March 30, 2011 – Vignette Seminar

The IAC committee will be offering a free study session for Intern Architects who are preparing for the ARE Exams. This seminars emphasis will placed on approaches for working through the vignette portions for PPP and SPD, focusing on problem-solving and time management strategies.

This seminar will run from 6:00PM to 7:30PM at the AIBC Architecture Centre. The seminar will provide strategies and other tips for each exam, and are not intended to cover specific exam content. It would be helpful to have some familiarity with the exam materials and some experience with the graphic practice program prior to attending the respective seminars.

Introductory material and resources can be located at Intern Architect Exam Process and Resources,

To reserve a spot for this seminar, or if you have any questions, you can contact Emily Tyler, Registration & Licensing Administration Assistant, at 604 683 8588 ext. 324 or etyler@aibc.ca.

Programming, Planning + Practice (PPP)

This exam has one graphic vignette– Site Zoning.

Site Planning + Design (SPD)

This exam has two graphic vignettes – Site Grading and Site Design

2011 ARE Preparation Seminars

Building upon the success of last year’s ARE Preparation seminars, the IAC committee continues to offer free study sessions in 2011 for Intern Architects who are preparing for the ARE Exams. This year, the emphasis will placed on approaches for working through the vignette portions of each exam, focusing on problem-solving and time management strategies.

Each seminar will generally run from 6:00PM to 7:30PM at the AIBC Architecture Centre. These seminars are designed to provide strategies and other tips for each exam, and are not intended to cover specific exam content. It would be helpful to have some familiarity with the exam materials and some experience with the graphic practice program prior to attending the respective seminars, except of course for the introductory seminar.

To reserve a spot for one of the seminars, or if you have any questions, you can contact Emily Tyler, Registration & Licensing Administration Assistant, at 604 683 8588 ext. 324 or etyler@aibc.ca.

March 9, 2011 – Introduction Seminar

This seminar will give you an overview of the Exam Process and study techniques for the NCARB ARE Exams. Information about AIBC study resources and external study resources will be laid out. Learn how to prepare for, book and take your ARE exams. Much of the information that will be covered can be found on the AIBC website here at Intern Architect Exam Process and Resources.

March 30, 2011 – Vignette Seminar

Programming, Planning + Practice (PPP)

This exam has one graphic vignette– Site Zoning.

Site Planning + Design (SPD)

This exam has two graphic vignettes – Site Grading and Site Design

April 14, 2011 – Vignette Seminar

Building Design + Construction Systems (BDCS)

This exam has three graphic vignettes – Accessibility/Ramp, Stair Design and Roof Plan

May 18, 2011 – Vignette Seminar

Schematic Design (SD)

This exam has two graphic vignettes – Interior Layout, Building Layout

June 1, 2011 – Vignette Seminar

Structural Systems (SS)

This exam has one graphic vignette – Structural Layout

Building Systems (BS)

This exam has one graphic vignette – Mechanical and Electrical Plan

Construction Documents + Services (CDS)

This exam has one graphic vignette – Building Section

ARE Resources NOW AVAILABLE

There are a vast amount of existing resources to prepare Intern Architects for the ARE, many at no cost. The AIBC has complied an extensive list and this is now available for review. The information covers everything from obtaining your Authorization to Test letter, booking an exam, the exam location rules and conduct, to available study resources.

IA Exam Process and Resources

ARE Structures Seminar

Professor David Thaddeus is back!

November 12th to the 14th, 2010
Friday: 9am - 7pm, Saturday: 8am - 8pm, Sunday: 8am - 7pm
At the AIBC office boardroom

Registration is now open! During this intense three day class, Prof. Thaddeus will be presenting his Structures Seminar at the AIBC offices. This lecture offers three full days of workshops, mock exams and questions & answers that focus on preparing Intern Architects for the Structural Systems division of the ARE 4.0. These workshops present the technique, strategy and skills invaluable to all interns preparing for their exams. If you have any questions, please contact the AIBC Registration & Licensing Administration Assistant Emily Tyler.

Registration is limited and closes November 5th!

Gustavo's Buildings

The first Mibelli Building Seminar in Vancouver was a big success, thanks to Gustavo!

The participants enjoyed the two day class. Gustavo focused time on the vignette, showing the class what to and not to do. The building seminar exam content was invaluable.

- "The participants had a good time, they felt that it really helped"

Next up: The Structural Seminar!
This is scheduled for early November. The registration date will be announced soon.

Architecture ARE Flashcards for your iPod

Studying for the AREs just got a lot cooler!

On September 7th gWhiz released the latest version 2.1 of the Kaplan flashcards for your iPod, iPhone, iPad...
Check it out!

ARE Study Groups: Preparing for the AREs Outside Vancouver

ARE study resources at the AIBC library are available to all interns. However, out-of-town ARE candidates may find it difficult to attend ARE preparation seminars held in Vancouver. In some cases, these ARE seminars provide some much-needed encouragement to take an exam. For those of us who cannot attend, motivation can be the biggest challenge to studying and completing the seven divisions of the ARE.

So why not study as a group? A study group is an excellent resource for those who function well under “peer-pressure,” encouraging them to study for these exams. You will also find yourself responsible to others and not only to yourself. A regular ARE study group may start with as few as four people and grow to as many as fifteen. Members may join for just one exam or continue for all of them.

The ARE Forum, a web-based bulletin board, is a good resource when searching for interns in your area who are preparing for the same ARE division. Upon registration, you may post your call under Areforum > Miscellaneous Forums - Not a place for debate just listings > Study Groups

One example of the many ARE Forum postings is a 15-member ARE study group in Albuquerque, NM. They started with PPP, then CDS, SPD and are now preparing SS. So far, they have passed 2 and failed 1. This is how they work together:

As a group we decide on an exam to study for; then we determine how long we want to take to study 4-8 weeks depending on the exam; then we break the readings out according to the schedule; we are using the Kaplan material as our main study material with the PPI material as a second source ... Once we determine the reading, we take a week to read the material and do the quiz at the end of each lesson and then meet each week to discuss the answers to the questions, we talk about why we chose an answer and where we found it in the reading ... As we get closer to the end of the study time for that exam we begin to look at the graphic portion and work through the problems available as a group and discuss why we decided to do certain things and not to do certain things. We then take a week or two for each member of the group to take the exam before moving on to the next exam and then we start it again.

If you are working with a study group, how do you study? Please share your experiences with us. It will be helpful to other interns trying to start a study group.

Gastón Castaño IA (Victoria, BC)

ARE Score Report Delay

Over the past month Prometric implemented additional quality control procedures which temporarily delayed the release of all ARE score reports to all boards of architecture. Prometric has now completed these procedures. NCARB has approved the implementation plan and has removed the “hold” that had been placed on all ARE 3.1 and ARE 4.0 score reports. The AIBC has just received one batch of results and have mailed them out to the interns. Thank you for your patience!

ARE Scheduling

With the June 30, 2009 deadline for completing ARE 3.1 before the conversion to ARE 4.0 fast approaching, the Burnaby Test Centre has been very busy with bookings. Therefore, this site (#5129) has just opened their schedule on December 22, 23, 27, 29 and 30 to deliver exams. Please go online at www.prometric.com/ncarb or call 1-(800) 479-6215 to schedule your examinations for these dates. Don't forget that NCARB has scheduling guidelines and guarantees so if you are having difficulty scheduling an exam please fill out their ARE Scheduling Verification Form and fax to NCARB. If you continue to have difficulty with scheduling please contact Róisín O'Neill, AIBC Registration Coordinator at roneill@aibc.ca and provide the exam information and time frame you are hoping for.