Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • September 7, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com Q&A Architects eye shorter path to licensure Q&A talks about national licensing requirements for architects with Michael J. Armstrong, CEO of the National Council of Archi- tectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Q: The National Coun- cil of Architectural Registration Boards has a new integrated path to licensure. What does it do and what will its impact be on the architectural profession? A: The integrated path creates a frame- work for NCARB- accredited programs to position students toward compliance with all experience requirements and tak- ing each division of the Architect Registration Exam (ARE) once before graduation. It incentivizes a closer relationship between the acad- emy and practice, and simultaneously enriches the class- room and workplace experiences. A seg- ment of the aspiring architect community will achieve licensure sooner without sacrificing any of the necessary rigor. Q: One of the ideas behind the new path is a more struc- tured experience for archi- tectural students. How is this experience evolving from what are the current practices for students? A: This new path emphasizes the value of concurrent pursuit of the three E's: education, experi- ence and examination. Given that experience credit can commence upon high school graduation and experience requirements can be fulfilled before completion of all ARE divisions, the integrated path goes one step further into fully overlapping all the steps into one concentrated model. Students will, in their last few years, alter- nate between time on campus and time working at a firm. Q: What were the concerns with a sequential approach to licensure? How does integra- tion improve the quality of education? Or is it designed to shorten the time invested in becoming an architect? A: The sequential approach to licensure is an outdated model, given how the eligibility require- ments for experience and exami- nation have changed. There is already concurrent pursuit of licensure on either end of the spectrum: education and experience, and experience and examination. We believe real-time experience enhances the ability to perform in the classroom, and vice versa. Each perspective illuminates the other. The integrated path will not be attractive to all students or to all schools, but it does recognize that some aspiring architects desire a more concen- trated experience. A by-product of this initiative is that the path may take roughly six years, give or take, instead of the current average of just under 13 years. Q: How does this new testing address veteran architect's concerns that new standards lessen real-world experi- ence for architect students? A: The integrated path students will have to com- plete all sections of the ARE and comply with all requirements of the experience program. There are no shortcuts in the integrated path to comply- ing with all current licensure requirements. The overhauled and streamlined experience pro- gram maintains the same core hour requirements in place for many years. It eliminates the elective hours, which were not based upon the same data justi- fying the core hours. Q: One of the goals of the program is to get new archi- tects into the pipeline as older architects retire. What do the numbers look like? Are enough people entering the field to meet the immediate and long- term needs of the profession? A: We have seen a slow and steady growth in the number of licensed architects over the past several years. We are not aware of any data that can accurately fore- cast future needs of the profession. Our annual 'NCARB by the Numbers' publication, updated this past June and available in digi- tal format at www.ncarb.org, pro- vides data and analysis regarding the performance and demograph- ics of aspiring architects. The path is getting shorter, and the pool is diversifying. A shorter path will assure the pipeline remains strong. A more diverse pipeline will position the profes- sion to engage with a diversifying group of future clients. n Bucolic Simsbury, a Realtor's dream By John Stearns jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com C onvenience, charm, natural beauty, rec- reation and school quality are among factors making West Simsbury and Simsbury at large an attrac- tive place to live, according to local real estate and gov- ernment officials reacting to a report ranking West Simsbury among the 50 hot- test ZIP codes in the nation. The Realtor.com report scored the 06092 zip code, encompassing West Sims- bury, 43rd hottest for residential real estate based on the time it takes properties to sell and how frequently homes are viewed. Communities on the list have healthy housing dynamics, strong local employment and neighborhood "it factors," the report said. Homes in West Simsbury typically stay on the market for only 33 days and sell for an average price of $375,000, the report said. Local realty experts say there are plenty of "it" fac- tors in the town of Simsbury, which includes West Sims- bury, Tariffville and Weatogue. Many people who grew up in the town and left for college or work often return to raise their families. "You really can't go wrong here," said Joan McDer- mott, sales manager of the Simsbury William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage and Insurance office and a 31-year resident of the town. McDermott said the report on West Simsbury is "a little skewed" because she thinks just about anyplace in town is attractive to residents. "Each part of Simsbury, each ZIP Code has its own special flavor to offer, and I don't think you can really separate them," she said. West Simsbury might be slightly more rural, but other parts of town are, too, she said. A strong school system also makes Simsbury attractive, McDermott said, adding that she put five children through the sys- tem and through college. In terms of marketing, the town itself doesn't need to do much. There are plenty of third-party sources that tout Simsbury's positive attributes. Money magazine ranked Simsbury No. 9 on its 2015 list of "Best Places Simsbury Residential Realty Stats YTD 2014, 2015 median sales price, days on market for single-family homes 2014 2015 Median Days Median Days Town, Zip Price on Market Price on Market Simsbury, 06070 $339,950 34 $359,900 31 Tariffville, 06081 $197,450 58 $194,400 24 Weatogue, 06089 $253,700 95 $324,900 29 West Simsbury, 06092 $352,400 69 $375,000 33 S O U R C E : B E R K S H I R E H A T H A W A Y H O M E S E R V I C E S N E W E N G L A N D P R O P E R T I E S MICHAEL J. ARMSTRONG CEO of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) Continued A house for sale on Westledge Road in West Simsbury. Asking price: $699,900. (Left) The Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge over the Farmington River in Simsbury is lined with flower baskets and boxes maintained by volunteers. (Right) The Simsbury Public Library is an area favorite and includes a 3D printer. FOCUS REAL ESTATE/ARCHITECTS P H O T O S | C O N T R I B U T E D

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