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September News | 
| Dean Robert Camlin & Associates, Inc. has completed its move to the 3rd floor of our building. We are looking to lease out our 2nd floor, with 1,025 net sq.ft. If you or someone you know is looking for office space within easy walking distance of the Carroll County offices and courthouse, please contact us!
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Some Personal History pt. 3
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| To become licensed in the US, all architects must complete, in this order, three Es: Education, Experience, and Exam.
I'm sorry, but the Architect Registration Exam (ARE) of today is not the same as when I sat for it in 1986. Back then the ARE was only given once each year, for 32.5 hours in 9 parts over 4 days in June. Of those 9 parts, the Building Design Exam itself was 12 hours long, and the passing rate was 34%. The sole Maryland venue was the Cow Palace at the Timonium Fairgrounds. The test was only partially graded using computers; the graphic portions were graded by jurors poring over each candidate's hand drawings. And we didn't get the results until the end of September! I admit that some of that delay may have been my own fault: I disagreed with several of the questions in the Site Design exam, and as a result some of them were thrown out. Thankfully, I passed the ARE the first time; many architects must endure it several times to pass.
Now, when a candidate has satisfied all of the requirements of the Intern Development Program, he or she can pay the fees and schedule to take the computerized ARE 4.0 at one of the many Prometric testing centers scattered through the US and Canada. Results are available in 4 to 6 weeks. At $1470 for all 7 parts, it's also more expensive than it used to be. Candidates are given 5 years to pass all parts, and the passing rate is higher than when I took it too.
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Architectural Jargon
| Architects, like many specialists, have a vocabulary all their own. We hope this regular column will aid you in the translation. This month's theme: masonry.
Bed Joint
A horizontal layer of mortar in which masonry units are placed.
Cavity
A gap between wythes in an exterior wall, or between a masonry veneer course and its structural backup, which allows for drainage and improved thermal performance.
Coping
Protective cap on top of a wall.
Corbel
Successive projecting masonry courses creating a shallow overhang or bearing seat.
Header
A masonry unit laid so that its end is exposed, often tying together two wythes (compare with stretcher).
Flemish Bond
A brick wall in which headers and stretchers are laid in a successive alternating pattern.
Parging
A coating of cement mortar on the rough face of a masonry wall.
Soldier
A masonry unit set on its end, with its face showing.
Stretcher
A masonry unit laid horizontally, with its length in the direction of the wall.
Wythe
A single thickness of masonry units in a wall.
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We hope you enjoy this monthly newsletter. You are receiving it due to your professional or personal relationship with our firm. We want to keep you informed not only of what's happening at our firm, but in the world of architecture as we see it.
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Project of the Month
Many prospective clients ask whether we specialize in either residential or commercial projects. The answer is that we design both, but really enjoy unique projects.
As a franchise, most Goddard Schools adhere to one of several designs prepared by the company's corporate architects from Ohio. However, our client had other ideas, and we put them into play in this 11,000 sq.ft. child day-care facility located in Eldersburg.
All of the spaces for the younger children, to the left of the main entrance, use a hydronic radiant floor system, warming the floor where the children naturally spend much of their time. The cupola and dormers bring daylight into the center of the building, while large windows and doors allow the children unimpeded views of the outdoors. A separate building (not pictured) houses the facility's buses and maintenance shop.
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Want To Try Designing Your Own House? (pt. 3)
This is the third in a series of notes on house design I've written for my architectural
BIM class at Carroll Community College. Please see the previous months' articles for the earlier paragraphs--or, read the full article on our Facebook page.
Living Areas: These are the center of activity in the home, and
may include not only the traditional living room, but also foyer, family
room, great room, play room, dining room, sunroom, exterior deck, and
similar areas. These are the places that casual guests see, and should
be sized to accommodate events such as parties, while also allowing more
intimate interaction. Although they are the center of activity, these
spaces should not be placed so as to require traffic through them to
other parts of the house. Consider carefully the kinds of uses these
spaces will see, and whether there will be multiple activities.
