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Site Analysis As Design
Site Analysis As Design
Site Analysis As Design
Introduction dents that have shaped their theoretical framework. This work
explores modes of site thinking and representation that seek to
To begin with why, we often start with a study of the site, the uncover embedded knowledge, which can inform architectural
people, history, and environmental factors that make each design by combining an analytical and intuitive approach. I will
place unique. While the physical site serves as the base of the explain the objectives of the site analysis exercises, methodolo-‐
project, analysis provides the basis for an informed and mean-‐ gies used, and reflect on what was learned from my observa-‐
ingful design approach. T HE A RCHITECT’S H ANDBOOK OF P RO-‐ tions and student feedback.
FESSIONAL P RACTICE states, “Site analysis is a vital step in the
design process” to identify “constraints and opportunities” that
led to “good building design [which] responds to the inherent
1
qualities of the site.”
Why is it then that site analysis is so quickly discarded after the
design process begins? Architecture students often approach
site analysis as a passive and objective endeavor that is required
in order to get to the exciting part, designing a building. Some-‐
times they view the site with contempt that it may actually hin-‐
der their creativity, rather than inspire it. Is this due to purely
formalist tendencies of the architecture student? Could it be the
dominance of other design factors such as program, structure,
and materiality? Or, is it perhaps that our approach to site anal-‐
ysis is disconnected with the design process?
I propose that we reframe site analysis as a design exercise, one
that involves active and subjective work through investigation
and representation of contextual information. I believe that this
will provide an opportunity for architectural designs that are
more connected with the site and whose form is developed in
response to a narrative of place. By critically thinking about site
analysis as a beginning phase of the design process, students
can better tackle complex relationships between the built and
Fig. 1 Site Lines Collage, Adrian Tsou (Cal Poly)
natural environment, observable and unseen factors, and social
issues that more thoroughly place a design response within the
Site Thinking
continuum of history and culture imbedded in a site location.
Site is not easily defined in architecture, as it represents both a
In an attempt to frame site analysis as an integral part of the
physical place and a conceptual construct. Site is never a blank
architectural design process, I will discuss series of exercises that
canvas or tabula rasa, but a rich tapestry of embedded
I have used in beginning design studios and the literary prece-‐
Gabriel Kaprielian
nd
Fig. 2 Site Lines Collages, 2 year architecture students (Cal Poly)
knowledge and dormant potential. Site is more than “con-‐ tual identities, site offers to participate in a dialog with the de-‐
straints and opportunities” from a suitability analysis. It is more signer. Site gains meaning through analysis and the designer
than an analytical process of categorizing geological and climatic gains knowledge through its representation. Andrea Kahn states
information, real estate value, or demographics. It is at once that, ”ideas of site come through making. Designers confront the
measurable and comprehensible only through analysis of its challenge of defining sites through a creative process of repre-‐
parts. Sites incorporate multiple realities simultaneously and can sentation.”4 It is precisely the process of discovery through site
be represented through diverse perspectives and subjective analysis and representation that I am most interested in.
interpretations. Site analysis offers fertile ground for an en-‐
gagement with the architectural design process. Site Mapping
While Site Planning and Design remains a core component to The work and writing of James Corner has brought site analysis
licensure examination, like professional practice, it contains a into the foreground of the design process. Like Kahn, Corner has
narrow view of the relationship of site to architecture. This view come to a similar conclusion in his essay on the “A GENCY OF
has been primarily focused on the physical, rather than the M APPING ,” where he states “… mapping is perhaps the most
conceptual understanding of site; more concerned with defin-‐ formative and creative act of any design process, first disclosing
ing what is “important” and “valuable” information, outlined in and then staging the conditions for the emergence of new reali-‐
prescribed deliverables. Architectural pedagogy has mirrored ties.”5 Mapping is a subcategory of site analysis that as Corner
practice, often approaching site through an analytical and scien-‐ describes is itself a design process. It involves the geo-‐spatial
tific approach.2 This paper proposes that it is time to explore representation of information, which must be selected, orga-‐
innovative approaches to incorporate site analysis as a design nized, and abstracted for visual clarity. As Corner says, “Maps
exercise. This begins with site thinking to question and redefine present only one version of the earth’s surface, an eidetic fiction
site in relation to architectural design. constructed from factual observation.”6
In S ITE M ATTERS, Carol Burns and Andrea Kahn describe site Mapping, as a component of site analysis, derives its meaning as
thinking as “continually oscillating between material and con-‐ a creative practice. Maps are able to layer information to high-‐
