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Tips for ARE Testing in London / A Personal Account

September 05, 2024Fiona Mckay

The ARE (Architect Registration Examination) is a key component of the architectural licensure process in the United States, managed by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). This article discusses the topic of sitting the ARE while abroad in the UK. If you are interested in connecting with our emerging professionals to learn more or join a study group please reach out to emergingprofessionals@aiauk.org.

Written by Natalie Williams

Like many young designers, I’ve recently started the daunting (and exciting!) process of taking the ARE (Architect Registration Examination). Of course, before reading any contracts or making flashcards, my first step was to ask my studio friends back in the US for advice. They pointed me in the right direction for books, websites, and testing strategies. However, one question they couldn’t answer was “where and how do you test from abroad?”

Well, hopefully I can help those of you wondering the same thing by providing some tips and telling you about my recent experience.

Booking an Exam

All exams are scheduled through your NCARB account. You have two options - either to test in person at a registered center, or to test virtually at home.

At a Registered Center Personally, I still have the same old laptop from high school and she’s barely hanging on. I didn’t want to take the chance of something going wrong on my end, so I decided to test in person. There are a number of testing locations in and around London, listed below:

1) Synod Solutions Ltd - LONDON - Tottenham, N17 9TA

(This is the one I chose as it was in a reasonable location and had a significant number of appointment options.)

2) Synod Solutions Ltd - LONDON - Eltham, SE9 1TD

3) PSI - CROYDON - CR0 9XP

(I almost booked this one, but at the time it didn’t have any appointments for the next few months - unsure as to why.)

4) Synod Solutions Ltd - MAIDSTONE, ME15 6LU

5) Spark Exam Centre - READING, RG11 DX

6) Online Exams PSI Gov SO - PETERBOROUGH, PE1 5PP

7) Mobile Testing Solutions PSI Gov SO - COVENTRY, CV6 5SF

8) Pitman Training - BRISTOL, BS2 0PL

Test Virtually at Home If you do choose to test at home, be aware that you will need to set up a separate appointment beforehand to verify your setup and computer. This can be scheduled via your NCARB account as well.

Before the Exam

Double check the time of your exam. When I booked it, the confirmation said 12pm GMT. However, we are in British Summer Time now, so I was concerned about either being way too early or way too late. I opted for the former, and the proctor was nice enough to let me take the exam earlier than my slot. But - if in doubt - call your testing center to confirm ahead of time.
“Dress well, test well”. This saying I heard for the first time in high school carries through to the professional world. It helps build confidence in yourself when you’ve taken the time to get ready. On top of that, wear something cool and comfortable. The room at Synod was quite warm with no open windows (plus this is mid-summer in the UK we’re talking about).
Leave your notes at home. Maybe do a light review the night before or morning of, but know that cramming on the Underground on the way to the exam won’t help. Give your mind a break and go into the exam calm and well rested.

Bring a water bottle. It should be clear, unbranded, and not have text on it so you can take it into the exam room with you. Also consider bringing a snack for your break as a little pick-me-up since it is a long day. There are lockers at the testing center where you can safely store your belongings during the exam.

After the Exam

Hit submit. Once you hit submit, you will go through a few pages and then have the option to view your provisional feedback. It will either say “you will likely pass this division” or “likely fail”. As described by NCARB, these results are accurate, but not official. Before it is official, they have to certify the results and make sure there was no foul play. Read more about provisional feedback and score reports HERE.
Get your Results Your official results will be posted to your NCARB account within 7-10 business days, but sometimes sooner. I took mine on a Monday and received the official results the following Monday. Luckily, it was a pass! One down, five to go.
Celebrate Finally, let out the breath you’ve been holding, celebrate (or regroup), and get mentally ready for the next one. You’ve got this!

Good luck!

