2024-2023 ‫العام الدراسي‬

‫الفصل األول‬

‫برنامج مشروع التخرج‬

Program of Graduate Arch. Design Project

‫الدراسات التحليلية‬
Why do you carry out an
architectural site analysis?
Prior to starting any design, your client will want to
know whether construction on the site is viable.
Carrying out an extensive site analysis [or context
analysis] will assess wether development is
financially feasible, and establish parameters to
implement the best design that responds to the
physical and environmental features of the site.
A contextual analysis is a research activity that looks
at the existing conditions of a project site, along with
any imminent or potential future conditions. The
purpose is to inform us about a site prior to the start
of our design process so that our initial design
thinking about a site can incorporate considered
responses to the external conditions.
An architectural site analysis will look at issues such
as site location, size, topography, zoning, traffic
conditions and climate. The analysis also needs to
consider any future developments, or changes to the
sites surroundings, such as a change of roads
designations, changing cultural patterns, or other
significant building developments within the area.
Understanding the context of a site is key to enabling
the designer to weave the new design in with the
existing fabric of the site. It allows us to understand
the existing opportunities, or problems in a site, and
make informed decisions on how to respond to our
findings. This response could be that the designed
building reflects the surrounding context and is
designed to be in sympathy, or perhaps to turn away
or eliminate certain unwanted site conditions.
Making sure the analysis is
thorough
It is important when carrying out a site analysis, that
we endeavour to research as much as possible and
collect all available data that relates to the site and
our design. A poorly executed site analysis can lead to
a sub standard design due to the designer not having
all available information to respond to and develop
solutions for. You can never know too much about the
site.
To help with collecting information, I have made a
checklist that is a starting point for analysing the site
 and gathering data. The checklist is not exhaustive,
which means you can add to the checklist every time
you come across new issue or factor relating to a site.

What kind of information are we

collecting?
Our analysis data can be split into two main
categories. Hard data and soft data.
Soft data looks at site conditions that can be changed.
Hard data looks at more concrete elements such as
site boundaries, site areas, utility locations, contours,
dimensions, site features, climate, legal information.
Early site investigations should look at hard data.
From this, we are able to establish which elements we
consider to have a negative impact on the site or
proposed design and which conditions have a more
positive influence. This allows us to create a hierarchy
and gives a more systematic approach to
understanding our data and developing the design.
The general categories of data we will be looking at
as we carry out our architectural site analysis are:
 Location – where the site is situated
 Neighbourhood context – the immediate surrounding
of the site including data on zoning and buildings and
other impacts on our project.
 Zoning and size – dimensional considerations such as
boundaries, easements, height restrictions, site area,
access along with any further plans.
 Legal information – ownership, restrictions or
covenants, council related information, future urban
development plans.
 Natural physical features – actual features of the site
such as trees, rocks, topography, rivers, ponds,
drainage patterns.
 Man made features – existing buildings, walls,
surrounding vernacular, setbacks, materials,
landscaping, scale.
 Circulation – Vehicle and pedestrian movements in,
through and around the site. Consider the timing of
these movements, and duration of heavier patterns.
Future traffic and road
developmentsshouldalsobeconsidered.
 Utilities – Any electricity, gas, water, sewer and
telephone services that are situated in or near the
site, along with distances, depths and materials.
 Climate – all climatic information such as rainfall,
snowfall, wind directions, temperatures, sun path, all
considered during the different times of the year.
 Sensory – this addresses the visual, audible and
tactile aspects of the site, such as views, noise, and
so on. These again should be considered in time
frames and a positive or negative factor can be
attributed to the condition.
 Human and cultural – the cultural, psychological,
behavioural and sociological aspects of the
surrounding neighbourhood. Activities and patterns,
density, population ethnic patterns, employment,
income, values and so on.
Desktop Study

Before you visit the site, there is a lot of information

you can gain from a desktop study. By carrying out
thorough research prior to your visit to site, you will
arrive well informed, and possibly have identified
specific things that you want to check or look out for
on your site visit.
Prior to your site visit it may be necessary to obtain an
OS map of the site. From this, and from client
information you can clarify the location of site
boundaries.
Things to look into before you go to site:
 Location:
 Geological maps to discover predominant type of soil
or rock on the site.
 Aerial photographs and maps (google and bing have
really useful and quite different aerial images).
 Historical maps can also be interesting.
 Distances and travel times between the site and other
locations of importance
 LegalInformation:
 Rights of way, rights of access, Town and Country
Planning restrictions, is the site in a green belt?
 History of the site – anything you can use to inform
your design. Any tunnels, disused mines,
archaeological interests under the site could curtail
development.
 Historical use of the site – could industrial processes
have contaminated the land?
 If the site sits in a conservation area or close to listed
buildings you may need to go into more detail
regarding cultural significance, historic significance,
etc.
 Developmental controls – is the site subject to any
specific planning controls, building control or health
and safety?
 Are there any trees on the site? Do they have Tree
Preservation Orders on them?
Utilities :
 Determine whether water, electricity, gas, telephone,
sewerage and other services are connected to the
land.
Climate:
 Climate conditions of the site/area.
 Sun path and angles.
 Is the area susceptible to flooding, is it considered a
flood risk area?
Some information is not freely available, but a client
or their legal representative should be able to clarify
any issues regarding rights of way, rights of light,
legal easements and any rights of tenants.
There are many more things to look at, and each site
is very different, but hopefully this will give you a
starting point for getting the best out of your site visit.
In the next section we will look at visiting the site,
and some of the items on the checklist according to
the categories that you should look out for.

