24+ Free EPAU Concours 3ème Année Practice Questions

Prepare for the Concours National d'Accès à la Troisième Année à l'École Polytechnique d'Architecture et d'Urbanisme d'Alger (EPAU) exam with instant access — no signup required.

✓ No registration✓ No credit card✓ No hidden fees✓ Start practicing immediately

24+ Questions

100% Free

Loading practice questions...

2026 Statistics

Key Facts: EPAU Concours 3ème Année Exam

29 June 2026

2026 Contest Date

EPAU Regulation

4 hours

Official Duration

EPAU Regulation

1 project

Assessment Format

EPAU Specification

20 points

Marking Scale

EPAU Regulation

1:100 / 1:50

Required Drawing Scales

EPAU Specification

English / French

Confirmed Subject Languages

EPAU Specification

EPAU's current national contest is for admission to third year, not ordinary post-Baccalauréat entry. The 2026 assessment was one four-hour graphical architecture project scored out of 20 and used for merit ranking; this independent 24-question English MCQ bank supports preparation without simulating that performance task.

Sample EPAU Concours 3ème Année Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your EPAU Concours 3ème Année exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 24+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1For a housing proposal on a northern Algerian site, which orientation decision best demonstrates that solar access and summer comfort have been considered together?

A.Place the principal living spaces to the south or southeast and size external shading for seasonal sun angles

B.Place the principal living spaces to the west and rely on internal curtains to control afternoon heat

C.Place every habitable room to the north so that solar gain never affects the envelope

D.Choose orientation only from the street frontage and address comfort after the plan is fixed

Explanation: South or southeast exposure can admit useful lower winter sun while external shading controls higher summer sun. The answer joins orientation, opening placement, and solar control instead of treating any one of them as an isolated rule.

2A site falls steadily across the proposed building footprint. Which initial massing response is most likely to limit earthworks while maintaining a clear relationship to the terrain?

A.Set one finished-floor level at the site's highest point and retain the downhill edge

B.Step coordinated floor levels with the contours and verify access and drainage in section

C.Rotate the building perpendicular to the contours so each room has the same internal level

D.Raise the entire building on columns before testing how paths and services meet the ground

Explanation: Stepping a coordinated scheme with the contours can reduce cut, fill, and retaining structures. Testing the response in section also exposes whether entrances, accessible routes, drainage, and structure remain coherent.

3Which site-analysis graphic gives the strongest basis for an architectural parti?

A.A decorative aerial image with the proposed building already rendered

B.A list of parcel dimensions without environmental or access information

C.A synthesis that distinguishes constraints and opportunities and links them to design responses

D.A copy of the site plan in which every observation uses the same symbol and line weight

Explanation: A useful synthesis converts observations such as access, views, exposure, slope, and adjoining uses into priorities for design. The EPAU specification explicitly requires site analysis and synthesis, so the graphic should support decisions rather than merely record data.

4A brief calls for a family living room, kitchen, entrance, bedrooms, and an outdoor extension. What is the best first use of an adjacency diagram?

A.Fix the structural spans before considering household routines

B.Test desired links and separations based on daily uses before assigning final geometry

C.Give every room an equal number of connections to avoid hierarchy

D.Replace the dimensioned plan because adjacency already establishes room sizes

Explanation: An adjacency diagram tests relationships arising from needs, uses, and ways of life before the plan becomes rigid. It can reveal links such as kitchen-to-outdoor space and privacy between reception and sleeping areas, but it does not replace dimensional development.

5Which plan move most clearly creates a privacy gradient between the entrance and bedrooms in a dwelling?

A.Put the bedroom doors directly opposite the main entrance

B.Route all visitors through the sleeping zone to reach the living room

C.Use a legible transition from entrance to shared spaces and then to a more private sleeping zone

D.Separate every room with an exterior entrance so no internal circulation is needed

Explanation: A sequence from entry to shared space to private space expresses different levels of access without making circulation unnecessarily complex. This translates household use and privacy into spatial organization, one of the competencies identified in the official specification.