The AREs evaluate candidates on knowledge and skills necessary for the responsible practice of architecture pertaining to a professional standard of care. The ARE comprises several divisions, each focusing on different aspects of architectural practice. Although the ARE is a US-based programme, it is also administered overseas to expatriate and international architects seeking US qualification. Architects who register through the US process are now eligible to register in the UK (and vice versa) through the Mutual Recognition Agreement between both countries. It is worth noting that the ARE study material is also invaluable for international architects liaising with the US construction market as a reference for local construction standards and laws. For more information on the ARE and the US architectural licensing process, including eligibility, please visit the NCARB website at www.ncarb.org or contact emergingprofessionals@aiauk.org.

tags Emerging Professionals, AREs, Licensure

AIA UK Sustainability Series: Upskilling for a Transforming Construction Sector with the RIBA Climate Guide

August 22, 2024Fiona Mckay

On 29th May 2024 we hosted Mina Hasman (Sustainability Director, SOM, and Founder, Climate Framework) to discuss her work on The RIBA Climate Guide which she created to help build knowledge and skills around the climate literacy mandatory competence requirements defined by the RIBA in 2021.

Mina Hasman elucidated how The RIBA Climate Guide provided both the necessary contextual background and skills required of building sector professionals to meaningfully and effectively respond to the climate emergency, replete with case studies to show the strategies and tools in action at a variety of scales. The Guide begins by mapping out the essential background knowledge around climate science, international agreements, legislations, commitments, and roadmaps, with the aim to equip all built-environment professionals with the key information required to mitigate impacts of climate change in their day-to-day practice. Contextualising the climate emergency and the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 within the built environment landscape, the Guide is structured around the six core themes of the ‘Climate Framework’: Human Factors, Circular Economy, Energy and Carbon, Water, Ecology and Biodiversity, Connectivity and Transport. Uniquely, the book highlights interlinkages that exist among all of these priority areas to enable stakeholders across the built environment value chain to make holistically informed decisions. Furthermore, to show the theory in practice she highlighted how The Guide presents a collection of short, building- and urban-scale case studies, to illustrate real-life applications of design strategies and industry-wide tools, as well as standards that are deployed in climate-conscious built environments all around the world.

The RIBA Climate Guide is available to purchase at all niche booksellers, or from the RIBA directly here.

The recording of the talk can be found on the AIA-UK website HERE.

tags 2024 Events;, Sustainability

Virtual Building Tour – Ombú by Foster + Partners

August 19, 2024Fiona Mckay

The 2024 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Virtual Building Tours” convened on 20 June with a visit to Ombú, designed by Foster + Partners (F+P) and completed in 2022. The tour was given by Taba Rasti, Pablo Urango Lillo and Emilio Ortiz Zaforas all from Madrid, Spain. The team provided a historic context of the renovation of Ombú, a transformative office building built for the Spanish infrastructure and energy company, ACCIONA. This retrofit project breathes new life into a historical industrial building in the Spanish capital, creating a sustainable exemplar of building reuse and revitalising the surrounding area. The concept development was focused on the workplace well-being of building’s occupants and the construction methodology for the restoration of historic and structural elements of the building.

Foster + Partners’ retrofit of the abandoned warehouse created 10,000m2 of workspace. On the surface, it qualifies as one of the least Foster-like building ever encountered. However, once one scratches below the surface, the structure exemplifies how practitioners should approach the design and adaptive reuse of the plethora of dilapidated and unused buildings in our global cities. F+P has not only breathed new life into the landmark building but also developed a carbon neutral workplace, providing an exceptional example of sustainability in action.

During the tour, F+P team explained how they ‘kept it simple’ by stripping the building bare, ‘cleaning and polishing it up’ and inserting a simple giant-tiered cake of staggered platforms, formed of glulam slabs and columns on a diagonal grid.
Despite its abandonment, the building was in a relatively good condition, meaning the restoration was a simple, straight forward clean-up of the brick and existing metal roof. Inside, the lightweight tiered structure introduced to maximise useable space is made from locally sourced timber. Like a piece of handmade, custom furniture, the craftsmanship is a delight. Due to the generous existing glass openings and central skylight flooding the interior with additional natural light, artificial lighting is minimal. As a bonus, the glass integrates photovoltaics to generate electricity.