Visiting The Site

What to take with you
Depending on the project, you will want to consider
taking the following items with you when you go to
look at a potential site, or proposed site for your
design project. It is likely you will require PPE
(personal protection equipment) so make sure you
have all the necessary items before heading to site.
 Camera – essential. Make sure you take pictures of
everything. Also, make sure you get some shots of the
site from a distance so you can use these in your final
images, cgi’s and so on. Also take pictures of what is
opposite the site, so you can use these as reflections
in windows of your design. It is so frustrating when
you go to the trouble of visiting a site and come back
wishing you had taken more pictures.
 Smart phone. If you have any apps that assist with
taking panoramic pictures, take a few of these too.
You can do some interesting stuff when you get to
later design stages if you have a few panoramics to
play with.
 Note book. Really important to be able to jot down any
observations.
 Tape measure. Some sites may be close to hazards or
situations where you will need to measure the
proximity. If you have one, a disto, or laser measure
could also come in handy, but not essential. I use
thisdisto.
 Good weather! If you have a choice of when to visit
the site try to pick a day when there is a bit of blue
sky around. It will look better for your site photos,
particularly if you are planning on using them in future
presentations.

What to look out for

I would suggest you go with a list of items to look out
for, and check off your list so that you don’t miss
anything. My list would go something like this based
on the categories we established earlier:
 Site and surroundings
Location
 Site location details (road names, address, major
landmarks etc)
 Current context – existing buildings, car parking,
roads.
Neighbourhood context
 Look at existing and proposed building uses in the
neighbourhood
 What condition are the buildings in?
 Are there exterior spaces and what are they used for?
 Are there activities in the neighbourhood that may
create strong vehicle or pedestrian traffic?
 Existing vehicle movement patterns, major and minor
roads, bus routes and stops.
 Street lighting
 Vernacular context, materials, architectural features,
fenestration, landscaping, parking, building heights
 Any nearby historical buildings, or buildings of
particular significance
 Sun and shade patterns during the year
 Building context – what style, period, state of repair
are the surrounding buildings? It is a
historical/heritage/conservation area? Will your design
need to reflect the existing style?
 Is the site close to listed buildings?
 Surfaces and materials around the site.
Site and Zoning
 Site boundary and dimensions
 Any rights of way through the site and the dimensions
 Anyeasements location and dimensions
 Buildable area of the site
 Any building height restrictions
 Access to the site – car parking, bus routes, train
stations, cycle routes, pedestrian walkways.
 Access to site for construction – will there be any
obstacles or restrictions that could affect the
construction process?
Natural Features
 Topography of the site, valleys, ridges, slopes etc.
 Vegetation – landscaping, greenery, shrubs and trees,
open spaces.
 Site levels. How will this affect your design process?
How does the site drainage work, would there be any
potential problems with drainage?
 Soil types on site
Man made features
 What was the previous use of the site? Would there be
any contamination concerns?
 Are there existing buildings on the site – what is their
state of repair? Is thereanysign of subsidence or
settlementdamage?
 Are the existing buildings part of the project?
 Any walls, retaining walls on the site, or other built
items
Circulation
 Circulation – how do visitors/pedestrians/traffic to or
near the site flow around or within it.
 Accessibility – current provisions of disabled access
to the site and how will this need to be considered.
 Does the existing pedestrian movement need to be
preserved?
 What is the vehicle peak loads and when?
 Public transport close to the site
 Locations of best access to site for both vehicles and
pedestrians
 Travel time to walk across the site
 Utilities
 Location of all services: electricity, gas, water, sewer,
telephone. This includesboth underground and
aboveground.
 Location of power poles.
 Drainage
 Sub-stations
Sensory
 Views – where are the best views to and from the site.
 What are the views of?
 Mark out the positive and negative views.
 Which is the most likely feature aspect?
 Look at views towards the site from different
approaches to see how the site would be seen when
drawing near to the site. What are the best views of
the site, and would these change in the long term?
 Noise, odour and pollution – is the site in a particularly
noisy area? Or near industrial buildings that produce
levels of pollution. Is it near a facility that creates
smoke?
Human and Cultural
 Negative neighbourhood issues such as vandalism and
crime.
 What are the attitudes towards the site and the
potential build?
 What are the general neighbourhood attitudes about
the area?
 What is the cultural, psychological, behavioural and
sociological aspects of the surrounding area.
 What is the population, density, family size, ethnic
patterns, employment, recreation activities etc.
Climate
 Orientation of the site.
 Weather – how does the weather affect the site? Is it
well shaded, exposed?
 How does the temperature, rainfall etc vary
throughout the year?
 What are the prevailing wind directions throughout the
year?
 What is the sun path throughout the different times of
the year, and day.
Take some time to walk around the site as much as
possible. Take note of the general topography of the
site, and any significant changes in level. Also note
any indications of what is underneath the surface, for
example, any marsh grasses could suggest that there
is a high water table, if the soil is sticky it could
indicate the subsoil on the site is clay. If there is any
rubble on the site, it could suggest there has been
previous development, or possibly landfill on the land.
Many of these site issues (particularly services) would
be picked up on a topographical survey or other
professional report, but for the benefit of a student
site analysis assignment I think it would be good
to demonstrate that you have considered the hazards
that could be on or around the site.

