Bulletin NEWSLETTER of AIA CONNECTICUT The Connecticut Chapter of the American Institute of Architects 370 James Street, Suite 402 New Haven, CT 06513 April 2015 Calendar All programs are at AIA Connecticut’s office, unless otherwise noted. April 3 AIA Connecticut office closed April 6 Entry Deadline Alice Washburn Award April 10 Business Architecture Awards Jury Day April 20 Connecticut Architecture Foundation Distinguished Leadership Award Gala Honoring William J. Stanley, FAIA and Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA University of Hartford Lecture 6:30 pm Gala 7:15 pm April 21 Zero Ner Energy Homes: A Workshop Presented by Marc Rosenbaum, PE of South Mountain Company April 23 ARE Review Lecture Series Building Design & Construction Systems, Part II; Materials & Technology Presented by Richard Connell, AIA May 1 Alice Washburn Awards Jury Day AIA CONNECTICUT ANNUAL OUTING GOLF / CROQUET / TENNIS TUESDAY, MAY 19 THE FARMS COUNTRY CLUB 180 CHESHIRE ROAD WALLINGFORD Join your industry colleagues for an enjoyable event featuring a full day of golf or a half day of tennis or croquet. Dapper clothing for men and fancy hats for women are de rigueur for croquet players! Tennis players will participate in a round robin format on HAR TRU courts. All players will socialize at the end-of-day reception following playing time at which awards will be presented. AIA Connecticut Bulletin Page 2 Member News HOFFMANN ARCHITECTS Hamden announces the following promotions: LAWRENCE KEENAN, AIA has been awarded the corporate title of Vice President, in addition to his current position of Director of engineering; BENJAMIN ROBINSON, AIA has been promoted to Project Architect; MICHAEL PEREIRA, ASSOCIAITE AIA has been promoted to Senior Project Coordinator. A project in Wilton by MARK P. Finlay Architects, AIA of Southport was featured on the cover of the March issue of Connecticut Cottages and Gardens. ~ JENNA MCCLURE, AIA of AMENTA EMMA in Hartford, spoke on March 27 at the CREW Careers @ Colt event in Hartford. Designed to introduce high school girls to career opportunities, thirty girls from various Hartford County Schools Appreciation Breakfast The AIA Connecticut staff honored its corporate and individual affiliates, program sponsors and supporters at a special breakfast on March 10. This event is our way of thanking the sponsors and individuals who help make our chapter’s activities so successful. participated in this engaging career development program. ~ Congratulations to ARBONIES KING VLOCK, PC of Branford as it celebrate its 25th anniversary in April. Member News may be submitted to Louise Weaver. April 2015 Page 3 Registration form will be available in May. April 2015 Page 4 Registration form will be available in May. April 2015 Page 5 How to Approach the ARE 4.0 By Ana Koleva, AIA NCARB Resources and Tools Choose Study Materials NCARB.org These are must reads as they apply to ARE Guidelines every exam: Exam Guides – Available for each  International Building Code (IBC) section.  Americans with Disability Act (ADA) Practice Programs – Offered for each  Architectural Graphic Standards section.  Sustainability reference material NCARB Practice Exams Study guides / systems Connect with Other Candidates  Kaplan  Find or form a study group in your firm  Ballast or through AIA Connecticut.  blackspectacles.com  ARE lectures held monthly at AIA  ArchiFlash/ Nalsa/ Norman Dorf Connecticut, Solutions  Access ARECoach.com  Participate in the ARE Community Start Studying! Additional books and materials related to Google+ (though NCARB). the individual sections: Construction Documents and Services Understand that… The Architectural Registration Examination  AIA Contract Documents is one exam with seven sections, not seven  The Architect’s Handbook of separate exams. There is some overlap of Professional Practice questions.  Schiff Hardin Lectures  Site Planning and Design (SPD) – Programing Planning and Practice Multiple Choice + Site Grading and  AIA Contract Documents Site Design Vignettes  The Architect’s Handbook of  Construction Documents and Services Professional Practice (CDS) – Multiple Choice + Building  History of Architecture and Urban Section Vignette Planning  Programming Planning and Practice  Schiff Hardin Lectures (PPP) – Multiple Choice + Site Zoning Site Planning and Design Vignette  AIA Contract Documents  Building Design and Construction Systems (BDCS) – Multiple Choice +  The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice Accessibility Ramp, Stair Design, and  Fundamentals of Building Construction, Roof Plan Vignettes. Edward Allen  Building Systems (BS) – Multiple Choice + Mechanical and Electrical Plan  Schiff Hardin Lectures Building Design and Construction Systems Vignette  Structural Systems (SS) – Multiple  Fundamentals of Building Construction, Edward Allen Choice + Structural Layout Vignette Building Systems  Schematic Design (SD) - Interior Layout,  Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Building Layout Vignettes Buildings, Grondzik, Kwok, Stein, Reynolds Select Test Order  SPD, CDS, PPP – Do not require Structural Systems  Steel Construction Manual extensive experience.  BDCS, BS, SS – Are easier to navigate  FEMA website http://www.fema.gov/  Buildings at Risk with adequate work experience.  SD – Requires comprehension and the  Fundamentals of Building Construction, Edward Allen ability to follow the directions for each vignette.  