Three themes: terraced houses, a gallery-access apartment building, restoration of a Romanesque church
What the track asks
First practical test of the 2012 first session, sat on 19 June 2012 (Architect N.O. qualification). Three themes to choose from, deliberately covering three different crafts: serial aggregation, collective housing and structural restoration. THEME A — A complex of terraced houses on a rectangular, gently sloping 4,000 sqm lot. Each unit measures 5.80 × 11.90 metres and rises over at least three levels, one of them below ground; the structure is reinforced concrete. Perimeter and internal circulation are left to the candidate: the theme is therefore as much about site layout as about typology. THEME B — A multi-family residence with several duplex units of about 95 sqm, served by an access gallery, over at least three storeys above ground. The lot is rectangular, 2,000 sqm, gently sloping, and the depth of the building block is set at around 11 metres. The brief explicitly asks for particular attention to privacy — which, with gallery access, is the critical weakness of the type. THEME C — Restoration and seismic improvement of a three-nave, three-apsed Romanesque church: the only one of the three themes shifting the centre of gravity from new design to diagnosis of the existing fabric and the relationship between heritage protection and structural safety. On the same day the first written test asked for a technical-descriptive report on the project — with reference to planning standards — as an alternative to a structural report.
Required drawings
THEME A: at least 2 plans at 1:100; elevation of two adjoining terraces at 1:100; 1 cross section at 1:100; one constructional detail; a freehand site-volume drawing. For themes B and C the brief does not set out a separate list of drawings.
Regulations this track calls into play
Editorial anchoring: the rules a well-prepared candidate should have in hand for this theme, each with its current status.
This theme, across the archive
The same brief seen by theme: every other past exam that asked for it, and the norm kit they share.
Practice this track in the exam room →
Editorial summary for study orientation — not the official text and not legal advice. Formats change: check the current ministerial ordinance and your university.