Building Systems 0-2 Weeks - ORDER CHANGED

UPDATE - I SWITCHED MY FIRST TEST TO SITE PLANNING AND DESIGN. I went to the local AIA and checked out Kaplan - Building Systems and retained the Ching - Visual Dictionary of Architecture. I like the visual connection that Ching provides. I went ahead and bought the PPI ARE Review Manual to use on all sections. From the forum I've read that PPI's book is good to familiarize yourself with each section, but far from complete. To fill the gap, I will also use Kaplan's book and then move onto flash cards. I have no bias towards PPI or Kaplan's material, and when it comes time for practice tests, I will take any material I can get. Just the act of applying your mind to retrieve ARE info is invaluable. When it comes time for memorization, I will share a secret learned from a classical pianist. Happy Thanksgiving.

Finally, IDP is over.

650 hours later, and I finally submitted my IDP file to NCARB. I don't expect to get the Authorization back right away, but now I can get a jump on studying again. I will stick with Building Systems as my first test. I will first pore over the Ballast ARE Review Manual to the point of memorization, then I will work my way through Flash Cards to familiarize myself with all terms, and cap it off with practice tests galore. For personal reasons I will be devoting a half hour of each night to studying a foreign language. Maybe exercising the left brain will help me absorb my information, or I could learn at half the speed. Nonetheless, my revised goal is to take the tests sometime in late December, early January. More to follow...

How to kill time waiting for IDP to end.

Earlier, I was under the impression that I was qualified to start taking the ARE exams. I spent considerable time skimming the ARE Review Manual to see what test areas I was most comfortable in. I read through the ARE forum and the Review Manual and devised a testing order that is tailored to my competencies, and that I am quite happy with. That was well over a month ago. I was notified that I wasn’t quite finished with the IDP requirements as explained in a previous post. Since then I have made many pathetic attempts to keep up the studying, but on the bright side I have caught up on most of the “honey do” projects and learned some more about building methods in the mean time.

It has been really hard to take the ARE Review Manual seriously, its like reading the dictionary for fun. Ain’t got no time, and it isn’t that fun. So, I would recommend picking up these books for the time being.

1. Kaplan - Architectural History
2. Francis D. Ching - A Visual Dictionary of Architecture
3. Francis D. Ching - Building Construction Illustrated

The Architectural history section is no longer an individual test section of the ARE, but is still tested throughout on each exam. Thus, it is helpful to brush up on some history. I noticed that Kaplan’s flashcards actually asked some history questions when I was flipping through the Building Systems deck of cards.

I probably do not know all of the components that make up a building section. Ching’s books are a good refresher to get familiar with industry terms and see how things are best represented graphically. This should help come time for the vignette section. In general, familiarizing yourself with the Ching book so you can find a picture of a Type “G” Bulb, should help serve as a useful companion to the ARE Review Manual.