Study guides · Stuff Every Architecture Scout Should Know
Practice facts for the Architecture merit badge. Not an official Scouting America credential. Grab a snack: this guide is the friendly version, with the answers explained and a groan-worthy joke waiting at the end of most cards.
Knowing Architecture Scout saves you money, time and the occasional embarrassment.
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Short answer: Plans and designs structures
Architecture is the study and practice of designing structures, especially habitable ones. Architects sketch, plan, and design buildings.
Groan of the day: This quiz has a solid foundation.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: A visual art
Architecture uses engineering techniques but is considered a visual art, both a process and a product.
Groan of the day: Build up your knowledge brick by brick.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Greek words meaning chief creator
The term comes from Greek arkhitekton, meaning architect, from arkhi (chief) and tekton (creator).
Groan of the day: That fact is built to last.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Beauty
Vitruvius said a good building embodies firmitas, utilitas, and venustas, which means durability, utility, and beauty.
Groan of the day: That answer is a thing of beauty.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Vitruvius
The Roman architect Vitruvius wrote De architectura in the 1st century BC, the earliest surviving architectural treatise.
Groan of the day: Roman to the top of the class.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Form follows function
Louis Sullivan promoted the precept form follows function, meaning use and purpose should guide design.
Groan of the day: Your form is following function well.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Environmentally friendly
Sustainable architecture considers materials, environmental impact, and demands on nature for heating, cooling, water, and lighting.
Groan of the day: That answer is sustainably smart.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Green roofs
Green design uses strategies such as green roofs, passive heating and cooling, and reduced materials.
Groan of the day: Your knowledge is growing green.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: To conserve resources
Adaptive reuse conserves resources by recycling a structure through redesign for a new purpose.
Groan of the day: Reuse is a building block of smart design.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Giving an old building a new purpose
Adaptive reuse means redesigning an existing building shell for a changed purpose, saving resources.
Groan of the day: Old buildings can learn new tricks.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Outdoor public areas and landmarks
Landscape architecture designs outdoor public areas, landmarks, and structures for environmental, social, or aesthetic outcomes.
Groan of the day: Your knowledge is blooming.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Groups of buildings and public spaces
Urban design deals with larger scales like groups of buildings, streets, public spaces, and whole neighborhoods.
Groan of the day: You are on the right street.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Human use of structural spaces
Interior architecture designs the interiors of buildings, concerned with all aspects of human use of structural spaces.
Groan of the day: You have inner knowledge.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Homes that fit a lifestyle
Residential architecture functionally fits the user's lifestyle while following building codes and zoning laws.
Groan of the day: Home is where the smart answer is.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Safe movement of workers and goods
Industrial architecture designs specialized buildings that fulfill their function while ensuring safe movement of labor and goods.
Groan of the day: That answer is industrious.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Designing ships and marine vessels
Naval architecture is an engineering discipline dealing with design, shipbuilding, and operation of marine vessels.
Groan of the day: You are sailing through this quiz.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Rules for how computer systems work
Computer architecture is a set of rules and methods describing the functionality, organization, and implementation of computer systems.
Groan of the day: That answer computes.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Earthquake resistance in design
Seismic architecture describes how earthquake resistance considerations impact building design and form.
Groan of the day: That answer is on solid ground.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Showing a room accurately at a smaller size
A scaled drawing like a floor plan shows walls, doors, and windows accurately at a set scale such as one quarter inch per foot.
Groan of the day: Your answers are drawn to scale.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: To study how parts attach and look
Scale models and drawings help architects and builders see details and how materials and components attach during construction.
Groan of the day: That answer is a small wonder.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Get permission and follow safety rules
Construction sites are dangerous. You need permission from adults and must follow safety procedures like wearing a hard hat.
Groan of the day: Safety first, smart answer second.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Hard hat, protective eyewear, proper footwear
Site safety procedures include wearing a hard hat, protective eyewear, and proper footwear, and staying with the architect or manager.
Groan of the day: That answer is well equipped.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Stay with the architect or site manager
Be aware of changing conditions and stay with the architect or site manager for safety.
Groan of the day: Stick with your guide, that is wise.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Requirements, functions, and goals
Architects learn a client's requirements, the building's functions, how functions relate, and the project goals.
Groan of the day: You have the client covered.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Different types and historical styles
Touring lets you list building types and identify buildings linked to specific periods or architectural styles.
