I know nothing is guaranteed, but is it very likely that on the actual test, we will be working with the same furniture items, and those pieces of furniture will be the same dimensions? Seems like this vignette is tough due to the time constraint, but getting comfortable with the practice software and specifically, the furniture clearance requirements, is what makes all the difference.
The first time I attempted the practice vignette, it took me about 90 minutes to complete. After I got through it, I felt like I could have saved a lot of time if I had followed these steps:
- determine the most efficient general room arrangement, considering the program requirements for window access, required adjacencies, and room sizes based on the program's listed furniture
- Start by drawing the smallest room first, make it as efficient as possible
- Then draw the next adjacent room, making it as efficient as possible, and so on, until the main circulation space is all that is left, where you make the furniture fit there however it can
- Make adjustments to all rooms as needed
I noticed that the executive desk want to be oriented one way for "longer" rooms, and another way for "wider" rooms. And the conference table has the largest space requirements, so knowing this ahead of time makes it easier to anticipate the best general room arrangement PRIOR to drawing anything. But this all goes out the window if the actual test has totally different pieces of furniture.
Can doors swing either in or out of rooms? I assume yes, of course. Just want to verify.
Also, minor question... I noticed on NCARB's sample passing solution, it does not seem like there is a 60" ADA turning space provided in the LCR. Am I incorrect? Maybe it barely fits in the top left corner?