SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

Sem 9 DD, Sem 10 ARD

Urvashi Purohit
Looking from outside towards inside
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
SITE SELECTION & JUSTIFICATION

• Considering, from the case studies done, the area requirements of the
various program of the design is ready and the total built up area to be
designed is arrived at .

• Depending upon the design subject, by and large, the site location is
generally been sought after. Once that is done, the next step is to

• Check the:
1. Development plan of the area if available, to know what all future
development is been planned ,for the neighborhood.
2. If the same user is been proposed on that site (and if yes, then for what
reasons) or its hypothetically assumed?
3. Think and ascertain, what implications the design subject proposed will
have on the neighborhood, traffic pattern , future growth of the
location under consideration…………………………..etc etc .

There are many other criteria of the site which are required to be analyzed and the context to be studied in
detail which will provide a very vital foundation and crucial starting point for any architectural project.
SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
Why is site analysis important?
• A project’s success is built on its relationship to its
site and surroundings, and therefore should always
be bespoke and based on its location and local
characteristics.
• Every site has very specific solar orientations, views
(good and bad) and often a very explicit character
and atmosphere. Each one of these areas is an
opportunity to generate a meaningful conceptual
approach and a way to devise a buildings shape,
layout, form and materiality.

“Good design is generated from strong, simple and well-

established concepts.”
SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
SITE STUDY
"To develop a project of any merit, its site must first be ‘measured’-Felt"

Every site is unique and will consist of many complex elements such as:
• Varying topography,
• Watercourses,
• Trees, plants,
• Habitats, and
• Weather patterns to name a few.

All of which will and should influence an architect’s design process and decision-
making.
The appropriate analysis of these elements will initially help determine
• The buildings placement,
• Orientation,
• Form and Materiality, but then later go on to influence its structure, sustainability
and procurement route.
This will help doing the SWOT analysis of the site
A poorly executed site analysis can lead to a sub standard design due to
unavailable information to respond to and develop solutions for.
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
SITE STUDY, ANALYSIS AND CONTEXUAL ANALYSIS
Prior to starting any design, one must know whether construction on the site is viable. Carrying out an extensive site
analysis and context analysis will assess weather 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 tells the existing conditions of a

project site, along with any imminent or potential future conditions to
Shall be kept in mind while designing.

An architectural site analysis will look at issues such as

• Site location
• Size of the plot
• Topography
• Zoning
• Traffic conditions and
• Climate.
• Future developments
• Changes to the sites surroundings, such as a change of roads designations,
changing cultural patterns, or other significant building developments within
the area.

This will help doing the SWOT analysis of the site

SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
SITE STUDY, ANALYSIS AND CONTEXUAL ANALYSIS
Site analysis data can be split into two main categories.

Hard data, which looks at more concrete

elements such as
1. Site boundaries,
2. Site areas,
3. Utility locations,
4. Contours,
5. Dimensions,
6. Site features,
7. Climate,
8. Legal information.

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 develop the design.

Soft data.:- looks at site conditions that can be changed

 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
The general categories of data which shall be looked at while carrying out architectural
site analysis are
Site surroundings and Location
• Site location details (road names, address, major landmarks etc)
• Current context – existing buildings, car parking, roads.
• Geological maps to discover predominant type of soil or rock on the site.
• Aerial photographs and maps (google images). Historical maps can also be
interesting.
• Distances and travel times between the site and other locations of importance

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?
• Surfaces and materials around the site.
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
Site and Zoning
• Site boundary and dimensions
• Any rights of way through the site and the dimensions
• Any easements 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?

Legal information
• Ownership
• Restrictions or covenants
• Municipal Council related information
• Future urban development plans.

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
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
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 there any sign of subsidence or settlement damage?
• Are the existing buildings part of the project?
• Any walls, retaining walls on the site, or other built items
• Characteristics of surrounding development such as scale, roof
forms, visual axes

Circulation
• Circulation – how do visitors/pedestrians/traffic to or near the
site flow around or within it.
• Accessibility
• 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
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
Utilities
• Location of all services: electricity, gas, water, sewer, telephone.
This includes both underground and above ground with its
depth and materials
• Drainage with slopes
• Sub-stations

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.
• Seismic data
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
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.
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
How can site analysis be used...
• When considering local weather patterns, the aim should be to
always provide a building with the best possible access to solar
gains, daylight and shelter. This can be achieved through calculated
control of the effects of the sun, wind and rainfall, through good
positioning of openings and rooflines to provide natural light,
warmth and shelter throughout the year.
• To cool a building, its orientation can pull and circulate cool summer
air though its plan by aligning its long axis with the prevailing wind
direction and by providing deep over hangs for shade. During the
winter months, its built volumes can provide shelter and create
protected external spaces via courtyards.
• When using the context to influence materiality, look towards the
local vernacular of the surrounding buildings.
• When the site has prominent views, buildings can address the
landscape with large framed apertures and pick key views and
features to specifically draw attention to. Moving between rooms
can generate different views and therefore experiences at different
times of day, depending on how and when the spaces are used.
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

