~.

:'SITE ANALYSIS

EDWARD T. WHITE

OVERVIEW
Contextual analysis is a predesign research
activity which focuses on the existing, im-
minent and potential conditions on and
around a project site. II is, in a sense, an
inventory of all the pressures, forces and
situations and their interactions at the
property where our project will be built.
The major role of contextualanalysis
in design is that of informing us ~bout
our site priorto beginning our d~ign
concepts so that our early thinking
about our building can incorporate
meaningful responses to external con-
ditions.
Typical site issues addressed in a contextual
analysis are site location. size, shape, con-
tours, drainage patterns, zoning and set-
backs, utilities, significant on site features
(buildings, trees, etc.I, surrounding traffic,
neighborhood patterns, views lo and from
the site and climate. As designers we need
to know something about these issues in
order to design a successful building that
not only meets its internal responsibilities
(fundions) but that also relates well to its
external environment. Since our building
will exist for several years, our contextual
analysis should attempt to deal with poten-
tial future conditions as well as the ones we r1
can observe on the site today. Some of the 'J 1
typical issues in this regard are changing ,> / l
zoning patterns around our site. shifts in the
designation of major and minor meets, ~~bit' C""1"1"11~ fi;ii'l!-c~lt/~
changing cultural patterns in the surround-
ing neighborhood and the construction of
significant projects nearby that impact on
COl'Jfex/z!d/ t1fJt1/y6!$ 6
our site.

Excerpt /aken from Sile Analysis by Edward T While page I

 Just as a single word or phrase is best
understood when we know something
about its surrounding verbal context so also
should we be aware of the contextual situa-
tion where our building will be sited.

Context is defined in the dictionary as

the "whole situation, background or
environment relevant to some event or
product." The derivation of the word
means lo "weave together,"
The spirit of this meaning tells us something
as designer> regarding the need to "weave"
our designs into the existing fabric of site
conditions, pressures, problems and op-
portunities. \Ne must strive for a sense oi fit
t:ol'lfeYllJ"/:~lf/lilYeI~~
between the newcomer to the site (our
building! and the site itself. The notion oi
"fit" does not necessarily imply subordina-
tion of our budding to site conditions. \Ne
may choose to be in sympathy with some
site conditions where we attempt to save,
reinforce. amplify and improve on what we
find on the site. 'vVe may also identify cer-
tain site conditions which we want to de-
liberately alter. eliminate, cover up, dis-
guise or reform. "V\.eaving" as a concept
applied to the placement of buildings on
sites will always include some alteration of
the existing conditions. What is important
is that we make these decisions deliber-
ately and thoughtfully so that the effects of
our building on the site are not accidental.
Whether attempting lo go "with" the site or
to "contrast" the site, our early thinking is
pivotal in terms of producing a successiul
7
project.

SITES AS ACTIVE
NETWORKS
Sometimes as designers we may be tempt-
ed to think oi our project site as an inert.
passive situation. We may consider it as
simply a piece of ground where our build-

r ing will sit.

We should always remember that a site

is never inert but is an ongoing set of
I very active networks that are in-
/.. I tertwined in complex relationships.

, I Shadow patterns move across our site in a

particular way. Children may use our site as

L- - - __/ a shortcut to school. Our site may be used

as an informal playground by neighbor-
hood children. There is a. traffic pulse that
ebbs and flows through and around the site
over the course of a day People may look
across our site from their homes to views
beyond. The contours may carefully route
water to a site edge where it does no dam-
age to neighbors. The corner may be used
for a bus stop. These are a few of the
situations that make any site active. This
kinetic view of site should sensitize us lo
the importance of the task oi siting our
building. We are about lo place our build-
ing within this active network. It seems
reasonable to assume that if we are to
integrate our design gracefully into this
network without destroying its positive as-
pects, then we must first make ourselves
aware oi the nature of the network through
contextual analysis

Excerpt taken from Sile Analysis by Eowera T While page2

 \
' '
'' '-, ' '' -,'
\. \ \

'

