Architecture Exam Review: Site Planning and Building Design Graphic Divisions

Rating:
Summary: Inconsistant and encumbering.
Review: I found that this book was helpful on a few minor levels. However, the first thing I realized while studying from this book was that the Site Design protion of the Site Planning exam was missing the building square footage information - I had to look at the answer in order to find the correct building size. On the exam - the buildings for this division are already created for you as 'blocks'. The other thing I noticed was that the Schematic Design mock vinette of the Building Design exam was answered improperly - or at least did not follow the guidelines set by the program. The diagram showed that the Chapel and the Robing room are to be directly connected - the solution showed a serparation by a corridor. On the exam - if two spaces are to be directly connected - then they must be shown directly connected on the solution. I found that this book was not really helpful in studying for the exam because the difficulty of the questions posed in this book were much easier than that of the real exam. On the other hand, Ballast's other two books for the Non-Structures and Structures portions of the exam are helpful - but this guide falls short of the mark and makes preparation for the exam less effective.


Rating:
Summary: Inconsistant and encumbering.
Review: I found that this book was helpful on a few minor levels. However, the first thing I realized while studying from this book was that the Site Design protion of the Site Planning exam was missing the building square footage information - I had to look at the answer in order to find the correct building size. On the exam - the buildings for this division are already created for you as 'blocks'. The other thing I noticed was that the Schematic Design mock vinette of the Building Design exam was answered improperly - or at least did not follow the guidelines set by the program. The diagram showed that the Chapel and the Robing room are to be directly connected - the solution showed a serparation by a corridor. On the exam - if two spaces are to be directly connected - then they must be shown directly connected on the solution. I found that this book was not really helpful in studying for the exam because the difficulty of the questions posed in this book were much easier than that of the real exam. On the other hand, Ballast's other two books for the Non-Structures and Structures portions of the exam are helpful - but this guide falls short of the mark and makes preparation for the exam less effective.