Referred throughout the design and

construction process, the below list highlights
some of the key areas that should be
investigated:

PHYSICAL SITE STUDY

1. General
• Geographic location
• Site boundary and dimensions
• Entrance locations and types
• Site security
• Existing buildings
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
2. Neighbouring buildings
• Distances
• Heights
• Uses
• Vernacular
• Site lines
• Rights to light
• Legal restrictions
• Noise levels
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

3. Legal Restrictions
• Conservation areas
• Covenants and easements
• Rights of way
• SSSI ( Site of Special Scientific Interest)
• Listings (Grade II, II*, I)
• TPO's (Tree preservation orders)
• Previous planning permissions and
applications
• DP/DCR
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
4. Access
• Public routes
• Private routes
• Vehicle access
• Pedestrian access
• Existing circulation routes within
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
5. Topography
• Levels
• Gradients
• Key features/restrictions
• Exposure
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
6. Views
• Private views out
• Public views in
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
7. Sun paths
• Sun paths
• Solar gains
• Shading
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
8. Wind patterns
• Prevailing direction
• Shelter
• Exposure

Other Climatic Conditions

• Rainfall
• Cyclone – prone zones
• Seismic zone
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
9. Public Transport Nodes
• Bus
• Train/ Metro
• Cab/ Auto
• Any other mode of transport

(implications of TOD/ Urban Planning

norms etc)
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
10. Trees and vegetation
• TPO's and protected species
• Root protection areas
• Items for removal
• Items to maintain
• Ownerships
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

11. Ecology
• Protected species
• Protected zones
• Impacts
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

12. Site restrictions

• Visibility
• Light & ventilation
• Views
• Neighbours
• Pollution
• Flooding
• Land slides
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

13. Features (analysis)

• Areas to expose/use
• Areas to improve
• Areas to hid
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

14. Hazards
• (Electricity lines, Drainage, Telephone
lines, Sub-stations)
• Derelict Buildings
• Unfinished building work
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

15. Additional
• Condition
• Existing
• Soil type & state
• Services
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

SITE VISIT CHECKLIST

• Orientation (sun & wind paths)
• Entrance & Access points – Pedestrian & Vehicular
• Light levels (areas in direct sunlight, shaded areas,
• Security (gates, surveillance)
dappled light)
• Travelling to the site (road types and suitability, safety,
• Accessibility (disability access)
public transport)
• Surrounding Context (historical, heritage, conservation
• Boundary treatment (fencing, vegetation, landform,
area)
water)
• Existing materials in and around the site
• Extent of boundary (does it match the survey maps)
• Topography (site levels)
• Circulation (existing travel routes within the site)
• Floor level (is it likely to flood)
• Noise levels (quiet and loud areas)
• Soil & Ground conditions (types and suitability)
• Services (electric, water, sewage, gas, telecom)
• Existing legal agreements (where are the rights of ways,
• Existing buildings (condition? Relevant? Protected?)
covenants)
• Existing landscape features (condition? Relevant?
• Hazards (Electricity lines, drainage, telecom lines, sub-
Protected?)
stations)
• Neighbouring buildings (local vernacular, protected?)
• Views in and out of the site (areas to screen off and
areas to draw attention to)
• Trees, vegetation (protected and rare species)
• Ecology (any areas likely to be home to protected
species)
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY
WHAT TO PRESENT
• Summary
• A general overview of weather patterns, access, context etc
• Important aspects
• Views, restraints, existing conditions, key features
• Photographs
• Images of important and relevant areas (only)
• Detail
• Key areas you wish to address and that influenced your design process
• Design intent
• Initial concept sketches / overlays and models showing site influence

HOW TO PRESENT
Your presentation should communicate your site analysis through:
• Drawings and site sketches
• Showing key views, sight lines, existing buildings, key features and objects
• Diagrams / Graphics
• Sun and wind patterns, access types, street patterns, key zones, vegetation
• Site / Annotated photographs
• Showing the site as whole, important features, the wider context, neighbouring buildings
• Maps
• access routes, boundaries, view directions, existing buildings, key zones, hazards, vegetation
• Site model
• Context, typography, scale, features
 SITE ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT STUDY

WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THIS?

• A project's success is built on its relationship to its site and surroundings, and therefore by default should always be bespoke to
and based on its location and local characteristics.
• Every site has very specific solar orientations, views (good and bad) and often a very explicit character and atmosphere. Each
one of these areas is an opportunity to generate a meaningful conceptual approach and a way to devise a buildings shape,
layout, form and materiality.
• Once established, further analyse of access, wind direction, site levels, vegetation, local context, privacy, services (electrical
lines, drainage, telephone lines) will help cement any early conclusions made.
• This is the purpose of site analysis, and why it more than simply ticking boxes to meet a criteria, everything needs to relate
back to the foundations established early on during the investigatory period. So that when required it can help provide the
answers to future questions.

