In any industry that requires creativity, one can thrive by constantly changing the game. In Florida, Gloria Kloter, AIA, NCARB, CODIA, has been setting new architectural design trends with her company Glow Architects. Together with her team, Gloria is paving the way for female architects.
Gloria Kloter originally hails from the Dominican Republic before coming to the United States in 2015. Back in her home country, she owned an architectural firm and showed determination to continue her success coming to America. However, she soon discovered that her license was invalid, barring her from practicing architecture, or even from calling herself an architect in the USA.
Things grew even more complicated as Gloria started the process to transfer her architect license, wasting time and money on things that were unnecessary to the process. Without the right knowledge and a lack of proper guidance, the process took a lot of her confidence. Things took a turn when Gloria’s international architect license allowed her to switch from the standard path to the Foreign Architect’s path. The latest is offered to most Architects who hold an architect license through an Architectural Board outside of the USA. This step fast-forwarded her education and experience being verified and approved by the NCARB, and she was ready to take the nationwide Architect Registration Exams (ARE).
The exams proved to be more difficult than she expected, and Gloria had to retake a couple of them. She joined the ARE Bootcamp by Young Architect to understand how to properly study for the ARE. After hard work and dedication, Gloria managed to take the ARE exams and passed them all, opening the door for her to finally transfer her architect license to the state of Florida.
Throughout the process, Gloria Kloter wished there was someone who understood the struggles a foreign architect goes through and guided her in the correct steps she needed to take. She took her wish to heart and decided to become that mentor for immigrant architects.
Gloria became the Architect Licensing Advisor for the State of Florida through AIA Florida and got published in magazines and news outlets back in the Dominican Republic. The exposure caught the attention of other immigrants looking to get their Architect license in the United States.
While it was undoubtedly fulfilling, the licensing mentorship became overwhelmed at some point, waking up to over a hundred messages on WhatsApp from people seeking guidance. Gloria decided to create a private group on Facebook called “Foreign Architects,” which slowly grew to over 700 foreign architects finishing their licensing process in the States. The group has become a resource community where Gloria mentors and supports others going through similar ordeals.
Gloria Kloter then turned her sight to creating her own firm, giving birth to Glow Architects. With experience in the industry since 2004, her knowledge is incredibly wide, having designed retail stores, restaurants, corporate offices, residentials, and even custom-made furniture for various projects. Glow Architects create high resolution, 3D-rendering photos, and videos that assist the creative process.
Among their vision for design trends in the new year, Glow Architects forecasts that multipurpose kitchens, home offices, home gyms, and outdoor areas will be in high demand for any project moving forward. With the pandemic keeping everyone locked in, Gloria believes people need an outdoor space to maintain a connection with nature and be able to breathe fresh air, exercise, and meditate while at home.
Although she is a successful award-winning architect, entrepreneur, and mentor, Gloria Kloter is yet to accomplish many new goals this year. One of them is to own her own Commercial Building for Glow Architects headquarters and grow their team even more to assist her in production, business generation, and design.
To learn more about Gloria Kloter and Glow Architects, you may visit their website. You can also connect with their Founder and CEO on Instagram or Facebook. If you would like to be a part of Gloria’s Foreign Architects Community, you can send your application to their Facebook Private Group.