• -photo via Flickr: "Architecture," by D B, CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/26026745@N00/5378467111/)

The process to achieve licensure as an architect is long and arduous, an incredible accomplishment that often takes years. But for some young architects, the recent transition from the ARE 4.0 to 5.0 pushed them to complete the process at an accelerated rate. At age 24, Lincoln Davidson and Altair Galgana are the two youngest licensed architects in Texas. Altair is officially the youngest, just a few months younger than Lincoln.

Altair graduated from the University of Houston in 2016 and was able to get licensed as quickly as she did due in part to the changes in hour requirements for the IDP/AXP. “I also had wonderful mentors, friends, and family who were very understanding and supportive of my goal of getting licensed within a year of graduating,” she says. “I figured that right after graduation would be when I had the least commitments and the most discipline to take the exams, while my mentors at Kirksey were happy to help me get all the experience hours I needed.”

Altair’s path to becoming an architect began with her love for both the arts and logic and her perpetual curiosity. Her father is an engineer, so she was exposed to the field from a young age. Moving forward, Altair is excited to work at the intersection of design, construction, and technology, saying, “I hope that, as an industry, we continue to be more mindful of the effects of our work on the health of people and the planet.”

Lincoln, Texas’ second youngest architect, is an associate at Murray Legge Architecture. He graduated from the UT School of Architecture. His frequent moves while growing up instilled an interest in “place” that led him to the profession. A brief loophole during the transition period between ARE 4.0 and 5.0 spurred Lincoln to begin the process. “The window to use the loophole was going to close a few months after I graduated, so I went ahead and took my first test right away. Deciding to take that first test is the hardest part, there is a lot of inertia to overcome when you commit studying for months/years,” he says.

Moving forward, Lincoln is excited to practice as an architect in an ever-changing city like Austin. “I believe young architects have an obligation to push architecture – in this moment, particularly with regards to sustainability and the way we use technology to design and make,” he says.

Congratulations on your achievements, Altair and Lincoln! The future of architecture is in great hands.

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