Groan of the day: Your community tour is a smart start.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Use books, magazines, or approved internet
You can use resources like the internet with permission, books, and magazines to learn how an achievement influenced the world.
Groan of the day: That answer is well researched.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Be conservation minded
The Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace principles call Scouts to be conservation minded and leave what they find.
Groan of the day: Leave it better than you found it.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: It should fit and serve the community
Architecture relates to its surrounding environment and community, so designs should consider both.
Groan of the day: Good neighbors design well.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Architect
Architecture offers careers such as architect, and each has its own education, training, and experience requirements.
Groan of the day: You are building a bright future.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Education, training, and experience needed
For a chosen architecture career, learn the education, training, and experience required, then discuss it with your counselor.
Groan of the day: That answer is well trained.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: A drawing showing walls, doors, and windows
A floor plan is a scaled drawing showing walls, doors, closets, windows, and built-in furniture or cabinets.
Groan of the day: That answer is well planned.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: One quarter inch equals one foot
The drawing scale is one quarter inch equals one foot, so the room fits accurately on paper.
Groan of the day: Your answer is right on scale.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Your name, date, room, and scale
Label the drawing with your name, the date, what room you drew, and the scale of the drawing.
Groan of the day: That answer is clearly labeled.
Sources: Scouting America: Architecture
Short answer: Art and design
Architecture uses civil engineering techniques but is considered a visual art of sketching, planning, and designing.
Groan of the day: Art and engineering make a great team.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Building based on local cultural traditions
Vernacular architecture is a rudimentary, non-academic form of building based on cultural traditions, still produced in many places.
Groan of the day: Local traditions build character.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Harmony between people and nature
Frank Lloyd Wright developed organic architecture, where form is defined by environment and purpose, promoting harmony with nature.
Groan of the day: That answer grows on you.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: A decorated shed
Venturi defined postmodern architecture as a decorated shed, an ordinary building embellished on the outside.
Groan of the day: That answer is well decorated.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Green building design
The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system has been influential in encouraging green building sustainable design.
Groan of the day: That answer earns green points.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: For natural lighting and ventilation
Architects orient buildings to use the sun for natural lighting and the wind for ventilation, working with nature.
Groan of the day: That answer is a bright idea.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Harvesting rainwater and recycling greywater
Green design uses systems that harvest rainwater and recycle greywater to conserve water.
Groan of the day: That answer holds water.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Businesses, government, and institutions
Commercial architecture designs buildings that serve the needs of businesses, the government, and religious institutions.
Groan of the day: That answer means business.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Stormwater management and green infrastructure
Landscape architecture includes site planning, stormwater management, environmental restoration, and green infrastructure planning.
Groan of the day: That answer is well grounded.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Durability
Vitruvius said a good building needs firmitas, utilitas, and venustas, meaning durability, utility, and beauty.
Groan of the day: That answer stands firm.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Proportion
Alberti saw beauty mainly as a matter of proportion, based on rules governing the idealized human figure.
Groan of the day: That answer is well proportioned.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: It becomes architecture
Le Corbusier said plain building is construction, but when it moves you and you call it beautiful, that is architecture.
Groan of the day: That answer touched my heart.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Two bricks carefully placed
Mies van der Rohe said architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together.
Groan of the day: That answer stacks up well.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Their environmental impact
Sustainable buildings are made in ways friendly to the environment, including how their materials are produced.
Groan of the day: That answer is environmentally sound.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: By trial and error
Architectural success came through trial and error, with less trial and more copying as results improved.
Groan of the day: That answer passed the test.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Civic virtues
Greek and Roman architecture evolved from civic ideals rather than religious or empirical ones.
Groan of the day: That answer serves the community.
Sources: Architecture
Short answer: Gothic cathedrals
Pan-European styles of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and abbeys emerged during the Middle Ages.
Groan of the day: That answer is goth it right.
Sources: Architecture
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Plans and designs structures. Architecture is the study and practice of designing structures, especially habitable ones. Architects sketch, plan, and design buildings.
Outdoor public areas and landmarks. Landscape architecture designs outdoor public areas, landmarks, and structures for environmental, social, or aesthetic outcomes.
Get permission and follow safety rules. Construction sites are dangerous. You need permission from adults and must follow safety procedures like wearing a hard hat.
A drawing showing walls, doors, and windows. A floor plan is a scaled drawing showing walls, doors, closets, windows, and built-in furniture or cabinets.
Businesses, government, and institutions. Commercial architecture designs buildings that serve the needs of businesses, the government, and religious institutions.
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