Podcast – Architect Exam Prep – ARE Prep Courses

By David Doucette & Eric Corey FreedBusiness Entrepreneurship Education Arts Courses Design

Podcast – Architect Exam Prep – ARE Prep Courses episodes

March 10, 2017Episode 31: A Candid Interview with Jared Zurn, NCARB Director of Examination
We’re going to the top and talking to NCARB and all things 5.0!
Join Eric for a candid interview with Jared Zurn, Director of Examination as they discuss in depth topics related to 5.0. If you’re taking 5.0, this is a must listen to episode.
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Show Notes:
In this interview, you’ll hear direct from the Director of Examinations at NCARB on:
The newly released passing rates for ARE5.0 and the new score sheets.
Insight into how the new question types were developed.
The secret advantage certain candidates will have over others when taking 5.0.
How the time for each division has shortened and how to better use your time during the exam.
New insights into making the transition from ARE4.0 to 5.0 and how to best study and pass the new exams!
Chat with Eric
Schedule a FREE 15 minute phone call with Eric, check out the Talk with Eric page for more information!
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If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a review. It would really help us spread the word about the ARE Podcast. Thanks!
48 min
March 02, 2017 Episode 30: Top 5 Fears for 5.0
ARE 5.0 is here! And we’re scared as hell! Okay, maybe not THAT scared, but we’ve learned you’re worried so we put together the Top 5 Fears for 5.0 to help calm your nerves. We’re back! Eric has been talking on the phone to a lot of you and we’ve been learning of your […]
48 min
March 02, 2017Episode 30: Top 5 Fears for 5.0
ARE 5.0 is here! And we’re scared as hell! Okay, maybe not THAT scared, but we’ve learned you’re worried so we put together the Top 5 Fears for 5.0 to help calm your nerves.
We’re back! Eric has been talking on the phone to a lot of you and we’ve been learning of your fears and hesitations of taking ARE 5.0. We cover the 5 most common here.
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Show Notes:
Top 5 Fears For ARE 5.0
Exam Items
New types of questions
Time
Overlapping information
Trick Questions
Chat with Eric
Schedule a FREE 15 minute phone call with Eric, check out the Talk with Eric page for more information!
Please Subscribe
Receive automatic updates when you subscribe below!
Please rate us on iTunes!
If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a review. It would really help us spread the word about the ARE Podcast. Thanks!
48 min
June 04, 2016 Episode 29: Healthy Buildings & Transparency
Our choices of material selection might seem a minimal undertaking. But when you step back and look at the bigger picture, Architects can have a big impact on the environment simply by the material choices we make.
46 min
June 04, 2016 Episode 29: Healthy Buildings & Transparency
Our choices of material selection might seem a minimal undertaking. But when you step back and look at the bigger picture, Architects can have a big impact on the environment simply by the material choices we make.
Eric and I discuss the state of materials used in our buildings today as well as give you solid advice and the six questions you should ask every Sales Rep that you come into contact with.
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Show Notes:
Materials change the world
think what stone did for the Ancient Egyptians
or how steel was forged into swords for armies
or even into girders for skyscrapers in turn of the century Chicago
think of how dimensional lumber allowed expansion of suburbia
1950s: post world war II launched the age of the Petro-Chemical industry
which spawned the chemical and toxins revolution.
1962: Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, launched the environmental movement.
In early 1960s a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer was 1 in 20, today it is 1 in 8.
1970: EPA founded (Earth day and Clean Water and Clean Air acts)
1971: President Nixon signing cancer act of 1971
1976: Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) – President Ford signed
EPA has the burden of proof on what is toxic/dangerous and in 40 years they have only banned 5 chemicals, but 1500+ new ones released every YEAR.
1980: sick building syndrome
1985: California Prop 65 to control toxins in buildings
1989: banned asbestos and lead paint (decades after lawsuits and health effects felt)
1990 – Today: American Chemistry Council lobbies Congress (last year they spent $55MM)
Chemicals in use and their direct health effects:
Environmental Working Group tested umbilical cord blood for 300 chemicals and found 287, including Teflon, ScotchGuard, and fragrances, containing:
* phthalates
* endocrine disruptors
* known carcinogens
We are quietly becoming genetically modified by toxic chemicals.
People assume that if a product is sold, its safe, but NO ONE has tested it and NO ONE is allowed to know whats in it.
We were sold the dream of “better living through chemistry” but never checked the health consequences.
There are now 80,000+ chemicals on the market, making it impossible to sift through, and the EPA lacks the authority to properly regulate the chemical industry.
Chinese manufacturers have two versions:
highly regulated version for EU and China
and cheap toxic versions for the US market
This is not a secret: everyone in the building and health industry knows about this broken system
FDA guidelines haven’t changed since they were enacted in 1938
Air pollution exposure is an invisible hazard responsible for seven million premature deaths every year, according to World Health Organization estimates.
Regulations have been slow and corrupted so it’s pushed us toward transparency
TOPICS COVERED IN PODCAST:
1. What is Lifecycle Assessment (LCA)?
2. What are Environmental Product Declarations (EPD’s)?
LEED v4 makes heavy use of EPDs
3. Transparency Labels?
The Living Future Institute (the Living Building Challenge folks) have their own called Declare
Mohawk Carpet examples
Healthy Building Network has Pharos
Think of these like a nutrition label for materials
Transparency labels are NOT a guarantee of health: just a disclosure of what’s in it so YOU can make informed decisions.
QUESTIONS TO ASK SALES REPS FOR TRANSPARENCY
1. Where did this material come from?
2. What are the by-products of its’ manufacturer?
3. How is the material delivered and installed?
4. How is the material maintained & operated?
5. How healthy are the materials?
6. What do we do with them once we are done with these materials?
DEALING WITH SALES REPS
1. they want your sale, so make them work for it
2. use your questions to have them educate themselves
3. invite them back to give a lunch and learn once they are able to answer those questions
4. mfrs listen to you (their customers) so YOU need to push them for transparency
5. make it clear this is important to you and the firm
DOCUMENTARIES MENTIONED:
Stink!Unacceptable LevelsChemicalnationThe Human ExperimentToxic Hot Seat MovieThe Corporation
Blue Vinyl
Homesick: A Documentary about Living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
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If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a review. It would really help us spread the word about the ARE Podcast. Thanks!
46 min
May 27, 2016 Episode 28: Architecture School As A Life Skill
Although we may not realize until years after architecture school, the problem solving skills and the ability to endure criticism is a valuable life skill that few other educational programs are able to offer.
41 min
May 27, 2016Episode 28: Architecture School As A Life Skill
Although we may not realize until years after architecture school, the problem solving skills and the ability to endure criticism is a valuable life skill that few other educational programs are able to offer.
Eric and I discuss how the skills we learned in architecture school can help us succeed in life, both professionally and personally. We discuss problem solving and the ability to accept criticism as two key components that can be applied to the real world.
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Show Notes:
How to handle criticism:
Listen (record or take notes): the crit is designed to help you. Use it!
Focus: it’s not about YOU. Don’t take it personally.
Repeat it back (active listening): so they know you were listening, and you confirm you heard it right
Engage: ask questions (i.e.: So, I was thinking of this other approach… would that have worked better.”)
Trust: assume they had good intentions. An occasional sadist in the jury would be offset by the other jurors.
Body Language: open arms, open face, open mind.
Don’t get defensive: that includes not making excuses. Take control of the conversation by admitting the mistakes you just realized, or ways you could have approached it better.
You can disagree: you don’t have to agree with everything said, but you do have to consider it (don’t reject it outright)
Gratitude: be grateful for their time and feedback. If you followed the steps above, you’ll benefit from it.
LINKS:
Worst things said in an Architectural Crit:
http://blog.miragestudio7.com/architecture-presentation-crits/406/
Crit(icism): What is it good for?
https://thinkarchitect.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/criticism-what-is-it-good-for/
Monty Python: The Architects Sketch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RicaXxiU1WM
Architecture Schools: Crits & Criticism
http://www.architecture-wiwik.com/arche-school-crits-and-criticism/

