Here are some useful resources for Part 3 students to assist with your studies:

ARB – Part 3 Professional Criteria

Print this off and pin it up next to your desk! You will need to keep referring back to this to make sure you’re gaining the right kinds of experience to demonstrate competence at Part 3.

Criteria here: ARB Part 3 Criteria

ARB and RIBA Codes of Conduct

ARB: The Architects Code

RIBA: RIBA Code of Conduct

JCT Standard Building Contract With Quantities 2016 Specimen

It’s a good idea to read through the JCT Standard Building Contract, and familiarise yourself with the contract details and standard clauses, in preparation for exams, coursework and future practice.

Contract here: JCT SBC 2016

My Part 3 App

A useful app for assisting with revision (note: the app is not yet available for Android devices).

Link here: My Part 3 App

Part 3 Handbook

Stephen Brookhouse’s Part 3 Handbook (3rd Ed.) provides useful, up-to-date guidance on all elements of the course, including the case study, exams, coursework and interviews.

Amazon link here: Part 3 Handbook

Spend your time learning how to design buildings, not getting irate with AutoCAD!

Its infuriating to waste precious time in tutorials trying to understand drawings because “Sorry, I couldn’t get my CAD to print right”. Lines are architect’s words… so bad lines = bad communication.

Be aware that most employers have their own in-house CAD standards, templates and plot file (CTB). So you really don’t need to learn about this unless you’re interested in becoming a CAD manager. If this is the case, it might be worth looking into BIM careers.

Download our AutoCAD template, pre-populated with some common layers and suggested lineweights. You will need to also download our CTB and follow the setup instructions below. This should have you up and running in no time.

CTB File

A CTB (plot style file) file is used in AutoCAD to attribute plot styles (line weights and line types) to index colours. The “index” is the 256 colours arranged in a grid on the Index tab, and the CTB will not “read” Pantones, RAL or other colours you might work with.

Handy tip: Use true colour 255,255,255 if you ever need to print white. For example, if you’ve designed a laser-cut screen and want it to block out background information… solid hatch that bad-boy with 255,255,255. Yes, there is “wipeout”, but it doesn’t work very well with advanced CAD so forget about it.

How to Set Up a CTB

1. From AutoCAD, locate ‘manage plot styles’ (Its usually under The A logo top left, Print)
2. Download and Copy our BiBOStudent.ctb into the folder that opens
3. In AutoCAD, right click on your paperspace tab. Go to ‘page setup manager’.
4. Pick the your paperspace drawing from the list, and click ‘modify’
5. Find the BiBOStudent.ctb in the drop down list in the top right under ‘plot style table’
6. Tick the ‘display plot styles’ box
7. Ok
8. You might need to do a “regenall” command to start seeing all your lines in black+white in your paperspace

Further guidance from Autodesk on installing CTBs here And to set the default plot style, here.

Note:

• We don’t offer support for our template or CTB.
• We don’t necessarily promote AutoCAD, its just an industry standard and once mastered it works well with other packages.
• There may be other templates or CTBs available for download elsewhere
• We also don’t understand why Universities don’t just provide these to students – suggest it in your student feedback.

Draw Like an Architect

A useful video showing how to clearly communicate your ideas through hand drawings.

Improve Your Skills Outside of Work

Here’s an article from Archdaily with a list of fun activities which could help you to improve your skills as an Architect outside of the office.

Link: How to Become a Better Architect