Diagramming your findings

The best way to present much of the data you have
collected is through diagrams. There are varying
approaches to expressing the features of the site,
some prefer to include as much information as
possible on one diagram, while others will produce a
number of smaller diagrams to demonstrate particular
site conditions or features.
Both options work, but if you decide to present all the
data on one drawing, it is important to make sure it
doesn’t become muddled and difficult to interpret the
information. So a single diagram demonstrating many
of the site conditions will be a larger drawing than
numerous individual diagrams demonstrating one site
factor. It is also important that the hierarchy of the
drawing is clear – using your pen thicknesses to
demonstrate the different aspects.
You can represent data from your site visit in plans,
elevations and sections, isometrics or perspectives.
Be sure to choose the best option for the date you are
trying to explain. We want to make sure the diagram is
simple, and clear, with the data we are presenting
graphically bolder than the referent information. You
want the emphasis to be on the information you are
communicating, for example a path through the site,
or the position of trees on the site. If you choose to
create a series of drawings, ensure that the site
drawing is always the same orientation, and
preferably scale, so that the reader can easily
understand the drawings.
Evaluating Your Site Visit
So you have collected all this information and taken a
shed load of photos, now you’ve got to evaluate this
information and consider the implications to your
design process. As well as considering all the points
below you also have to integrate the requirements of
the brief. You are slowly putting together the pieces of
the puzzle in order to come up with a great design.
Your diagrams and data collection will be starting to
build a picture of the site, helping you to evaluate
what you have found and begin to consider solutions.
When looking at your site and considering your design
think about the following:
The Site
 Street patterns
 Street section
 Scale and the hierarchy/form/space
 Land use
 Typologies
 Neighbourhoodrelationships, formalstreet variation
 Perspective relationships, views
 Edge conditions, surfaces and materials
 Natural and man made
 Movement and circulation within and around the site
 Vehicle vs. pedestrian
 Access
 Public space vs. privatespace
 Open space
 History
 Climate – sun angles and sun shadows
 Negative and positive spaces – we move through
negative spaces and dwell in positive spaces
 The Building
Think about how your proposal is going to link in with
the site, and how the site will connect with the
building. Make a few notes about each of the points
below about what you are looking to achieve.
 Massing
 Structure
 Circulation
 Axis
 Symmetry
 Scale and proportion
 Balance
 Regulatinglines
 Light quality
 Rhythm and repetition
 Views
 Geometry
 Hierarchy
 Enclosure
 Space/voidrelationship

During your evaluation of the site, it may be useful to

create a model of a particular aspect, or even the site
itself. A model may demonstrate something better
than a drawing or photograph, particularly three
dimensional situations. Land contours, are often
demonstrated using a simple site model. This base
model could then be used as part of your concept
development.

Presenting your Site Analysis

It may not be a requirement to present your site
analysis information, but in many cases it is. Whether
you are putting together a couple of plans with your
findings, or a full report, here are some tips and ideas
to help you get the information across.
 Give an overview of the site and the information you
have found.
 Show some of the key photographs of the site.
 Give more detail about the elements of your site
analysis that you feel will be important in your design
process.
 Make sure you include images. There are various ways
you can do this:
 Sketches from site
 Photographs from site
 Annotated photographs
 Present any relevant data found (climate, sun paths
etc). Keep data clear and concise, don’t bore everyone
with complicated graphs and tables. Instead, make
your own chart or table that picks out the important
information.
 Present your sun paths and angles as some sort of
annotated drawing. Sketchup can be a useful way of
presenting sun path drawings.
 Depending on what has been asked of you, sometimes
it is useful to present a couple of overlay drawings
showing some initial ideas you have worked on. This
willdemonstrateyourunderstanding of the site.
The most important thing when presenting your site
analysis is to ensure that the information is clear, and
the reader can understand what you have found. In my
opinion there is no point labouring away on fancy
graphics if the information is not clear and difficult to
digest. I have a Pinterest board dedicated to site
analysis graphics and ideas, feel free to check it out
for some inspiration.
I have also come across a great tutorial from Alex
over at Visualising Architecture, which explains his
process to create some really cool site analysis
visuals. Check it out here.
If you would like to learn more about carrying out an
Architectural Site Analysis, I would highly recommend
you check out “Site Analysis: Diagramming
Information for Architectural Design”. It is an
excellent reference book, packed full of information
and diagrams to guide and inspire you!
Don’t forget you can download this as a handy pdf by
clicking the link below, in return for signing up to my
newsletter (you can unsubscribe at any time).