msa BA2 2011|2012

Project 3.3 | White Water

Site Analysis Briefing Note


Site analysis is an inventory completed as a preparatory step to site planning, a form of urban
planning which involves research, analysis, and synthesis. It primarily deals with basic data as it
relates to a specific site. Therefore the recording and analysis of the circumstances of the general
location and specific site for a building is a significant process in generating an understanding that
informs the initiation of design strategies.

Architecture and site should have an experiential connection, a metaphysical link, a poetic link.
Steven Holl, Anchoring, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1993

Site Studies

Considerations for exploring the site and its immediate context to be recorded during your site visit
and researched during the same week:

Measure
Obtain OS site plan, Digimap, check the accuracy of pre-obtained information, take multiple
site sections, note level changes, record networks and mapping, underlying geology and
topography.

Light + Shadow
Orientation, sun path and angle, seasonal and diurnal changes, mapping surfaces in light and
shade, reflective or absorbent materials, natural lighting conditions [day and night].

Weathering + Wear
Micro climate of site, regional weather patterns, signs of weathering and wear, erosion and
water runoff, rain collection, protection from prevailing wind.

Material + Making
Site/context: physical nature of ground, surface and materiality, textures and colour, details,
materials. Make a note of the resources physical | environmental | social that can be
reused.

Inhabitation
Current use of site and local area, overlap of use or shared ground, patterns | rituals of
occupation. Mapping of social and historical development of area obtain historical maps |
information. Identify which characteristics typify the site within its wider context.


Methods of On-site Recording
Using an A4 sketch book:

Sketches - Students are required to explore, observe and record the site with appropriate
media [pencil, charcoal, ink, pastel, paint etc.]
Photographs should be specific not general and should not be your only form of
communication.
Diagrams in plan and section, axonometric to clarify specific observations.

The intention is to understand the underlying nature of the site, its management and occupation and
how this may generate architecture. In order to do this you must ensure you are fully equipped with
the necessary materials and tools and a plan of how to approach site work in groups. Delegate tasks
to one another and share information.



Output

Tuesday 8
th
November

Please bring with you your group observations and research from your study tour [Graz | Ironbridge]
and your programme analysis based on precedent and diagramming in a considered and well
presented format for discussion and review with your tutor group. You are welcome to discuss and
present ideas and responses that you have personally felt | recorded | expressed. You should also
bring your completed Travel Journal to this session. 2 X A2 summary sheets of all your analysis
should be included for presentation in addition to your detailed analysis in your portfolio.



Reading

LaGro, James, Site analysis: a contextual approach to sustainable land planning and site design,
(Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2008)
LaGro, James, Site analysis: linking program and concept in land planning and design, (New York:
John Wiley & Sons, 2001)
Lynch, Kevin, The Image of the City, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1998)
Owen Lewis, J., ed., A Green Vitruvius: Principles and Practice of Sustainable Architectural Design,
(London: James and James, 1999)