Site Analysis [A prototypical checklist of
potential
site issues. ]
Source:
White, E. (1983) Site Analysis: Diagramming Information for Architectural
Design, Architectural Media,
01. Location
a. Location of the city in the state including
relationship to roads, cities, etc.
b. Location of the site neighborhood in the city.
c. Location of the site in the neighborhood.
d. Distances and travel times between the site and
locations of other related functions in the city.
02. Neighborhood Context
a. Map of the neighborhood indicating existing and
projected property zoning.
b. Existing and projected building uses in the
neighborhood.
c. Age or condition of the neighborhood buildings.
d. Present and future uses of exterior spaces in the
neighborhood.
e. Any strong vehicular or pedestrian traffic
generating functions in the neighborhood.
f. Existing and projected vehicular movement patterns.
Major and minor streets, routes of service vehicles such as trash, bus routes
and stops.
g. Solid-void space relationships.
h. Street lighting patterns.
i. Architectural patterns such as roof forms,
fenestration, materials, color, landscaping, formal porosity, relationship to
street, car storage strategies, building height, sculptural vigor, etc.
j. Neighborhood classifications that might place
special restrictions or responsibilities on our design work such as "historic
district".
k. Nearby buildings of particular value or
significance.
l. Fragile images or situations that should be
preserved.
m. Sun and shade patterns at different times of the
year.
n. Major contour and drainage patterns.
03. Size and Zoning
a. Dimensions of the boundaries of our site.
b. Dimensions of the street rights of way around our
site.
c. Location and dimensions of easements.
d. Present site zoning classification.
e. Front, back and side yard setbacks required by
zoning classification.
f. Square meter of buildable area inside setbacks
(should also subtract easements).
g. Building height restrictions required by zoning
classification.
h. Zoning formula for determining required parking
based on the type of building to occupy the site.
i. The number of parking spaces required (if we know
the building area).
j. Any conflicts between what the present zoning
classification allows and the functions we are planning for the site.
k. Zoning classifications that the site would need to
be changed to in order to accommodate all the planned functions.
l. Any projected changes that would alter the
dimensional characteristics of the site such as street widening or purchase of
additional property.
04. Legal
a. Legal description of the property.
b. Covenants and restrictions (site area usage
allowed, height restrictions, screening of mechanical equipment or service
yards, restrictions on rooftop elements, architectural character, design
requirements in historic districts, etc.).
c. Name of the property owner.
d. Name of the governmental levels or agencies which
have jurisdiction over the property.
e. Any projected or potential changes in any of the
above categories.
05. Natural Physical
Features
a. Topographic contours.
b. Major topographic features such as high points, low
points, ridges and valleys, slopes and flat areas.
c. Drainage patterns on the site including directions
of surface drainage (perpendicular to contours), major and minor arteries of
water collection (ditches, arroyos, riverbeds, creeks, etc.), major drainage
patterns onto the site from adjacent property and from the site onto adjacent
property and any neighborhood water-related patterns such as viaduct systems or
storm sewers.
d. Existing natural features on the site and their
value in terms of preservation and reinforcement versus alteration or removal.
This would also include opinions regarding permanency in terms of difficulty or
expense to remove features. On site features might include trees (type and
size), ground cover, rock outcroppings, ground surface texture, holes or
ditches, mounds, on site water (pools, ponds, lakes, rivers) and stable or
unstable areas of the site (site scars versus virgin areas).
e. Type of soil at different levels below surface and
bearing capacity of the soil. Soil type distribution over site area.
06. Man-Made Features
a. Size, shape, height and location of any on site
buildings. If these are to remain, the exterior character and interior layout
should also be documented. If the buildings are to be part of our project, we
must do a detailed building analysis of each facility.
b. Location and type of walls, retaining walls,
ramadas or fences.
c. Location, size and character of exterior play
fields, courts, patios, plazas, drives, walks or service areas.
d. Where it may be important to our design we should
record the paving patterns of man-made surfaces.
e. Location and size of curb cuts, power poles, fire
hydrants or bus stop shelters.
f. Off site man-made features may include any of the
on site items listed above and/or may involve a detailed analysis of the
existing architectural character surrounding our site. This is particularly
important where the architectural character will be a factor in the design of
our facility (historic district, etc.). 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.
