NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi.

Department of Architecture and Planning

NED City Campus

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO – VI [AR-402]

MIXED USED HIGH-RISE BUILDING WITH AESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS

Project 1 Group & Individual CLO 50% of the final grade Verbal, Panel
3&4 Presentation +
Model

The mixed-use building not only sustainably utilizes resources and precious space, but also provides city
inhabitants with neighborhoods that integrate work, home, shopping, transportation, and even green
spaces
A mixed-use building aims to combine three or more uses into one structure such as residential, hotel,
retail, parking, transportation, cultural, and entertainment. Whatever the combination, it combines
several uses within one building or a small area. (Urban Hub)
OR
In the sense of mixed-use zoning or mixed-use planning, it is a type of urban development, urban
planning, and/or a zoning type that blends residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or
entertainment uses into one space, where those functions are to some degree physically and functionally
integrated, and that provides pedestrian connections. (Wikipedia)

Design Brief:
The building must include all the following functions

I. Commercial (4 - 6 floors)
The Commercial Program can include a series of functions (but not restricted to) the following
 Shopping – Departmental Store/ Bookstore / Art Gallery / Pharmacy / Souvenir Shop / Hair
Salon / Etc,

II. Offices (10 floors)

The office floors must at least include
 Free office plates (medium to large staff) with adequate services (Kitchen, reception and
waiting, Washrooms, emergency exit, Break area, smoking area, etc.)
 Conference rooms (one on each floor)
 Meeting rooms (one to two in each portion)
 Small auditorium (one in the whole building)

III. Serviced apartment (6 floors with at least 4-5 apartments on each floor)
A serviced apartment (also known as a service apartment or an extended stay apartment) is a fully
furnished apartment available for short-term or long-term stay, providing hotel-like amenities such as
room service, and housekeeping. Companies frequently use serviced apartments to host workers.
Serviced apartments are also available to the general public.
Serviced apartments typically offer facilities much like an apartment hotel but provide more space. They
have private cooking facilities, sometimes a kitchenette but sometimes a full-size kitchen with
dishwasher and washing machine, living and sleeping areas that are larger than most standard rooms,
and often have access to gyms, restaurants, meeting space, concierges and other hotel-like services.
 NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi.
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED City Campus

OR
A 4 & 6 Bedroom + D&D apartment offering a luxury living space that fulfills the needs of a working
middle or upper-middle-income client. The apartment must be equipped with all the necessities of a
contemporary urban dweller.
IV. Urban landscape area
Well-designed landscapes are integral to providing high amenity-built environments. A publicly
accessed, open-to-all-inclusive area that adds to the urban landscape of the neighborhood, may contain
a fountain, urban garden, benches, etc. giving a stronger neighborhood character, sense of place, and
community identity.
A comprehensive landscaping strategy that clearly outlines the objectives of each landscaped area in the
development and its verges is to be provided. Some example objectives are:
 Productive fruit, vegetable, or herb gardens for common use and socializing opportunities
 Hedges or screening plants to provide privacy or a buffer to communal walkways
 Vertical green or planting on structure for visual interest, as a buffer between different areas of
the development, and/or to add to the amenity of the streetscape.
 Formal gardens or feature landscapes such as rockeries, wetland ponds, xeriscapes, or flowering
gardens.
 Grassed area for socializing or kids' play.

V. Services Core, Service Floor, and parking floors (2- 3 floors)

A services core incorporating reception, toilets, passenger and cargo lifts, janitor services, garbage
collection areas, wiring distribution site for services such as electricity, telephone, security, fire
protection, communications systems, plumbing lines etc.
Service Floor is the floor of a building where service equipment, utility lines, and various machinery are
located. It can be located in the basement, on the top floor, or in the middle portion of a building.

VI. Entertainment
Restaurants/ Fitness area or Gym/ community hall/ theatre / Etc
 NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi.
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED City Campus

Week 1  Project Introduction

 Design Brief Detailing
 Precedence study according to Building Type (1 local and 1 international),
and concept (checklist given below)
Week 2  Site analysis (checklist given below)
 Interpretation, Initial impressions, conceptual ideas
 Design concepts and strategies explorations
Week 3  Concept, zoning
 Initial schematics (Plan, elevation, section)

Week 4  Master Planning

Week 5  Mid Jury

Week 6  Design options for interior layouts

 Plan/s elevations and sections
 Elevation design
 Pre-Final Jury
Week 7  Research plus Process plus Drawings plus 3d model
 Panel submission

SITE ANALYSIS CHECKLIST

Source: White, E. (1983) Site Analysis: Diagramming Information for Architectural Design, Architectural
Media, Florida.

