We’re proud of all the work Andres has put it — congratulations to our newest architect!