“Good design is generated from strong, simple and well-established context & concept.”
Looking from inside towards outside
 CONTEXT STUDY
Context refers to the environment, the specific & immediate setting in which
a project is located and with which it engages.
Essentially, any piece of Architecture impacts & gets impacted by its context,
and it’s utmost important to study, analyze and orchestrate these influences,
in order to achieve the desired, designed user experience.

Context comprises of the historical, social, cultural, behavioral, physical and

formal setting of the project.
It explores how, in a design process, a reading of the formal elements and
systems as constituent parts of a context, makes visible the relationships
amongst themselves and in the setting as a whole. It is the perception of
these relationships which contributes to the development of an existing
conceptual approach and provides with cues to build and derive the Form and
Design.

Elements of context in architecture:

• The elements of context are physical and non-physical.
• Buildings, Roads and land contour, Weather are the examples of physical
elements while local culture, as well as political, historical, social, cultural
and economic constraints are non-physical elements.
• Therefore, Design starts with an assessment of the ecology of site and its
context; we need to know what is already there before, and understand
the need to add anything new.
 PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

Some of the Elements to be studied are:
• Architecture
• Urban Planning
• Public Buildings
• Public Spaces
• Public Engineering Works
• Infrastructure
• Arts
• Technology
• Signage
• Landscape
• Historical Structures & Monuments
• Public Transport, Pedestrian Movement
 PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

The diagram shows the approximate hierarchical

relationship between the elements of urban design
PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

1) URBAN STRUCTURE
• The overall framework of a region, town or precinct,
showing relationships between zones of built forms,
land forms, natural environments, activities and
open spaces. It encompasses broader systems
including transport and infrastructure networks.
• Structures are the most pronounced element of the
urban design, they shape & articulate space by
forming the street walls of the city
• E.g. Residential, Commercial, Institutional,
Educational, Administrative, Industrial etc
PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

2) URBAN GRAIN
• The balance of open space to built form, and the
nature and extent of subdividing an area into
smaller parcels or blocks. For example a ‘fine urban
grain’ might constitute a network of small or
detailed streetscapes. It takes into consideration the
hierarchy of street types, the physical linkages and
movement between locations, and modes of
transport.
PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

3) DENSITY + MIX
• The intensity of development and the range of
different uses (such as residential, commercial,
institutional or recreational uses).
PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

4) HEIGHT + MASSING
• The scale of buildings in relation to height and floor
area, and how they relate to surrounding land
forms, buildings and streets. It also incorporates
building envelope, site coverage and solar
orientation. Height and massing create the sense of
openness or enclosure, and affect the amenity of
streets, spaces and other buildings
PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

5) STREETSCAPE + LANDSCAPE
• The design of public spaces such as streets, open
spaces and pathways, and includes landscaping,
microclimate, shading and planting
• Streets – space between spaces & places, as well as
being spaces themselves. They are defined by their
physical dimension and character, as well as size,
scale and character of buildings that line them.
• The pattern of the street network is part of the
PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

6) FACADE + INTERFACE
• The relationship of buildings to the site, street and
neighbouring buildings (alignment, setbacks,
boundary treatment) and the architectural
expression of their facades (projections, openings,
patterns and materials).
PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

7) DETAILS + MATERIALS
• The close-up appearance of objects and surfaces
and the selection of materials in terms of detail,
craftsmanship, texture, colour, durability,
sustainability and treatment. It includes street
furniture, paving, lighting and signage. It contributes
to human comfort, safety and enjoyment of the
public domain.
PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

8) PUBLIC REALM
• Much of urban design is concerned with the design
and management of publicly used space (also
referred to as the public realm or public domain)
and the way this is experienced and used.
• The public realm includes the natural and built
environment used by the general public on a day-to-
day basis such as streets, plazas, parks, and public
infrastructure. Some aspects of privately owned
space such as the bulk and scale of buildings, or
gardens that are visible from the public realm, can
also contribute to the overall result.
• At times, there is a blurring of public and private
realms, particularly where privately owned space is
publicly used…

(BiCycle Snake, Denmark)

PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

PHYSICAL CONTEXT - URBAN ELEMENTS

9) NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
• The natural environment includes the topography of
landforms, water courses, flora and fauna—whether
natural or introduced. It may be in the form of rivers
and creeks, lakes, bushland, parks and recreational
facilities, streetscapes or private gardens, and is
often referred to as ‘green infrastructure’.
 PHYSICAL CONTEXT STUDY

Case Study 1 - Grand Center Site Analysis

Ref Links - https://big.dk/projects/copenhill-2391

https://blogs.uoregon.edu/finegrainedstudio/2021/01/27/diagram-air-light-sound-humidityrenzo-piano-parti-diagrams/
Renzo piano
Reference Document