Seminars by David Thaddeus Schematic Design  Norman Dorf Solutions Take one exam before the end of 2015! ARE 5.0 Launches in 2016 “Candidates who started in ARE 4.0 will have at least 18 months after the launch of ARE 5.0 to finish in that version before they are transitioned to ARE 5.0.” NCARB Finish all exams in ARE 4.0 The last day of ARE 4.0 is June 30, 2018 – after that everyone will be transitioned to ARE 5.0. The advantages of finishing in 4.0:  Readily available study materials (new and used).  Familiar exam set-up.  Relatively high passing rates. When new exams are first administered passing rates often drop. Sign up for the test  Sign up as soon as you feel sufficiently prepared, sometimes no appointments are available for months in advance.  Select a convenient Prometric Center location.  Select a testing time when you are most alert. The testing time is short and you need to be awake, aware and efficient. Use the days before the test to:  Review most important information – precise numbers, major concepts, formulas, et al.  Practice the vignettes until you can finish them in 1/2 to 2/3 of the available.  Read Flat’s notes (How to Kick the ARE MC Questions in the B…). At the testing center  Bring your ID.  Your photo and finger prints will be taken.  Bring earplugs – people around you will be typing, coughing, and sneezing, and you need to stay focused (they have huge, uncomfortable headphones at the center).  Bring a snack, coffee, chocolate (anything to wake you up during the break before the second part). You will be given four pages of paper and two pencils (you can request new pages, if you run out of space and April 2015 Page 6 certainly ask for new ones during the break) – they will take the old ones away.   You will have an onscreen calculator.  You will be escorted to your seat.   Signing a confidentiality agreement is  a requirement to start testing. During the test Multiple Choice Section  The tests are designed to challenge your skill in selecting the most logical solution, just as an architect experiences in real life.  Be efficient – plan in advance how much time you will spend per question and do not take more than that during the test. Types of questions  Single answer  Multiple answers  Fill-in the blank  Answer questions immediately if you know the answer.  Le ave q ue st io ns t e m po r ar ily unanswered if you need more time to think about it, or to calculate. You definitely want to get back to it.  Unanswered questions are considered incorrect answers!  On the second pass, go back to the unanswered questions. Answer every question, even if it’s a guess. You have a chance to get it right!  Type a number as a placeholder in the fill-in-the-blank questions.  Go back to the marked questions and pick a final answer.  You will be prompted when five minutes remains.  Use the last few minutes to review guessed answers. Vignettes  The vignettes seem simple when practicing, but after answering hundreds of ambiguous questions and being exhausted they could be the difference between Pass and Fail.  Read all instructions of the vignette carefully.  Take notes on paper and check the program again.  Sketch a solution on the paper or on the screen, whichever is more comfortable.  Draft your solution precisely; if it fulfills the requirements of the program , it is a Pass. Check solution, check program, check solution … Do not take on huge changes for little benefit, you may run out of time. You will be prompted when five minutes remain. After the test  The results will be available within two weeks  If it is a Pass, make a plan and proceed to prepare for the next test.  If it is a Fail, you can retake in two months.  Whatever the result, do not wait long before continuing to study.  The five-year rolling clock is ticking; it is easy to let life get in the way! Remember  The ARE is designed to test that the test taker is “competent to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.”  It is not about creativity, intelligence, innovation, design ability, etc…only about competence! AIA Connecticut Welcomes Its Newest Members AIA Joshua Grochowski Robert D. Mitchell Jeffrey J. Talka Elizabeth Zieman Associate AIA Joseph DiLorenzo Mark Hellen Shannon E. Hovan Matthew J. Lopes Jose Leonidas Mejia Mario R. Quagliani Carl Rothbart Elizabeth C. Whittington Affiliate Elizabeth Acly Good Luck!!! HAVE YOU REGISTERED? ZERO NET ENERGY HOMES: A WORKSHOP 6.5 HSW Hours April 21, 2015 8:15 am - 4:00 pm Zero net energy buildings are no longer a rarity. Marc Rosenbaum P.E. has helped clients all around the northeast reach this objective and shares his experience of living in a Deep Energy Retrofit that is a net energy exporter. Learn the practical methods and get key insights on how to design and build a zero net energy home. Marc Rosenbaum, P.E. works with South Mountain Company, Martha's Vineyard, a firm specializing in design/build, interiors, and energy. A well-known consultant on zero energy buildings, Passive Houses, Deep Energy Retrofits, and other projects that aim to stretch far beyond typical green buildings, Marc is the recipient of the 2009 NESEA Distinguished Service Award, a founding board member of the Passivehouse Institute of the U.S., and a Certified Passive House Consultant. The program will cover: · How residential energy use breaks down amongst thermal, hot water, and miscellaneous electrical loads · Key aspects of the thermal envelope leading to a ZNE home · Key considerations in selecting mechanical systems to serve these low load homes · Key aspects of a solar electric system