The gardens are impressive, due to the team’s intent to provide "biophilic spaces" to maximise employees' well-being through the building's connectivity to the outdoors. Madrid's moderate climate enables use of the workspaces outside as well as inside, providing a flexible and healthy regime. A natural timber element is brought into the existing building, further enhancing wellbeing and improving productivity.

The adaptive reuse of Ombú is a demonstration to what can be achieved in providing modern uses in older buildings, whilst being led by responsible carbon neutral design.

The AIA UK Chapter continues to host its building tour series for the 2024 season based on Winners of AIA UK 2023 Excellence in Design Awards. The series offers architects the opportunity to visit notable buildings that have particular design interests in the UK and abroad. Follow this link HERE for further information to participate in the next tour of Saltmarsh House by Niall McLaughlin on 12 September 2024.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

tags 2024 Events;, AIA UK Tours;

AIA UK Attends Iris Ceramica “Summer in Bloom” Event

August 19, 2024Fiona Mckay

***Chapter members Michael Lischer, on left, and Gregory Fonseca prepare their bouquets for dipping.***

AIA UK members accepted the kind invitation from Chapter sponsor, Iris Ceramica Group, to attend their premier summer event, Summer in Bloom. This took place on the 31st of July at the ICG Gallery: the Iris Ceramica Group’s London showroom. The purpose of Summer in Bloom was to “celebrate the season of light-heartedness and lightness, an invitation to enjoy the present moment, in harmony with oneself and with others”.

The most entertaining feature of the evening was to opportunity to participate in the Wax Atelier workshop. This was led by London-based contemporary artist Lola Lely who took visitors through an experiential workshop in which flowers become the means for experimenting with the concept of “suspension in time”. This was an opportunity to escape the rhythms of everyday life and reconnect with ourselves and others. This involved dipping fresh cut flowers in several coloured vats of hot wax. The results were amazing bouquets of flowers “frozen in time”. No two bouquets were the same and the flowers crystallised in wax, become a gift of the evening enhanced with new meaning!

Summer in Bloom was a great success, and our thanks go to Iris Ceramica Group for hosting such and interesting and entertaining event at their ICG Gallery in Clerkenwell!

Written by Michael Lischer, FAIA

tags 2024 Events;, Sponsors

Building Tour - UCL East Marshgate with Stanton Williams

August 15, 2024Fiona Mckay

The 2024 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Building Tours” continued on 30th May with a visit to UCL East Marshgate, designed by Stanton Williams, completed in 2023. Despite Stratford Station having been closed due to an incident with a train, a good audience managed to convene for a building tour led by Gavin Henderson and Ali Abbas, both from Stanton Williams. The building is 35,000m2 of new class space within an academic building centred at the heart of UCL East, which is the largest single expansion of University College London since it’s beginnings some 200 years ago.

As you approach the building from a distance, it has a civic presence. Currently, the other four proposed buildings in the masterplan have not yet been built, lending the building to be perceived as an “object building” within the landscape. According to Stanton Williams, Marshgate is “designed to create a collaborative and cross-disciplinary educational environment focused on finding solutions to today’s biggest social, environmental, and technological challenges, drawing on the shared knowledge and expertise of the many faculties that will converge at the new East London campus.”

We began the tour on the south side of the building, on the site where two further buildings are planned to be constructed, where our hosts explained the project’s material considerations. The building consists of eight stories, however, the design breaks-up the mass vertically to read as four main elements - the ground-level base with three further and distinct divisions of the mass and articulation of the facades. Our hosts explained that Marshgate is built to echo the solidity and permanence of UCL’s original Bloomsbury campus. Its massing reflects the site’s industrial past, while responding to the sculptural quality of the adjacent Olympic structures. The sculptural form of the building is crafted with in-situ and precast concrete panels with its subtly graded tones and textures appearing to grow out of the ground, reaching towards to the sky. The facades showcase in-situ, timber board-faced concrete on the lower floors and upper levels are shaped to enhance natural daylight and ventilation while the texture of the precast elements appear to get smoother, further defining the vertical divisions of the massing. There are additional minimalist accents of Corten steel cladding that define protruding architectural elements, announcing a point of entry.

