The Building Site

Professor Richard Luxenburg, AIADepartment of Architecture and Interior DesignAnne Arundel Community College

ACH 121 Materials and Methods of Construction 1

The Building Site

Mesa Verde National Park, Coloradobuilt by the Ancestral Puebloans (previously known as the Anasazi) in the late 12th and 13th

centuries www.360parks.com/ancient_dwellings_virtual_tour.shtml

www.arkleg.state.ar.us/data/SustainDesignBuildingPractice/GreenBldgInit_files/frame.htm#slide0235.htm

Site Analysis is the process of surveying or studying the existing environment and how it will influence the structure’s design and layout on the site.

Now you know why I asked you to purchasesome basic colored markers and colored pencils for the Ach 111 class !

Site Analysis and Site Plans (rendered)

Site Analysis

•Topography•Geographic location•Plant material•Water•Climate•Solar orientation•Prevailing winds•Soil

•Regulatory factors Zoning Ordinances Codes Covenants Historical Requirements

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, USA

•Sensory Factors Views Sounds Smells

www.360parks.com/ancient_dwellings_virtual_tour.shtml

www.360parks.com/ancient_dwellings_virtual_tour.shtml

www.tetonscience.org/campus_buildings.shtml&h

Building Section

The Angle of the Sun varies during the seasons, this is due to the tilting of the earth’s axis as it rotates around the sun.Actually, the earth is closer to the sun in winter but the northern hemisphere is tilting away from the sun.

Therefore…. one could assume that a design that works well for a flat plot of land may not do as well for a sloped topography and visa versa.

http://www.cce.ufl.edu/current/green_building/passive.html

The Affects of a Slope

Affects of Slope on Building Design

Therefore a SITE ANALYSIS must be completed first before design

development can commence.

Solar radiationExterior devices are better than interior devices, because they intercept the sun’s radiation before it can reach the surfaces of the building.

Relationship between 2-D and 3-D representation of site topography (contour lines)

Topography

Contour lines are imaginary lines in plan view that connect points of equal height above a datum or bench mark. Each contour line represents the form in which the site acquires

over a specified elevation that is why we have surveyors and topographic surveys vs. metes and bounds surveys

Contour lines are continuous and never intersect each other.

They change in shape, but never in elevation.

Various ground shapes as represented by contour lines and site sections

• contour lines spaced far apart indicate a flat surface • contour lines spaced evenly describe a constant slope• contour lines spaced close together designate a steep rise/fall in elevation

Without the elevation numbers you could not tell these forms apart!

Contour lines & Topography

Contours must match existing grades at property lines.

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•Each contour line is placed with an elevation marker.

states the height of the contour relative to the site.

•Elevation markers are documented in intervals depending on the size of the plat.

•Smaller sites or sites having gradual slopes may show 1, 2 or 5 feet markers,

•Larger or steeper sites may show markers in 10’, 20 or 50 feet markers.

Geographic factors

SOILThe soil type affects:

the type and size of a building’s foundation system

the drainage of ground and surface water the types of plant material able to grow on a site

All buildings rely on soil for their ultimate support.The underlying foundation is effected by the soil’s strength.

Geographic factors

VEGETATIONThe types and locations of plant materials affect:

the site’s micro-climate Solar radiation, wind, humidity, air temperature

the definition or visual screening or exterior spaces the absorption or dispersion of sound

Plant Material

Plant Material

Plant Material

Plant Material

Climatic Factors

The light shelf is an extremely useful tool. This mechanism, a horizontal surface at or above eye level, serves to reflect light falling above the vision window up onto the ceiling and therefore deeper into the room. At the same time, it reduces illumination immediately adjacent to the window, where illumination levels are typically too great to work comfortably.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.afcee.brooks.af.mil/ldg/s01LandscapeDesign/graphics