ceptual, abstract and physical, discursive and experiential, and light areas of convergence; they can uncover unobservable site
general and specific points of view.”3 This varied and contradic-‐ factors and visualize multiple time periods simultaneously. In
tory interpretation reconfigures site as a dynamic process and this way, maps can “reveal and realize hidden potential” and “by
places it in a broader discourse. With both physical and concep-‐ showing the world in new ways, unexpected solutions and
Site Analysis as Design
th nd
Fig. 3 Narrative Mapping Collages, 4 year architecture students (Temple University) and 2 year architecture students (Cal Poly)
effects may emerge.”7 However, it is the mapping process as a Christian Norberg-‐Schultz continues this ontological perspective
design activity, rather than the map representation, which I see as it relates to a sense of place in the built environment. His
as the most important aspect to incorporate in site analysis concept of “genius loci” is described, as “representing the sense
pedagogy. people have of place, understood as the sum of all physical as
well as symbolic values in nature and the human environ-‐
Site Experience ment.”10 A reading of the site in these terms cannot be easily
reduced to a representative form. However, this personal and
In contrast to mapping, direct site experience allows the body to experiential understanding of site is a wellspring for design inspi-‐
observe the site through the senses. A site visit literally puts the ration. I believe that Juhani Pallasmaa says it best; “My body is
site in perspective view. Rather than the predominantly plano-‐ truly the navel of my world, not in the sense of the viewing point
metric view of most maps, walking through a site allows for of the central perspective, but as the very locus of reference,
another form of mapping that can record temporal moments memory, imagination and integration.”11
and phenomenal characteristics. Elizabeth Meyer has called this
experiential perception of site “haecceity.”8 The sights, smells, Site Representation
sounds, tastes, and feel of a site recall a corporeal knowledge
that is often referenced in a phenomenological understanding As a practice, architecture is primarily concerned with design
of the world. Furthermore, this type of intimate site knowledge representation. Similarly, the process and product of represen-‐
begins to define a sense of place. tation in site analysis serve as an act of disclosure. Andrea Kahn
says that “site representations construct site knowledge; they
The philosophy of experience found in a phenomenological make site concepts manifest by design.”12 In this way, site analy-‐
approach to architecture offers an important counterbalance to sis becomes a design process that is connected to architectural
site knowledge mitigated through the computer screen. production. Nevertheless, it is the process of site representation
Heidegger’s concept of “dwelling” ascribes meaning to site or a rather than the product that is the most generative aspect.
locale when it is built upon. He describes the process of defining Kahn continues by adding that “representations such as draw-‐
a boundary, which I take as a reference to site analysis, as “that ings and models, do not simply illustrate what designers think;
from which something begins its essential unfolding.”9 more profoundly, they reveal how designers think.”13 This
reflects my own interest in understanding how students learn to
design, and in this case, how the site can inform their approach.
Gabriel Kaprielian
Site Analysis as Design a mountain peak, or more immediate topography such as rock
formations and trees. They were asked to take photos of these
Where and how do architecture students begin their design? views, while also recording images that created a “palate” of the
What informs their design process? What determines whether site’s colors, textures, and patterns. In addition to the sensorial
their design is an appropriate response to place? How do they aspects of the site analysis, students were asked to consider
conceive meaning and develop an argument to justify their what they were not able to experience directly. This included
design approach? I will share examples of how I have attempted temporal factors such as climatic changes over the course of the
to address these questions by incorporating site analysis exer-‐ day and year, how the site has transformed throughout history
cises as a core component of the design process. This includes a and geologic time, and the relationship of the immediate site to
broad view of site definition that recasts its boundaries, both the larger region.
physical and theoretical. A variety of mapping techniques are
utilized to uncover hidden site information that cannot be ob-‐ Back in studio, students transcribed their fieldwork onto a digital
served, while experiential site visits form a basis of corporeal site map and added to it with Site Lines that were not visible
knowledge and complement the geo-‐spatial studies. Ultimately, during the visit. Using Climate Consultant and a sun path dia-‐
the exercises that I will describe explore the way students make gram, students mapped the predominant wind directions and
meaning from site analysis and incorporate it into their design. important sun angles at different times of the year. The combi-‐
nation of the Sight/Site Lines subsequently served as a scaffold
Site Analysis as Architecture for the next three exercises, Site Lines Collage, Site Morphology
and Monastery Mash-‐up.