The consequence triangle focuses on There are three "actors" in the conse-
CONSEQUENCE the simulation of the completed and quence triangle: the building, the users and
TRIANGLE occupied building and is based on the the context The building includes all the
interior and exterior phvsical manifesta-
hypothesis that it is not the design or
The ... consequence triangle" is a conve- tions oi our design such as the walls. floors,
the building itself which is our ultimate
nient model for understanding the network ceilings, structure, mechanical. furniture,
of contextual causes and effects and how
responsibility as designers but the pre-
lighting, color, landscaping, paving. doors,
they relate to other aspects and issues of diction and delivery of a set of conse- windows, hardware and accessories. The
our project. quences or effects that have been users inc lude al I those people who own the
deemed positive and possible.

building, work in the building. maintain All of the effects or consequence issues
the building. are clients, patrons or cus- mentioned here only deal with impacts
tomers in the building. service the building, caused by our building on itself, users and
live near the building or simply pass by the context. To complete the model we must
building. The context includes all the con- perform the same operation for users and
ditions . situations. forces and pressures that context. \Ne can see then. that each of the
constituted the existing site prior to the three actors-building, users and
construction of the building. cootext=-are acted on by the other two and
If we set these three protagonists at the act on the other two. Each ol the three
corners of a triangle and draw lines repre- causes changes in the other two and is
senting impacts from each of them to all the changed by the orher lwo. The network is
others and from each of them to them- in constant motion for the life of the
selves, we have diagrammed the essential building.
messages of the consequence triangle. The When we view our design situation in this
elements of the building affect not only way, it becomes clear that our design re-
each other bur also elements in the context sponsibility should be focused on the lines
and users. In terms of building impact on of force in the diagram and not only on the
itself, the air conditioning system causes building, users and context themselves.
changes in material and furniture because
of temperature and humidity differential. It behooves us to not only know some-
Fenestration causes changes in material, thing about the compositional charac-
lighting and furniture because of the admit ters of buildings, people and contexts
tance of sunlight. Furniture location causes but also about how they affect them-
changes in the flooring material due to selves and each other.
placement in the space. The consequences
caused by the building on the users may Every building project involves some de-
involve environmental effects on auitude, gree of remodeling because of the inevita-
productivity. efficiency, sense of worth and ble modification oi the context at and
well-being, staff turnover, level of learning, around our building. It is impossible to
place our building on its sire without
sales volume and other aspects of human
changing the existing conditions. VVe must
behavior. The building also creates conse-
determine what lo retain, reinforce. accent,
quences within the context. These may
include alteration of wind patterns. con- reduce, modify or elimmate.
tours and drainage patterns, surface ab- The implanting of our building on
sorption of rainfall, existing foliage, the site will always result in a re-
shadow patterns, sunlight reflection oH modeling of the site- Our goal should
windows and sound reflections off building
surfaces.
always be to leave our site better than 10
we found it.

Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T. White page3

 the contextual analysis. These deal prima-
KINDS OF rily with the sensory and human aspects of
the site that are not quantitative and which
INFORMATION require an opinion about the existence and
The kinds of information collected for our positive or negative characteristics of cer-
contextual analysis basically involve an tain sirequalities. Typical examples include
inventory of existing and projected site good and bad views from the site, best
conditions. We are not concerned with approach directions to the site in terms of
design responses to the site at this stage but view, existence of odors and extent to
rather with finding out all we can about the which they are annoying, presence of exist-
site. We are interested in facts. The facts ing on site human activities and their value
about our site will always include both (informal playground, gathering spot for
hard and soft data. The hard data usually unemployed workers, neighborhood fairs
relate to physical site factors and involve and festivals) and types of noises and the
no judgments about their existence or na- extent to which they are disruptive. This
ture. Typical hard data would be site loca- "soft data", although it initially involves
tion, dimensions, contours, on site features judgments, tends to become "hard data"
and climate. Soft data may involve some once it is documented in the contextual
value judgments on our part in conducting analysis. It is important to keep in mind that

16

Excerpt tsken from Site Analysisby Edward T. White page4

 LOCATION May include st,1le map and
city map showing locanon of site in rela-
tion to c1iy JS a whole. City map may 3lso
show distances and travel times to related
functions in other Jrh of the city.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT Pre-
sents the immediate surroundings oi the
site ior perhaps three to tour blocks bevond
the site boundarv This mav be extended
further ro include dn important factor or
because of lhe scale of the protect. Map
ma}' show exislrng and projected uses.
buildings. zoning and anv other conditions
that rnav have an impact on our project.
a SIZE ANO ZONING Documents all
the dimensional aspects of the srte includ-
ing boundaries, location and dimension of
easements and present zoning classifica-
tmn with all its dimensional implications
{setback>. height restrictions, parking for-
mulas, allowed uses, etc.) and buildable
area (land available for the project after all
setbacks and easements have been sub-
tracted). Analysis should also document
the present and projected zoning trends,
plans by the oty transportation departmenl
10 widen roads (change rights of way) and
any other trend that might affect our project
in the future.
LEGAL This category presents the legal
descriptlon of the property, covenants and
restrictions. present ownership, present
governmental jurisdic:lion (city or counrvl
and any future projections that may influ-
ence the project (suc:h as the fact that the
site is in a furure city urban renewal area or
within the boundaries of eventual univer-
.ia sity expa nsion).

NATURAL PHYSICAL FEATURES In-

cludes contours. drainage patterns, 5oif
type and bearing capacity, trees, rocks,
ridges, peaks, valleys, pools and ponds.
MAN-MADE FEATURES Documents
on sue conditions such as buildings, walls,
drives, curb cuts, hydrants, power poles
and p<iving patterns. Off site features may
include. characteristics of surrounding de-
velopment such as scale, roof forms,
fenestration patterns, setbacks, materials.
colors, open spaces, visual axes, paving
panerns, landscaping materials and pal.-
terns, porosity and assertiveness of wall
forms and accessories and details.
CIRCULATION Presents all vehicular
and pedestrian movement patterns on and
around the site. Data includes duration and
peak loads for surrounding veh icular traffic
and pedestrian movement, bus stops, site
access edges. traffic generators, service
truck access and intermittent traffic
(parades, fire truck routes, concerts at
nearby auditorium). Traffic analysis should
include future projections insofar as they
can be made.
UTILITIES This categorv deals wi1h the
type, capacity and location of all utilities
on, adjacent lo and near the site. Typical
utility types include electricily, gas, o;ei....er,
water and telephone. Where utilities are
some distance from the site, those dimen-
sions should be given. It is useful to docu-
ment the depths of utilities when !hey are
underground as well as rhe pipe material
and diameter.
19

Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T White page5

 SENSORY Documents the v.sua], audi- HUMAN AND CULTURAL Includes CLIMATE Presents all the pertinent cli-
ble, tactile and olfactory aspects of the sue. an analysis of the surrounding neighbor- mate conditions such as rainfall, snowfall,
Typical issues are views to and from the site hood in terms of cultural, psvctrological. hurnidiry and temperature variations over
and noise generated around the site It rs or behavioral and socioogrcal aspects. This the months of the year. Also included are
value to record the type, duration. mrensitv category is different from "Neighborhood prevailing wind directions, sun-path and
and quality (positive or negative) of the Context" list~.J e;irl ier 1n th.it the latter ad- vertical sun angles as rhev change over the
sensory issues. As discussed earlier, this dresses the physical while this c.uegcrv year and potential natural catastrophes
often involves making some judgments deals with the activities, human relation- such as tornados. hurricanes and earth-
about the relative desirability of the differ- sh ips and patterns of human characteris- quakes. It rs helpful to know not only how
ent sensory conditions on and around tht:' tics Issues here might involve population climate conditions vary over a typical year
site. age, ethnic patterns. dens1tr employment but also what the critical conditions might
patterns, values, income and familv struc- be (maximum daily rainfall, peak wind
ture. Also of importance are any scheduled velocifvl.
or informal JCtivities in the neighborhood
such as festivals. parades or crafts fairs.
Vandalism and crime patterns, although
not pleasant, are of value to designers
when conceptualizing Sile zoning and
building design.

I
I
I
I
20
~

It is useful in discussing the influence

of contextual analysis on design to dil-
ferentiate between function and con-
text as forces which locate building
spaces and activities on the site. func-
tion lends lo locate building spaces in
an introverted way in that they are
primarily looking inward to each other
for the rationale behind their positions
in the scheme. Context, on the other
hand, wants the spaces to migrate to
different positions on the site in re
sponse to conditions outside the build-
ing. In function, the attraction is be-
tween spaces. In context, the attrac-
tion is between spaces and external
site conditions. Usually in a design
problem these two (and all the other) Operations need I
r~

I
ing shelter from
project issues pull and push the spaces Operations need -
to determine their final placement in ing access to de- high activity j t'~l
the scheme. They are in a very real livery and pick-
Ac~~~~~s needing "-'-"' - -'
sense competing with each other lo up vehicles.
direct access for
determine the building form. Building entry lo-
vehicles. .
cated to relate to
Some examples of situations that might primary ap-
Integration of form J
cause a space or activity to be placed in the with surrounding
proach d1 rec-
scheme due to external linkages to context contextual im- jO
tion.
ages. a
are presented below. _,,,.. ...,.
Activities requiring r;;; -=- Zoning of. park.iog
areas away trom ~-:
~. Relationship of odD
or desiring
view.
a "-'/~
l
view lines to 0 spaces lo exist-
ing scale and Do a.-
_j ~
Activities that
building.
Ac_tivd.ies needrng
..
~/./J/)'jl' geometric pat- ,.~~f~~=~~f:-
should be zoned
away from noise.
Activities that
should strongly
11
ril.-
indirect natural
lighting.
Activities needing
direct sunlight.
-.._J

~Y
~
/ terns.
Spaces needing
their own con-
trolled exterior
environment.
relate to on site )
pedestrian circu-
lation patterns.
22
Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T. White page 6
 Reasons for localing a bu1ld1nx in a particu- tual analysis <is a stimulant for concep-
lar area of the site may involve soil bearing tualization is vital to responsible de-
conditions. contours that minimize earth sign. II helps lo en~ure that there is an
work during construction, ridges to t.ike appropriateness to !hose design ideas
advantage of views or breezes. streets or that surface In our minds in thal they
corners that ensure high visibilrrv to the
were triggerl.'CI by the relevant '!;djecl
building, alleys thar allow easy service ac-
Ts5ues conditions and needs a not
cess, site scars that have already caused
disruption lcollect existing scars with the -cirhlfr~rKail!d and impo~

?-(~1
scars caused hv construction) or the '""Thli)riiject.
avoidance of so.:Oe pnrticularlv valuable The contextual analysis itself will "'~Xf:!lt:e/rjn
asset that should be preserved ureesi or never create the design responses. Too /~M~C: J'o
some particularly negative condition (poor
view or noise). often we m.istakenly believe that if onl.y
we analyze long enough, we will be led ~
It is important to remember tha! site lo the solution. This will never happen. Ji
design and building and space place-
The bridging of the analysis-synthesos
ment can involve sectional
well as plan issues.
issues as "gap" has lo be a two-way affair. We must
analyze the context to tri&!er design re 100
cfoOf. ~1.R
c,c.;:)
Relation of floors to contours,heights of spouses. but the design responses or vn- ,,,..;~, sy~
spaces in relation to views. stepping of cabulanes must be there to be triggered. As ~jt"q'~,;j"/j(;,;~
spaces down hillside> and stacking of designers we must continually work to ex- dn(/ .-?~q,.,i!,;4
spaces in relanon to conrovrs and nei8h- pand and deepen our vocabulary of ar- l,#?c;,Jf.~u' ffi,,-.,,,;,
borhood scale are a few of the potential chitectural form> and concepts so that """''Y '*
reasons 10 study the zoning of our facility there is something there to draw upon
on the site in section as well as in plan. when we "flip the w..-itch" through analysis.
We should know many ways of taking ad-
A thorough contextual analysis gives us vantage of a good view, numerous ways to
confidence that we have the site conditions buffer our spaces againsr outsrde noise and
al I recorded. That confidence facililales the several ways to ascend to our building from
conceptualization ol site responses in de- a parking lot. These conceptual solution
sign and contributes to the heuristic proc- types constitute the design vocabulary that
ess of idea formulation. In doing the con- we accumulate from reading. travel, past
textual analysis and engaging the site issue~ proiects we have designed and visiting
through diagramming, we trigger design bujldings. An;1lysis will give us the condi-
response images for dea ling with the site. tions but not the responses. II will tell us
The contexlual analysis acts as a switch that we h,we a great view but not what lo
to recall the parts of our design vocab-
ularies that apply to the site problems
do about it. \Ve must draw from our vo-
cabulary of design responses ior the appro- 24
pnare concepts.
anit opportunities. The role of contex-

