ARE 5.0: PA study guide
ARE 5.0: PA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Programming & Analysis (PA) is one of the six divisions of the Architect Registration Examination (ARE 5.0), the exam series NCARB administers as one part of the path to architectural licensure in the United States. PA sits at the front end of a project: it tests whether you can gather and interpret the information that shapes a design before drawings begin - site conditions, environmental and contextual constraints, zoning and building code requirements, and the client's functional program - and then translate that information into defensible planning decisions. The ARE 5.0: PA study guide has 4 sections and about 1,185 words.
01Environmental & Contextual Conditions
Environmental analysis starts with the sun and the wind, then layers on the immediate surroundings. You must be able to read a sun path diagram - the difference between altitude (angle above the horizon) and azimuth (compass bearing) - and to reason about solstices versus equinoxes.
300 words, about 2 min02Codes & Regulations
Most regulation questions reduce to arithmetic plus one precise definition. In zoning, know permitted uses and conditional uses, setbacks (front, side, rear), height limits (in feet and in stories), lot coverage, floor area ratio (FAR), density (units per acre), parking and loading minimums, open space, and design review or historic overlays.
297 words, about 1 min03Site Analysis & Programming
Two phases are constantly confused on the exam. Site inventory is objective fact-gathering: boundaries and legal description, contours and spot elevations, drainage patterns, soils and borings, vegetation, utilities, easements, floodplain and wetland limits, access points, noise contours, and views.
289 words, about 1 min04Building Analysis & Programming
Building analysis asks whether an existing or proposed building can serve the program, and at what cost. For existing buildings, examine the structural system and bay spacing, column grid, floor-to-floor height, MEP capacity and routing, elevator core and vertical transportation, egress, envelope condition, hazardous materials, and historic designation.
299 words, about 1 min