During the tour, Henderson remarked on some of the history and the dialogue held with planners, with those negotiations having led to the civic and community-oriented solution at the ground plane. This project puts inclusion, health and well-being of the general public on par of importance with private interests by allowing public use and permeability on all four sides of the building. This ethos, in fact, is becoming increasingly a necessity in city environments by “making spaces and places in urban centres for people” within non-public buildings. The ground level includes a network of publicly accessible spaces, including a café, public art displays, and activities designed to draw community organizations, schools, and the public into the “heart” of the building.

The internal public space is punctuated by a central, day-lit atrium that is naturally ventilated and vertically connects all the building’s activities. Its visible circulation routes include stairs and escalators, which in the words of our hosts, were designed with the intention to create further opportunities for “random encounters”. The programmed spaces include design studios, labs, lecture theatres, fabrication workshops, media studios, exhibition areas, a library, and a professor’s lounge. There are additional spaces throughout for collaboration and engagement with local businesses and communities which form a part of the civic aspect of the design.

The palette of materials is simple which adds to the elegance of the solution and includes in-situ architectural concrete, timber and powder-coated steel. The curation of art throughout also plays a fundamental part of the ethos and the spirit of UCL East Marshgate. From the sculpture of the globe, hanging in the main atria space, to the variety and scale of art displayed throughout, all assist in providing a sense of place for this multi-use university building. Given Marshgate’s design, public access, multiplicity of learning environments and collaboration spaces and elegant curation, UCL East Marshgate is an exemplar of the future of higher learning and civic architecture.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA

tags 2024 Events;, AIA UK Tours;

2024 Design Awards Summer Gala

August 15, 2024Fiona Mckay

Gathering at the Royal College of Physicians on 12 June 2024, the AIA UK Chapter celebrated its annual Excellence in Design Awards. This year the chapter is also celebrating its 30th anniversary of serving the design community so the awards ceremony was combined with the annual summer social to become an action-packed gala event.

The evening began with a tour of the Grade I listed building by Sir Denys Lasdun, and the registration for places filled up quickly with eager attendees. Happily the guide was able to accommodate extra guests as a remarkable and unexpected number of punctual participants chose to walk the varied interiors and landscape of the Lasdun design.

Taylor Rogers, the current AIA UK President, was the evening’s emcee, first introducing Margherita Giannoni, from event sponsor Iris Ceramic Group who shared their latest artistic collaborations and invited all guests to the Old Street showroom. In front of a packed house, Taylor then led the jury members and representatives in presenting the 2024 Excellence in Design Awards - see the full list of recipients below and for further information on the jury and their comments on the winning projects navigate HERE.

A reception followed in the bright evening of the garden, with drinks, canapes and the traditional summer raffle hosted by Michael Lischer. Prizes were donated by chapter sponsor Herman Miller which included a wide range of design items as well as the much coveted top prize of a Herman Miller Aeron Chair. As guests left the party they were invited to collect an AIA UK 30th Anniversary tote bag designed by Fiona Edwards and filled with gifts from sponsors Iris Ceramica and Axalta.

It proved to be a memorable and joyous night together - the chapter was glad to provide a forum for members and non-members, jury and award recipients, sponsors and design enthusiasts to mingle in a beautiful setting in central London. Attendees lingered long after the close of the awards ceremony to socialize and take in the fresh summer air.

Our thanks go out to everyone who made the gala event possible and we send a hearty congratulations to all those honored this year!

Large Projects Winner and Exemplary Performance in Sustainability Winner

Tower Hamlets Town Hall, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris