SITE PLANNING 1 NOTES

WHAT IS SITE PLANNING? and communications/internet. Economic factors like

property value, project costs, and financial impacts
1. Definitions of Site Planning also play a role in site planning. Finally, this group also
refers to rules and regulations that govern the site e.g.
Site Planning is the process of managing the resources
land Use Policy and building Laws.
of the project site to provide functional, aesthetically
pleasing, and sustainable buildings. (Trani) Analyzing these three elements helps us focus on these
important questions for Architectural Design:
"Site Planning is the art of arranging the external
physical environment to support human behavior. It  What inputs (energy, material, labor, etc.) are
lies along the boundaries of architecture, engineering, needed to support a project, and what are
landscape architecture, and city planning, and it is readily available?
practiced by members of all these professions. Site
plans locate structures and activities in three-  Can waste outputs (solid waste, sewage
dimensional space and, when appropriate, in time. " effluent, exhaust emission, etc.) be dealt with
(LaGro, Jr., 2008, p.13) at an acceptable environmental cost?

2. Sustainable Development  Can the negative impacts of development be

mitigated or minimized?
Simply put resources are limited and that's why proper
resource management is necessary. Although there are "A sustainable approach to site planning pays close
renewable resources available like timber and some attention to development intensity, location, and
plastics more often than not, finite materials like considers the initial benefits, impacts of development,
concrete are preferred in the Philippines. You cannot as well as the project's life cycle costs. Site Planning
regrow Concrete. Furthermore, the land on which the that is responsive to inherent environmental
building itself is built cannot be re-used until the constraints reduces construction costs, allows the
building is demolished. Therefore it is imperative that continuation of critical environmental processes, and
we must properly manage our building resources. protects intrinsic natural and cultural amenities.
Sustainable site planning is context-sensitive,
The finite nature of building materials is the reason therefore, minimizing negative development impacts
why sustainability is now the goal of the construction by respecting the landscape's natural patterns and
industry. With proper site planning, architects should processes." (LaGro, Jr., 2008, p.10)
be able to create more efficient buildings for less,
which would not only benefit their clients but also
society as a whole.
PRE-DESIGN PHASE
These resources can be divided into two groups Natural
Resouces and Cultural Resources (LaGro, Jr., 2008). In
order to achieve sustainable development, these two
resources must be reconciled with the existing Built
Environment.

2.a. Natural Resources include the soil, vegetation,

and even the air on-site. What LagGro, Jr. is referring to
as the Regulation, Production, Carrier, and Information The site planning process is cyclical. The first step of
functions of Natural resources are its various benefits. which is to assess the project objectives and
For example, a healthy Natural Environment is able to stakeholders. Usually, in your classes and in
purify the air and water. Nature Resources provide food professional practice, a site is given to you. However,
while some sites even have spiritual as well as there are instances where a project would require you
aesthetic value. to select a site e.g. thesis and major public projects. In
that scenario, a set of objectives or vision is given and
2.b. Cultural Resources are fairly straight forward. the designer, afterward, a site is selected based on
These refer to the historical and traditional value of those objectives. Ultimately all design projects must
some sites which must be considered before the start begin with some form of assessment and this process
of any construction project. The value of these sites is is widely known as Programming.
somewhat intangible but proper management of these
resources will inevitably lead to various community
benefits in the long term. For example, historical
landmarks not only inform us of the past but helps
define a community's identity.

2.c. Built Environment refers to everything else that

is not included in the first two groups. It covers
infrastructure which is composed of the existing roads,
bridges, and highways. Utilities are systems that
provide drinking water, electricity, waste management,
 SITE PLANNING 1 NOTES
Programming 4. User Needs and Preferences - In architecture,
the client is the main stakeholder. The users are also
From the diagram above we see that LaGro Jr. (2008) considered stakeholders but the person paying for the
aligns programming with site selection. The construction holds substantial influence on the project.
Programming itself is composed of dividing the site into Therefore, design professionals need to reach an
three "Inventories" Physical, Biological, and Cultural. agreement with the client to create a comprehensive
program that will eventually lead to a successful
Site Inventory is another way of studying the resources
project.
on-site and I believe it's even more straightforward
than the previous categorization of "natural, cultural, 5. Design Precedents - Using successful projects as a
and built environment." Physical factors include all base for creating a new program is easier than it ever
existing items on-site that are non-living. The living was thanks to the internet. We can now analyze
elements (flora and fauna) are included in the patterns of development with the click of a button and
Biological category. Cultural factors remain the same compare/contrast different projects to determine what
with the addition of infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc). makes them work. Citing case studies for programming
ensures to some degree that a project will be
Programming Methods
successful because a similar project has been done
For this class, we can define programming as the before.
process of identifying the objectives of the project and
Who Makes The Program?
its compatibility with the site. LaGro Jr. (2008)
describes the process as requiring information about The program may be prepared by the client alone or
user needs, the site, and both successful/unsuccessful together with the architect and other consultants. For
design precedents. LaGro further describes the smaller projects like a single detached dwelling, the
following methods of programming: client would usually have an idea of what they need -
no formal programming is necessary. However, for a
1. Goal Setting - Goldman and Peatross (1993)
more complex project like an apartment or mall, the
describe how identifying goals can be done in the
client is usually a private company with a team of
following steps: Initiating the project, developing the
consultants analyzing market data, demographics, and
project mission/objectives, determine operational and
economic trends. In this situation, the program is
physical requirements, and finally documenting and
already well defined and the architect will just need to
presenting to the client. The program emerges from
comply. Architectural firms tend to have a bigger hand
the list of requirements produced from Goal Setting.
in the programming process if they have the resources
2. Data Collection - Identifying several factors related and experience.
to the project which include, client goals, market
demand, legal context, project budget, and existing
site conditions. There was a survey by Preiser (1985, SITE ASSESSMENT PHASE
p.11) which found the most common methods of
gathering program data as follows (first being the most
popular): Interviews, surveys, document analysis,
behavioral observation, visiting a state-of-the-art
project, literature search, and "Other" (charrettes,
workshops, and discussions). The collection of relevant
data will lead to a program that considers all several
factors at once.

3. Site and Context - It is essential in professional

practice to perform regular site visits to assess the
context of the project location. During site visits, it
would be prudent to take photographs and notes on
significant features of the site. Larger design firms
would even have formal documentation for such
activities. From this list of on-site observations, a
program that is perceptive to the needs of the project
location.

Once the objectives and stakeholders are identified

and a Program is made accordingly, the second phase
of the site planning process (Site Assessment) can
begin. In professional practice, both phases overlap but
in order for us to study the process, they are identified
as two distinct steps. The activities in this second
phase include Site Selection, Site Inventory, and Site
Analysis.

Site Selection

The site selection process contributes to sustainable

development such that a site chosen with a specific
program in mind should require fewer inputs (energy,
materials, funding, etc.) and lesser negative outputs
(waste, pollutants, etc.). For example, organizations
like the US Green Building Council have advised
developers to build on infill sites. An infill site is an area
that has been previously used - it usually has existing
buildings and is repurposed for a new project. In this
way, the site (input) is reused and the waste (output)
 SITE PLANNING 1 NOTES
coming from new land development is eliminated.
Below are the steps of the site selection process, which
include:

1. Identifying Objectives and Requirements

2. Identify Site Selection Criteria

3. Identifying Potential Sites

4. Evaluating Potential Sites

5. Ranking Potential Sites

6. Conducting a Feasibility Study of Best Site

The steps are very self-explanatory and we'll discuss

them further in the next few modules.
Site Analysis

This is where all the data gathered from previous steps

are summarized and studied. "Buildable" and
undesirable elements are determined based on the
program. The analysis is prepared by the designers
and presented to the client so that everyone is in
agreement. As much as possible all relevant items are
considered so that there will be minimal changes in the
design and construction phases.

The image above identifies a list of items that are

considered in site analysis. Planning in this diagram
refers to the activity of reviewing schemes for site
development. This is also very much related
to Landscape Architecture, the experts of
maintaining and improving the natural environment.
Next, is Architecture, the architect must consider how
Site Inventory
the building will impact the site, its immediate
The goal of this activity is to list down or map all the surroundings, and how it fits into the
important physical, city. Engineers provide the utilities needed for any
biological, and cultural attributes. Similar to our project, water, electricity, and telecommunications to
managing resources assignment designers will have to name a few. Real Estate refers to the economic
observe the site, taking note of its significant features. factors that are relevant to the project. For example in
These may include circulation patterns and traffic a subdivision or residential development, real estate
volumes, existing utility systems, or architectural consultants can determine realistic estimates on cost
character within the surrounding built environment. On and profits. And finally, the Law considers regulations
smaller-scale projects site inventories are relatively and standards in the Philippines, this can be easily
easy to make while on larger projects more found in PD 1096 the National Building Code of the
comprehensive observations and analysis are Philippines.
required.

o Physical - Soil (bearing capacity,

porosity, stability, acidity, etc.),
Topography (elevation, slope, aspect,
etc.), Hydrology (surface drainage,
water chemistry, aquifers, etc.),
Geology (landforms, seismic hazards,
depth to bedrock, etc.), and Climate
(solar access, winds, fog pockets, etc.)

o Biological - Vegetation (plant

communities, specimen trees, exotic
invasive species, etc), Wildlife (Habitats
for endangered species)

o Cultural - Land use (prior use, land

use of adjoining properties), Legal
(political boundaries, land ownership,
land use regulations, etc.), Utilities
(water supply, waste sewer, electric,
gas, telecommunications, etc.),
Circulation (street function, traffic
volume, etc.), Sensory (visibility, visual
quality, noise, odors, etc.)