6The brief requires an exterior extension of the inhabited space. Which proposal integrates it most convincingly?

A.A residual strip left after the indoor rooms and parking have been fixed

B.A terrace connected to a principal shared room, shaped for use, shade, privacy, and site conditions

C.A roof area shown only in perspective with no route from the dwelling

D.A paved area beside the service entrance because it has the shortest construction perimeter

Explanation: An exterior extension should participate in daily life and be resolved as usable space rather than leftover area. Its connection, dimensions, environmental comfort, and privacy should reinforce the organization of the dwelling and the site response.

7What makes an architectural concept useful during the four-hour project?

A.It can be stated as a memorable word even if the drawings do not express it

B.It produces consistent choices in siting, organization, section, form, and environmental response

C.It allows the candidate to omit program spaces that weaken the preferred composition

D.It is selected only after the final drawings so the presentation has a title

Explanation: A productive concept is a decision framework visible across the proposal rather than an independent slogan. The official competency asks candidates to materialize a concept and master architectural composition, so the concept must organize real project choices.

8A candidate wants the principal shared space to anchor the composition. Which combination communicates that hierarchy without sacrificing circulation?

A.Give every room the same dimensions, ceiling height, and opening pattern

B.Enlarge the shared space but route the only path to bedrooms through its furniture zone

C.Use position, proportion, light, and a clear circulation edge to distinguish the shared space

D.Isolate the shared space from the entrance, kitchen, and exterior extension

Explanation: Hierarchy can be expressed through several coordinated spatial devices while circulation remains legible. Position, scale, light, and an adjacent path make the principal space recognizable without turning it into a corridor.

9Two alternative plans meet the room schedule. Which evidence most strongly distinguishes the more resolved architectural composition?

A.It uses more curved walls and therefore appears more creative

B.Its plan, section, circulation, daylight, and structural logic reinforce the same spatial idea

C.It contains the largest possible circulation area between rooms

D.Its perspective hides the service spaces and all changes of level

Explanation: A resolved composition coordinates multiple systems around a spatial idea while satisfying use and construction. Looking across plan and section is especially important because a room list alone cannot reveal volume, light, level, or structural coherence.

10How should a candidate use an architectural precedent when developing a response to the contest brief?

A.Copy its visible facade so the jury can identify the source immediately

B.Extract a relevant spatial or environmental principle and transform it for the given site and uses

C.Adopt its dimensions unchanged even when the contest program differs

D.Refer to it only in a written label because precedents should not affect organization

Explanation: Precedent analysis is useful when a principle can be understood and critically adapted to new constraints. That approach demonstrates the theoretical, historical, and cultural reference competency without substituting imitation for design judgment.

About the EPAU Concours 3ème Année Exam

This national contest connects EPAU's two-year Formation de base, and eligible equivalent university study, to the three-year Formation approfondie beginning in third year. EPAU held the 2026 session on 29 June 2026 and published the admitted results. Candidates complete one four-hour graphical Projet d'Architecture that assesses site analysis, needs and uses, concept and composition, references, housing requirements, environmental and construction factors, representation, synthesis, and creativity. This English-language MCQ bank supports study of those competencies but cannot reproduce the required design performance.

Assessment

One closed-book architectural project from 09:00 to 13:00, coefficient 1 and marked out of 20. The minimum submission includes site analysis and synthesis, spatial organization, a 1:100 plan, a 1:100 section and/or facade, and a chosen subspace at 1:50 with a three-dimensional view, presented on 50 × 65 cm Canson sheets without tracing paper.

Time Limit

4 hours

Passing Score

No fixed pass mark published; admission follows merit ranking for the available seats

Exam Fee

not-published (École Polytechnique d'Architecture et d'Urbanisme (EPAU, El Harrach, Algiers))

EPAU Concours 3ème Année Exam Content Outline

Not published

Site Constraints and Potential

Analysis and synthesis of site constraints, opportunities, access, terrain, exposure, and context.