nd
At Cal Poly, I taught two consecutive years of 2 year Architec-‐
ture Studio and the corresponding activity session for Environ-‐ The Site Lines Collage exercise asked students to combine on-‐
mental Control Systems (ECS). When developing the curriculum site observation with historical, geological, and cultural research
for the studio, I sought to incorporate knowledge from the ECS of the site. Using the Sight/Site Lines as an organizing principle,
lectures and labs directly into the design process. However, students were tasked with visually composing their site re-‐
student attempts to integrate a traditional approach to site search, with focus given to representation and compositional
analysis into the design process often appeared more of an hierarchy. The final production was a complex reading of the
afterthought than a design driver. What originally began as an site mapping and layering of information that revealed new site
attempt to integrate concepts from the ECS class into the studio knowledge and manifested ground to build upon.
led to a much larger exploration of site and how it is perceived
and taught.
to be considered a building, but rather a design response to the Since the students were unable to visit the site in person, an
site factors, allowing for a diversity of interpretations. This ap-‐ experiential aspect of the Sight/Site Lines exercise was missing.
proach involved allowing the intuitive “thinking hand” to collab-‐ To compensate for this, students conducted extensive mapping
orate with the “analytical mind” to develop a meaningful and of the surrounding area using Google Earth for views and ArcGIS
compositionally compelling respond to the site analysis. For to layer data. With digital mapping software, each team layered
example, the wire may start as the angle of the sun on a sum-‐ current city data and geo-‐referenced historic maps to investi-‐
mer solstice and then bend into alignment with a view. The gate the urban transformations along the waterfront and on
folded board could follow the line of the wire or be considered a their assigned pier. In addition to transcribing important view
separate element, deciding to enclose an area and block pre-‐ sheds, climatic factors, and the present built environment, the
dominant winter wind or create an opening to receive the sun Sight/Site Lines also layered past transformations and future
and reveal a view. While there was no scale in the model, stu-‐ sea-‐level rise scenarios.
dents were asked to consider the scale of parts to each other in
the composition.
Given the wealth of information in the urban context, the site
analysis exercises proved to be highly successful in generating
site knowledge and formal representations. Each team usually
focused on a few Sight/Site Lines as major organizational factors,
whether they were based on a connection to the existing pat-‐
tern of development, climatic orientation, or views. Some teams
were inspired by their Case Study Mash-‐up compositions, while
others focused more on an infrastructural or formal pattern of
development.
The last example of site analysis integration in design that I will
share is from a summer program that I directed at UC Berkeley
called Design and Innovation for Sustainable Cities. In this inten-‐
sive five-‐week program, students explored an interdisciplinary
and multi-‐scalar approach to design and analysis in the urban
environment. Through lectures, urban seminars, workshops,
field studies, and studio work, students engaged in discourse
and design aimed at addressing the challenges of urbanism with
innovative and sustainable solutions. In response to the San
Francisco Resilience Plan for 2040, students worked in teams to
develop resilient urban design proposals in four neighborhood
corridors within the city. Their task was to respond to several
interconnected challenges posed by the city including, climate
change, infrastructure, social inequity, and housing.
experiential understanding with a deeper framework of site graved acrylic base with a massing model of existing buildings
knowledge. Students worked in groups to create analog map-‐ cut out of basswood. The speculative design proposal was then
pings of their sites, examining the observable factors, categoriz-‐ 3D printed and overlaid on top. Besides creating a compelling
ing and geo-‐referencing photographs and notes on the wall. physical artifact, the Past, Present, Future Model sought to make
visible both the final design and the process of site analysis as
Students had a robust introduction to mapping with ArcGIS to one composite assemblage.
compare with their analog mapping observations and investi-‐
gate the unseen ecological, social, and infrastructural factors, Reflections
past, present, and future. Teams were asked to consider the
urban transformations of the past, how this affected the pre-‐ What is clear from my experience attempting to develop site
sent, and how it can be used to inform future design proposals. focused design coursework, is that there are a vast number of
The studio result was an urban design proposal that sought to approaches and comprehensions of site possible. Methods and
address the challenges posed by the San Francisco Resilience perceptions of site analysis that are currently incorporated in
Plan, while responding to the unique conditions of their neigh-‐ the practice of architecture are only scratching the surface and
borhood. The final production included a model that combined may not equip students for the future trajectory of the profes-‐
analysis of the past and present urban environment and specu-‐ sion. Rather than mirror practice, I believe that it is essential to
lative future design. challenge the normative approach to site and expand our
methodologies and perception of what is “useful” site infor-‐
mation. I see new potential directions for architectural peda-‐
gogy to incorporate site thinking and site representation as a
primary design driver.