Furniture should be comfortable and durable, and may include sofas,
chairs, coffee and end tables, and bookcases. Another major piece
requiring significant space might be a grand piano. These major spaces
should also include an architectural focal point such as a window
looking onto a pleasant vista, or a fireplace, or perhaps a television.
Dining and entertaining go together, so these spaces should be adjacent
to each other. For dining areas, decide whether they will be used
formally or casually, and how many people should be accommodated.
Dining rooms which are open to an adjacent living room can allow for
expansion for larger groups.
Kitchen: This, of course, is the focus of all things food
related, and should be adjacent to the dining room, though it may
include an informal eating area too. Three major activities related to
food are storage (dry and refrigerated), preparation (including
cooking), and cleanup. Traditionally, these three activities have been
at the vertices of a "work triangle," though that planning concept has
become passé in favor of more versatile "work zones." Good design
practice seeks to minimize the travel distances between these zones.
For general kitchen layout, there are six basic room arrangements:
● Straight line - all cabinets and appliances along one wall
● L-shaped - cabinets and appliances along two contiguous walls
● Corridor - cabinets and appliances along opposing walls
● U-shaped - cabinets and appliances along three contiguous walls
● Peninsula - modification of the L- or U-shaped plan, with a peninsular work surface projecting from one end
● Island - modification of the L- or U-shaped plan, with an island work surface accessible from all sides
Storage: For storage within the kitchen of cooking ware,
utensils, eating ware, and dry foods, cabinets should be provided. Base
cabinets can support work counters both along walls and as peninsulas
or islands. Stock base cabinets are usually 24" deep × 34-1/2" high ×
widths from 9" to 48" in 3" increments, and have various combinations of
drawers and cupboards. Wall cabinets, usually 12" deep × 30" or 36"
high, can be mounted above counters for additional storage. Full-height
cabinets are also available. For additional dry storage, consider a
separate pantry closet or room lined with floor-to-ceiling shelving.
Major appliances used for cold food storage include
refrigerator-freezers and dedicated freezers in various configurations,
though built-in refrigerators and cabinets using refrigerated drawers
are also available at premium prices. Separate refrigerators and
walk-in boxes are usually reserved for commercial applications. An
exterior door is handy for receiving groceries.
Food Preparation involves utensils, work surfaces, a sink, refuse
handling, and cooking appliances. Countertops are available as work
surfaces. The cleaning sink may double for food preparation, or a
separate sink may be used. The self-contained oven-range is the basic
cooking appliance; usually 30" wide, this often interrupts a line of
wall-backed base cabinets and countertop. Variations on cooking
appliances include separate counter-mounted cooktops, wall ovens,
microwave ovens, toasters and toaster-ovens. These appliances may be
distributed throughout the kitchen where convenient, allowing several
cooks to work at once. Cooking appliances should be properly ventilated
to exhaust odors and excess moisture; some stoves include down-draft
ventilation, useful for island installations. Restaurant-quality stoves
are also available at premium pricing.
Cleanup tasks utilize both sink and under-counter dishwasher,
garbage containers and recycling bins. It may be desirable to provide a
multi-bowl sink with a gooseneck faucet and flexible sprayer to allow
separate cleaning and rinsing operations; a garbage disposal under the
cleaning sink drain may be desirable, but check to verify that it is
allowed by the jurisdiction. The under-counter dishwasher should be
located adjacent to the sink to allow shared drainage and venting. Most
dishwashers are designed to replace a 24"-wide base cabinet. Allow
space close to an exterior door for temporary storage of garbage and
recyclables; containers should be covered to prevent sampling by pets
and vermin.
(to be continued next month)
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We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter. If you have comments on anything you've read here, please drop us a line. And of course, if you have a project in mind you'd like our help with, let us know that too. We'd love to hear from you! Sincerely, Dean R. Camlin, AIA, LEED® AP
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