Not published

Needs, Uses, and Ways of Life

Program analysis, relationships, privacy, circulation, and inhabited exterior extensions.

Not published

Concept and Architectural Composition

Concept formation, spatial hierarchy, plan-section relationships, and compositional coherence.

Not published

Theoretical, Historical, and Cultural References

Critical use of architectural knowledge and contextual or cultural references.

Not published

Housing, Function, and Ergonomics

Housing principles and functional, dimensional, ergonomic, and spatial requirements.

Not published

Environmental, Social, and Construction Factors

Climate response, social considerations, structure, materials, and constructive coherence.

Not published

Drawing and Spatial Representation

Drawing conventions, required scales, sections, facades, atmosphere, and three-dimensional views.

Not published

Synthesis and Creativity

Coordination of program, site, composition, environment, construction, and presentation.

How to Pass the EPAU Concours 3ème Année Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: No fixed pass mark published; admission follows merit ranking for the available seats
Assessment: One closed-book architectural project from 09:00 to 13:00, coefficient 1 and marked out of 20. The minimum submission includes site analysis and synthesis, spatial organization, a 1:100 plan, a 1:100 section and/or facade, and a chosen subspace at 1:50 with a three-dimensional view, presented on 50 × 65 cm Canson sheets without tracing paper.
Time limit: 4 hours
Exam fee: not-published

Keys to Passing

Work through all 24 available questions
Review every answer and explanation
Track weak areas and revisit them
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

EPAU Concours 3ème Année Study Tips from Top Performers

1Practise complete four-hour graphical projects in addition to using these MCQs

2Convert site observations into a short hierarchy of constraints, opportunities, and design consequences

3Test household adjacencies, privacy, circulation, and exterior extensions before fixing final geometry

4Coordinate the same concept across plan, section, structure, climate response, and three-dimensional view

5Use furniture, openings, levels, and line-weight hierarchy to prove functional and spatial claims

6Finish each practice session with a cross-check against every minimum deliverable in the official specification

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the official format of the 2026 EPAU third-year national contest?

EPAU specified one closed-book Projet d'Architecture from 09:00 to 13:00 on 29 June 2026. The four-hour graphical task had coefficient 1, was marked out of 20, and was double-corrected under the published regulation.

Who was eligible for the 2026 contest?

At EPAU, eligible students were those who completed the two Formation de base years but were not admitted within the 80% sur-titre quota. Preselected students from Algerian university architecture departments had to complete two years without repeating, meet the published 10/20 annual-general and architecture-project thresholds and the 5/20 subject threshold, and have no disciplinary sanction; external candidates could apply once during their curriculum.

How was admission determined?

The project was marked out of 20 and candidates were ranked by merit for the seats available. EPAU did not publish a fixed pass mark; the regulation also states that the jury's deliberations are sovereign and results are not subject to appeal.

Which official assessment languages were confirmed?

The 2026 specification required teachers to prepare subjects in at least English and French and allowed candidates to understand and answer in the language they mastered best. EPAU's trilingual registration guide is administrative material and does not establish Arabic as an additional assessment language.

Does this bank simulate the official EPAU contest?

No. It is an independent English-language, four-option MCQ study adaptation for architectural knowledge, judgment, sequencing, and rubric recognition. It is not an official translation or format simulation and cannot replace manual drawing, creative synthesis, or full four-hour project practice.

What materials and minimum drawings did EPAU specify?

Candidates brought their drawing kit, while the center supplied the contest sheets and 50 × 65 cm Canson paper; documents and tracing paper were not allowed. The minimum output included site analysis and synthesis, organization, a 1:100 plan, a 1:100 section and/or facade, and a selected 1:50 subspace with a three-dimensional view.