The planar approach of the Sight/Site Lines and Collage exercis-‐ rate this understanding into their design studio project, while
es are certainly bias toward a planometic design. This is a limita-‐ others simply describe how the focus on site analysis as design
tion to the formal arrangement of a design process that looks allows them to see the world in a new way.
primarily from a single vantage point. By beginning in the plan
view, students tend to base much of their design on floor plans. Conclusion
The Site Morphology exercise is an attempt to begin translating
the two-‐dimensional work into three-‐dimensional form without Architectural pedagogy should not remain static in an approach
simply extruding the plan view. In many ways, I believe this ex-‐ to site analysis that mirrors the profession, but rather explore
ercise is more successful than traditional massing models for its new tools and techniques that aim to incorporate site
formal constraints and abstraction. However, students have knowledge directly into the design process. This may come from
often expressed similar confusion in translating a three-‐ rethinking the relationship between conceptual construct and
dimensional abstraction of the site analysis, while not directly physical condition of the site, leading to what Carol Burns and
designing a building. I feel it is precisely this tension that leads to Andrea Kahn refer to as “concrete theorizing.”16 New ap-‐
design breakthroughs. proaches may also be informed by interdisciplinary cross-‐
pollination. I believe mapping, as described by James Corner, is
The use of mapping in the site analysis exercises, while also bias still a relatively untapped potential in the architectural design
toward a planometric view, is a rich process of “gathering, work-‐ process, which can open new worlds of knowledge, past, pre-‐
ing, reworking, assembling, relating, revealing, sifting, and sent, and future. There is no blank canvas for architecture. The
speculating.”14 Mapping is itself a design activity that makes site is a rich and fertile ground of information, stories, and haec-‐
sense of layered information through abstraction and represen-‐ ceity. By finding innovative ways to uncover what is imbedded
tation. The use of mapping in the architecture studio is far more in each site, architectural responses will be all the richer for it.
than creating a base map. Rather, it is a process of uncovering
multiple layers of information and making them visible through Notes
representation. James Corner reflects on the “maker’s own
participation and engagement with the cartographic process” as
a vital aspect of developing new insights in developing a dis-‐ 1 Floyd Zimmerman, “Site Analysis,” in The Architect’s Handbook of
course with the site to inform appropriate design solutions.15 2 Carol J. Burns and Andrea Kahn, “Why Site Matters” in Site Matters:
Incorporating the composite montage of the collage adds an-‐ Design Concepts, Histories, and Strategies, Burns, Carol J. and Andrea
Kahn, eds (New York: Routledge, 2005), x.
other layer of agency in uncovering and representing site mean-‐
ing. This technique breaks from the conventions of the geo-‐ 3 Burns and Kahn, Site, xxi.
spatially referenced information and allows the students to 4 Andrea Kahn, “Defining Urban Sites.” in Site Matters: Design Con-‐
layer alternative site imagination, which can convey multiple cepts, Histories, and Strategies, Burns, Carol J. and Andrea Kahn, eds
(New York: Routledge, 2005), (New York: Routledge, 2005), 286.
subjective realities.
5 James Corner, “The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and
In the seminar class that I am currently teaching, called appro-‐ Invention,” in Mappings, ed. Denis Cosgrove (London: Reaktion Books
Ltd., 1999), 216.
priately “Site Analysis as Design,” I have been incorporating a
similar theoretical framework for course reading and discussion, 6 Corner, “Agency of Mapping,” 215.
while utilizing many of the site analysis design exercises. How-‐ 7 Corner, “Agency of Mapping,” 217
ever, in this case, there is no architectural design project in the 8 Elizabeth Meyer, “Site Citations: The Grounds of Modern Landscape
course. The design is the representation of the site analysis it-‐ Architecture,” in Site Matters: Design Concepts, Histories, and Strate-‐
self. The course is set up to explore and question what it means gies, Burns, Carol J. and Andrea Kahn, eds (New York: Routledge,
to construct knowledge through design and discussion of the 2005), 110-‐112
site. Students have expressed how little they have focused on 9 Martin Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking,” in Basic Writings,
site in previous design studios, or how this type of investigation trans. David Farrell Krell (New York: Harper Collins, 1977), 356.
is not typically taught in architecture, but rather the disciplines 10 Gunila Jivén, Peter J. Larkham, “Sense of Place, Authenticity and
of landscape architecture, planning, or geography. However, Character: A Commentary,” in Journal of Urban Design, Vol. 8, No. 1,
(Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 2004), 67-‐81.
they have already shown a deep interest and aptitude for ex-‐
ploring concepts and representational techniques that manifest 11 Juhani Pallasmaa, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses,
(Wiley-‐Academy, Great Britain, 2005), 11.
site knowledge. Many have discussed how they might incorpo-‐
Site Analysis as Design
12 Kahn, “Defining Urban Sites,” 286.