S.No & Group Topic

Number
1. Location
a) Importance of the location
b) Location of the site neighborhood in the city and neighborhood.
c) Wind, Sun, and shade patterns at different times of the day and year
d) Solid-void space relationships.
e) Landscaping within and around the site
2. Area Context
a) Map of the neighborhood indicating existing and projected property
zoning.
b) Existing and projected building uses on the street
c) Present and future uses of exterior spaces on the street
d) Existing and projected vehicular movement patterns.
e) Major and minor streets, routes of service vehicles such as trash, bus
routes, and stops.
 NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi.
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED City Campus

S.No & Group Topic

Number
3. Digital Documentation
a) Photographic documentation of the site
b) Photo montage of building elevations on the street
c) Nearby buildings of particular value or significance.
d) Fragile images or situations that should be preserved.
4. Parking requirements
a) Zoning formula for determining required parking based on the type of
building to occupy the site.
b) The number of parking spaces required
5. Bye laws
a) Name of the governmental levels or agencies which have jurisdiction
over the property.
b) Any projected or potential changes in any of the above categories.
c) Present site zoning classification.
d) Front, back and side yard setbacks required
e) Square meter of buildable area inside setbacks (should also subtract
easements).
f) Building height restrictions
6. Off-site Man-Made Features
Some factors to consider in analyzing surrounding architectural character include
scale, proportion, roof forms, window and door patterns, setbacks, materials,
colors, textures, open space versus built space, visual axes, landscaping materials
and patterns, paving textures and patterns, porosity (extent of openness) and
assertiveness (ins and outs) of wall forms, connections, details and accessories,
exterior lighting, outdoor furniture, and car storage methods.

Sensory
Document the visual, audible, tactile, and olfactory aspects of the site. Typical
issues and views are to and from the site and noise is generated around the site.
Record the type, duration, intensity, and quality (positive & negative) of the
sensory issues.
7. Circulation (Traffic analysis should document present and future projections to
the extent they can be made)
a. On-site sidewalks, paths, and other pedestrian movement patterns including
users, purposes, schedule of use, and volume of use.
b. Offsite pedestrian movement patterns using the same characteristics
mentioned for on-site movement.
c. On-site or adjacent vehicular movement patterns including the type of traffic,
origins and destinations, schedule, the volume of traffic, and peak loads.
d. Off-site or neighborhood vehicular movement issues such as traffic
generators (buildings or uses that are significant destinations or origins of
vehicular traffic) as well as the other traffic characteristics outlined under on-
 NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi.
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED City Campus

S.No & Group Topic

Number
site traffic.
e. Adjacent or nearby parking areas that may be used for off-site car storage in
our project. Off-site traffic patterns should also include the relation of our
site to the public transportation routes, stops at or near our site, probable
directions of approach to our site by the users of the new building, and
directions of dispersal of traffic from our building.
8. Human and Cultural
a. Documentation of neighborhood cultural, psychological, behavioral, and
sociological aspects. Potential information includes population density, age,
family size, ethnic patterns, employment patterns, income, recreational
preferences, and informal activities or events such as festivals, parades, or fairs.
b. Negative neighborhood patterns such as vandalism and other criminal
activities.
c. Neighborhood attitudes about the project that is about to be designed and
built on our site.
d. Neighborhood attitudes about what is positive and what is negative in the
neighborhood.
e. Relative permanence of the neighborhood population.
f. Neighborhood trends in terms of all the factors mentioned above.
9. Autocad Drawings of the site
All measurements in and around the site
Major contour, slopes, and drainage patterns.
Google Earth image and raster .dwg of .5 km radius around site.
10. Essential time saver standards
LList of all essential standards for each building type in the brief that will be used
by individuals in their design.
 NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi.
Department of Architecture and Planning
NED City Campus

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS CHECKLIST

1) Location
a) Site (Location, topography, access, and shape)
b) Area of site
2) Climate
a) Climate (Micro and macro both)
b) Orientation w.r.t climate, function, view, access, or any other
3) Planning
a) List of various activities being performed
b) Zoning (primary spaces, secondary spaces, tertiary spaces, connections like passages, corridors,
transition spaces) both in plan and section
c) User details (demographics of active users and passive users)
4) Architecture
a) Articulation of spaces and forms
b) Form, Colour, texture (finishes) and light
c) Structure, materials used & technologies involved in construction
d) Elevation design (height, materials, lightening, articulation and proportions)
5) Services
a) Plumbing, lighting, HVAC, emergency exits, loading and unloading of goods and supplies, back
house activities etc.
6) Circulation
a) Approach to site/building, entrance portal, drop off point, security check
b) Circulation / movement patterns, for both vehicles and pedestrians
c) Vehicular and pedestrian traffic both in and around the site
7) Landscaping
a) Hardscape or soft cape landscaping in and around the building
b) Water body & fountain if any