07. Circulation
a. On site sidewalks, paths and other pedestrian
movement patterns including users, purposes, schedule of use and volume of use.
b. Off site pedestrian movement patterns using the
same characteristics mentioned for on site movement.
c. If a pedestrian movement pattern is considered
valuable and to be preserved or reinforced, our analysis should also include an
evaluation of how the existing pattern could be improved.
d. On site or adjacent vehicular movement patterns
including type of traffic, origins and destinations, schedule, volume of traffic
and peak loads. Also included should be intermittent traffic such as parades,
festivals, concerts, fire truck routes, service truck fleets, etc.
e. 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 site traffic. 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.
Traffic analysis should document future projections to the extent they can be
made.
f. Locations of probable or optimum access to our site
for each type of pedestrian and vehicular traffic that will use the new building
or move through the site.
g. Travel time to walk across our site, to drive
across the site or by the site where these times may be important to our design
(time it takes to walk between classes at a school). It may also be useful to
record the time it takes to drive to or from related locations in the city (from
our site to downtown, the university, the shopping center, etc.).
08. Utilities
a. Location, capacity and conveyance form (type of
pipe, etc.) of power, gas, sewer telephone and water utilities. This should
involve the depth of each utility underground and, in the case of power, whether
it is above or below grade. Location of power poles.
b. Where utility lines stop short of our site
boundaries, their distances from our site should be given.
c. Where there are multiple opportunities to connect
to utilities that are adjacent to our site, we should record those locations or
edges on our site that seem to offer the best connection opportunities. This may
be due to the capacities of the utility lines, contour conditions on our site in
relation to sewer, the need to minimize on site utility runs, being able to
collect utility runs, bringing utilities in at the "back" of the site or dealing
with site barriers or difficult soil conditions.
09. Sensory
a. Views from the site including positions on the site
where the views are not blocked, what the views are of, whether the views are
positive or negative, the angles within which the views can be found, whether
the views change over time and the likelihood of view continuance for the long
term.
b. Views to points of interest on the site from within
the site boundaries. Includes what the views are of, whether the views are
positive or negative, positions on the site where the views are best arid where
they are blocked, the angles within which the views can be found and whether the
object of the views changes over time.
c. Views to the site from areas outside the site
boundaries, including streets, walks, other buildings and vistas. Includes when
the site is first seen, angles within which it is seen, most dramatic views of
the property, best views of the site and areas that are viewable, particular
points of interest that may be objects of views from outside our site and
potential for these views to continue or be blocked by development outside our
site over the long term.
d. Views through our site from positions outside the
property. Involves the objects of the views and the various positions where the
views occur, whether the views are positive or negative, the angles within which
the views can be found, and the likelihood of the view targets as well as the
view paths remaining open over the long term.
e. Locations, generators, schedules, and intensities
of any significant noise on or around the site. This analysis should include
likelihood of continuance over the tong term.
f. Locations, generators, schedules and intensities of
any significant odors, smoke or other airborne pollution on or around our site.
This analysis should include likelihood of continuance over time.
10. 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.
11.Climate
a. Temperature variation over the months of the year
including the maximum highs and lows and the maximum and average day-night
temperature swing for the days of each month.
b. Humidity variation over the months of the year
including maximums, minimums, and averages for each month and for a typical day
of each month.
c. Rainfall variation over the months of the year in
millimeters. Should include the maximum rainfall that can be expected in any one
day.
d. Snowfall variation over the months of the year in
millimeters. Should include the maximum snowfall that can be expected in any one
day (if any).
e. Prevailing wind directions for the months of the
year including velocity in meters per minute or Kilometers per hour and
variations that can be expected over the course of the day and night. Should
also include the maximum wind velocity that can be expected.
f. Sun path at the summer and winter solstice (
g. Energy related data such as degree days or BTU's of
sunlight falling on our site.
h. Potential natural catastrophes such as earthquakes,
hurricanes and tornados. May include documentation of earthquake zone that our
site lies within and history of natural catastrophes in the area.