OVERVIEW
Diagramming the information learned
through contextual analysis may utilize
any of the conventional drawing
frameworks to record the data. We may
graphically express our site information in
plan, section, elevation, perspective.
isometric or any of the other types of draw-
ings available to us. The types of drawings
we use should be sympathetic to the type of
information we are recording. Some data is
better expressed in plan, some in section,
___ __, L L some in perspective, etc. Normally there
r: ,,_I are lwo components to any site information
diagram. First, we must have a referent
/ I drawing of the site to provide a context for
the particular site information we want to
record. Second, we must diagram the site
/L Ii fact itself. The referent drawing may be a
simple plan of the site boundaries with
bordering streets or a section through the
~tire'// site showing only the ground plane. We use
d!AJ1~"11 these simple site drawings as frameworks
for diagramming the particular site issues
that we wish 10 express. There are two
rather different postures we may assume
regarding the recording of the site informa-
tion over these referent drawings. The first
we may call the composite or integrated
approach where we attempt to diagram as
many different site issues as we can over
one referent drawing Here, different types
of site data are superimposed over each
other so that we can more easily see the
26 relationships between the information. In
this approach we must make sure that the
drawing does not become muddied and
confusing and that the most important site

Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T. White page 7

 1. We should think about the nature 2. Site analysis should never be done at
PROCESS of the project, its needs, require- "long range." \Ne should always see the
ments and critical issues. site first hand, walk or drive the con-
ISSUE IDENTIFICATION tours and boundaries, see the views
The first step in conducting a contextual What is :he essence of the project/ and on site amenities, lis1en to the
analysis is to identify those issues we wish What is the building's reasonfor being? sounds and personally assimilate the
to analyze and to diagrarnrnaticallv docu- What are rts major goals and obiec- scaleand pulse of the neighborhood.
ment. As discussed previously, our goal rives] Whal roles can the building play
should be to analyze all relevant issues in enhancing the site and its surround- This "hands-on" direct encounler
about the site becausethoroughness is vital ings? All of these concerns should help with site from a personal and sen
to project success. us to anticipate the kind of site data that sorv point of view gives us another
will be needed during the design phase set of clues for choosing the types
Jr is useful in choosing from among the of the project. of site information that should be
available site issue categories to let our
choices be influenced by at least two im-
ponant inputs:
0
D<?'ou~a addressed in our contextual
analysis.
The visit 10 the site allows usto develop
a sense of what is unique, valuable and
important about the site.
11~ .,f,efq~ inq~e,I ,;,
CMrcr/Vtt/ 41'1~/y~i;
~ .. , .!-

28

Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T. White page 8

 Loc.ation

,,,,...---------- ... _ ' -,

\.
"\
_,
/
/
', '\\
' ' -, \
\
'\ \
' \
\
I

\
\ I
'' f
' -, I

'
'
.... ---~~~-- I

' -,
'- <,
. . . . . . . __ ,._..aft. __ ,,-
-------
' .................
45
- ...... --~~,~--- - --

i_f~._i__LL
I . . .
. !

49
Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T While page 9
 Man-made Features

1 I
r.
I
! . R-
----:r

87

1----- .1
~ I. ,
I
I )-
~---((

--.r
I
_)--
:;;::::- -. - --((
~
! M ~
~ ;r~ ,r_., ~~fr I
88
II~/;:~~~

Excerpt tak.en from Site Analysis by Edward T White page 10



61

Excetp. . la~e
. n froni Sue
- Ana!~'SIS b.V Eawerd T Wh:te page l !
 Circulation

-#:C .

