Archinect
Jennifer Alfaro

Jennifer Alfaro

Los Angeles, CA

 

About 

In a world where architecture is thought to be merely a collection of decorators building program in a way that 'makes the world a nice place to live,' there are firms which are striving for more, promoting an architecture that can solve real problems by thinking outside of the box, beyond the set of rules that defines our profession to create a world that is only a nice place to live but one that is better functioning and better addresses issues that some of us no longer want to choose to ignore.

I want to pursue the aesthetic as it is entwined indelibly with human interaction, consequences and opportunities.  The pursuit of such leads architecture to be buoyant, revolutionary and persistent. It is with this persistence that I want to be a part of something that changes not only our profession, but the world, not just for me, for architecture, but for everyone in it. I have always believed that architecture has the ability to provoke and to promote change.

With everything happening locally and globally, with the world expanding and borders falling away, change has become a part of our global culture. With it has come a new way of thinking, a new way of functioning, beyond what people have been programmed to for. The lines are becoming blurred between professions, allowing us to push the limits of what we can do. It is my dream to push these limits and to be a part of taking architecture to the next level of its potential.

The world is full of amazing imagery, often fleeting, sometimes staying. Every once in a while you catch a glimpse of something that captures your attention in such a way that it stops you, reaches into your soul and makes you feel like it was put there just for you to admire. Great architecture does this. 

In a time with so many talented architects and artists, one often wonders where their place may be in all of this. Where do I fit in? What can I offer? 

After much pondering you realize that what you have to offer is simple: it's you.

I have my own pair of eyes, unique to me and belonging to no one else. And with them, just like each of us, I can view the world in a way that no one else can...my view, my imagery, my admiration. 

It's the great architects who see this and want to share it with the world.

Employment 

House & Robertson Architects, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, US, Architect - Unlicensed III

Jul 2016 - current
 

BarlisWedlick Architects, New York, Architect/Interior Designer

Dec 2013 - current
 

Musho Architecture & Design, New York, NY, US, Associate Architectural Designer/Office Manager

Jun 2008 - Nov 2012
 

Johnson & Associates Architects, Inc., Bluffton, SC, US, Intern

Jun 2007 - May 2008
 

Scott Dietz in association with SCAD, Savannah, Model Builder

Working summers for a professor at SCAD, I was selected to be part of a team to build the first prototype of the Command Center Training Modulus, a collection of scale models of various portions of the Savannah area. It encompassed different building typologies of different scales. The intention was to use the models in conjunction with video imagery to train for vehicle/manpower positioning during emergencies. With limited funding only a portion of the models were completed.

This prototype was to be used at fire departments across the nation to adapt new, advanced training methods.

Jun 2005 - Aug 2006
 

Kiewit Corporation, Miami, FL, US, Assistant to Head Land Surveyor

As assistant to the head land surveyor on the runway repaving project at the Miami International Airport, I assisted with general office tasks and with correcting as-builts for various types of land surveys.

Jul 2003 - Aug 2003
 

Education 

Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA, US, MArch, Architecture

Sep 2002 - Jun 2007
 

Awards 

AIA Georgia Legacy Charrette Winner, 1st Place

Held at the Savannah College of Art & Design as part of the Georgia AIA Conference, the charrette brought together SCAD, Georgia Southern Polytechnic and Georgia Institute of Technology architecture students to create a design for a visitors center for Mulberry Grove Plantation, once a thriving working plantation where the cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney and now a wooded area littered with plantation ruins.

Coming from three different types of educational backgrounds created a challenge amongst the team members, so various portions of the center were designed to compliment the visions of everyone involved and to create a more developed site plan. In opposition to a single visitors center, we proposed a sprawling campus of sorts that could be better integrated with the environment.

2006
 

KSU Suburban Design Competition Winner, 3rd Place

The design competition held by Kennesaw State University put out an open call for ideas to improve some aspect of suburban living.

2004
 

Areas of Specialization 

Skills