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Please rate us on iTunes!
If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a review. It would really help us spread the word about the ARE Podcast. Thanks!
41 min
April 01, 2016 Episode 27: 5.0 Insider Access – Eric Visits NCARB
Eric spent an action packed two days with NCARB a couple of weeks ago to learn all about 5.0 including the new format and the 4.0 transition plan. Tune in as we discuss the highlights of what Eric learned over the two days.
1 hr 4 min
April 01, 2016Episode 27: 5.0 Insider Access – Eric Visits NCARB
ARE 5.0 is coming later this year. So Eric recently visited the NCARB offices to learn all about it. And he’s here to spill the beans…
Eric spent an action packed two days with NCARB a couple of weeks ago to learn all about 5.0 including the new format and the 4.0 transition plan. Tune in as we discuss the highlights of what Eric learned over the two days.
Listen to the Audio
Click to Watch
Show Notes:
NCARB’s new 5.0 ARE Exams:
a. Practice Management – PracMan5.0
b. Project Management – ProMan5.0
c. Programming & Analysis – P+A5.0
d. Project Planning & Design – PP+D5.0
e. Project Development & Documentation – PD+D5.0
f. Construction & Evaluation – C+E5.0
QUESTION FORMATS:
two types of questions:
Understand and Apply: U/A
Analyze and Evaluate: A/E
NOTE the use of words: evaluate, analyze, determine, detail, create
This is a fundamental change in how you’re being tested
EXAM FOCUS:
New exam really follows the phases of construction:
c. Programming & Analysis is PROGRAMMING
d. Project Planning & Design is SD and part of DD
e. Project Development & Documentation is part of DD and CDs
f. Construction & Evaluation is CA
what this means for the questions: really about the scale of the drawings (programming is 1/16” and Construction is 1” or bigger)
practice focus
for example: what is the impact on the project of switching from a fasttrak to a DBB process?
NCARB expects that pass rates will go up with the new exam (since it applies to real practice now)
sustainability has been woven into all sections (yay!)
no vignettes: instead, the entire exam consists of “problems” and many are hot spots (click on the thing) and drag in place (drag this to the right spot) types
(and, of course, plenty of questions in the old fashioned multiple choice format)
TIMELINE for NCARB
how the exam developed
rewrite all old questions
doubled with new questions
taxonomy of questions
no curve
equator questions
not dynamically generated exams: 4 set bundles of questions for each division
This is why you can’t take the exam more than 3x a year (there are only 4 versions)
The Prometric testing centers contract has been renewed to 2020
LINKS:
ARE 5.0 Home Page
ARE 5.0 Test Specification
ARE 5.0 Transition Plan
Timeline to ARE 5.0
ARE 5.0 FAQs
Transition Plan
Credit Model
ARE 5.0 Transition Calculator
Please Subscribe
Receive automatic updates when you subscribe below!
Please rate us on iTunes!
If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a review. It would really help us spread the word about the ARE Podcast. Thanks!
1 hr 4 min
February 19, 2016 Episode 26: NCARB Is Updating to ARE 5.0 [Podcast]
A lot of buzz has been happening within the last couple of months about NCARB's new ARE 5.0 hitting the streets in late 2016. In this episode, we discuss the overview as well as a strategy to transition from 4.0 to 5.0 that includes taking only 5 of the new 6 exams.
36 min

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