..
. : . . ~r
....... ).-.
~
..
...
.-"!
- =-=..;...=--.;--=-=;Ir. .

:1

I
~ , .. ' ..
~=~""
....

14'111~;:;:: ;;;;::;;;;;;-.==
"

89

l_ . _ . _ . _.1
I l
I )- -
k . ~;.-
... :.-. . . ,<-r
90

Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T White page 12

 Human and Cultural

. 100

Excerpt taken from Sile Analysisby Edward T. While page 13

 Natural Physical Features

_J

79

lrl1u Mt1l7'/ct,r~

~J l...____--~-

80

Exceu raken from Site Analys's i:w Edward T White paqc 1-1
67
Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T. White page 15
_J

86
Excerpt taken from Site Analvsis by Edward T While page ie
 Climate
J

a 103

w ,.,, / ..., J./ .,,; 4/ J<I w u/ w ... w' -..,

'--- ........_ 1I
n J'd H
,," ,,, ,. ,," n 16
l/c.7 1~r //
,NI() ht:' /l!I /(!} 1~ ~.

~ .
s rn 7 n J'J /'Z n /#/ u /.1/ ff. /~/ 13 ?a ; 1:. 1. t;.5" " 14-i---_
~ 't5' n 11 rs 5f ~ er ~1 /J ~ JI,. ~~
13
~I
<;7

",.,'" ~'
'J1 u.1 H 7' ,,
IJ<f q n .,, ,,,,
6
l/'1 ff
zi.' is tf" 71
11- '11 IU< '11
f~

'~ "'' ., Z ,.. "'

!" S-
fit'. '
J1. 41 f~ <-t '11 71 #,/,.
N (-/ 1f 1'1 31 n tf
,17
"' 1# /.1 71
'
f7
,,

/
18

E3
-,,,,
0
4(,
N" ;fa
f)6
t.l

e
'""
q ~ ~
11
,,,..,,,," ,,,,.,
()

e
"
,,, 71
lo ,
'" ""' '"~
1'

m
iK
0
e
1S f"1

-1
(7
e
11
~y.
#

e
(}

~
ff
~
0
e
N
t./
b

e
tl<C/'
n
n
17 y

,.;,,;
e
a ~
11,c
d

"'~"
~ ~JN./,~-tr
:.ji~-~,/,if

w
1 ... -
t

106
Excetpt taken trom Sile Analysis by Edward T White page 1 /

Sensory

page 18
 94

95
Excerpt taken from Sile Analysis by Edward T. While page 19
 II
,, ~-Ill~'
;Jr 1; ~j.
_,,'j?
. -~"-~

. Ii
I

)-' --

97
 Using the partial analysis of a sitf' and the
task of designing J new nurserv school.
the next few pages illustrate ho.;,, si1e de
sign vignettes c ,1 n be stornul.llcd in re-
sponse lo i ndrvidua! sire factors and condi-
tions. These si1e design vignettes can then
serve to evoke concepts for arranging all
the client's activities and spaces on the
property. ::==t;i=:::......,..--- ---

Both the individual site design vignettes

<ind comprehensive site arrangement con-
cepts are drawn from 01Jr past experience
as designers and our vocabularv of site
design ideas that we carry with us from
project to project. These ideas are called
up" or triggered from memory by analyz-
ing the various site conditions through
diagramming. The more extensive the
vocabulary of candidate design ideas we
have to draw upon for appropriately re-
sponding 10 site conditions. the more
likely we are to produce a successful site
plan and building design.
132

1-i;;Jcf
!~{t
l~d11
rf1'.
~--
1r { I I r I \

~I
I~
I YIJL'/~,;,;,,I
, ~:tit Uffl} I
'--- - '
133~,__ ______,\,.- ,-~
Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T White page 21
 I I \ \

------1
t/~;,A/
~ ;- I
I
-, I I I
\I
135

......
~ 137
Excerpttaken from SiteAnalysisby Edward T White page 22
139

.u~ 1" t~h-y

Jtg' 111/ty

Ir \ I

~1 r ,,,;,,, . .,~
1" ""'11fVlfll

Excerpt taken from Site Analysis by Edward T White page 23