Site analysis - Project “Scout”

Place is the prerequisite for my architecture. It is the necessary component that supports and provides meaning to my work. The specific characteristics of a site provide opportunities for engaging the landscape in ways that are unique to each project. My design process always begins with a site analysis that is both quantitative and qualitative. How does water move on a site? What is the nature of the forest? I note the winds and the views while always thinking of the sun. In Montana, light is both a cherished and mysterious element. I consider how the sun tracks across the sky from sunrise to sunset and how it differs from season to season. I treasure the light that filters down through a grove of lodge-pole pines as well as the harsh glare reflected off the water. How does a place feel in bright sunlight? On a foggy morning? On a cold day? Or bathed in the last light of a waning sunset?

No two places are alike, and therefore neither are any two of my buildings. I then ask myself questions anew each time I set foot on a site, adjusting my perceptions through careful observation. What are the ordinary experiences that make each place extraordinary? In the end, the questions I ask are more important than the answers, as I strive to develop true connections between the client's building’s and their site’s. Throughout the process, the two become inseparable.

Figure 1.0 - Aerial of the site. The parcel is amongst several other adjacent properties, so privacy and seclusion are of the utmost importance.

Project introduction

Last year, a family approached me to develop a modern home on their 4-acre waterfront lake parcel in northwestern Montana. Both parents and their child were discussing a home that will serve as a getaway during the hot, Phoenix summer months. The program they are proposing involves separate buildings for public, communal space and privacy for both themselves and the occasional guest(s). The location of the property they acquired will remain private for the duration of the project, but the site itself is of greater importance and will be discussed in more comprehensive detail.

The site is the first of two parcels to be developed on this side of the lake. The clients purchased this parcel almost 10 years ago as they knew they have always wanted to live on a lake. The home, having been one of the first properties to be developed, the clients aptly named their home “Scout” for its pioneering and explorative location. The site provides an incredible view of a mountain range, while a small island dots the center of the lake. The clients suggested they wanted to see both features, so in time, selective clearing may be necessary, however, only to frame significant views and limit site disturbance. A large, wooded grove closest to the road will block noise from eventual traffic and provide visual privacy. The grade of the site gently sweeps down to the lake and tapers off within the 100ft shoreline setback. According to the regulations of this particular development, structures of any type are prohibited within 100ft of the shoreline and 10ft from any property lines. With that in mind, selecting a prime build site left a very limited area in which anything could be disturbed. The selection was based on optimal views, prospect/ refuge, solar gain, topography, climate, vegetation buffers, rock outcroppings and minimal site disturbance. The image below illustrates the ideal strip of land for the home and constraints of the site.

Figure 1.1 - Site analysis including property extensions, setbacks, views and an ideal location for the home.

Solar orientation

Given the sun rises from the east, the house should take full advantage of morning light and afternoon sun. Preferably, the home will be situated with an eastern and southern façade, respectively. The longest side of the house should also face east and west, giving the public and private spaces equal amounts of light. Large, expansive windows will face south and public spaces will be the primary concern as they are used much more during the day. The communal spaces will need extra light for activities such as cooking, dining, working and playing in the activities sector of the home. The clients also suggested leaving some shaded areas that will allow them to enjoy the outdoors without the need for wearing sunglasses or the need for shading or canopies. A choice will be given for the private spaces to be situated facing the sun (for the early risers) while some will face the forest of trees for a secluded and darker semi-private space.

Looking east towards the northeastern portion of the lake.

At the local boat ramp looking east towards the mountain ranges in the distance.

House siting

A house can enhance and interpret the possibilities of the land. The character and topography of the landscape, surrounding vegetation and orientation provide an opportunity for a house to be absolutely specific, to be rooted. A dwelling can create its own ecosystem, as specific to a location as lichen on the north face of a stone.

In Figure 1.1 (above), the ideal development strip maintains the views, has level grade and is a candidate for a slab or possibly piers. Piers would alleviate the need for excessive blasting, but a slab would work in areas that are not prone to ledge. According to the geotechnical engineer, the soils are well drained (a mixture of sand and loam) but do have some sharp ledge in the areas indicated on the site plan. Without the need for tall foundation walls and a basement, the budget can be kept tight and the money can be allocated elsewhere.

When siting a home, I use two primary tools to engage in the expansive conversation of location. The first is the development and choice of a site. Siting a building is not merely a matter of choosing a pleasing location. It is accessing and responding to the primary forces of a place—-the scale of the landscape, the direction of the sun, the approach, the prospect—all of the qualities and character offered by the context. A rise of the land, a copse of trees referencing a distant view, the story told in the approach—-all help the transition between the greater world and the inner home.

For me, it is the structure that forms the bridge from the city or landscape to prepare the ground for dwelling. The scale of structure mediates between enormity and intimacy, setting the domain that affords opportunities of privacy and occupation.

Stay tuned for the schematic design phase, where I will discuss the next steps and design ideas for the home.

Site analysis primer

Architecture always requires thorough site analysis and is crucial in the first step of starting a project. After receiving the survey and geotechnical reports, you generally have enough information to start evaluating the climatic, geographical, historical, social, legal and infrastructural context within your site. As a result of receiving all this information, you begin to research, analyze and synthesize the data in order to make calculated decisions that will inform the next steps in the design process. Using your collected data and information, you will figure out that certain site conditions will have greater influence over design parameters when applying the findings in order to begin the schematic design and programming phase.

When presenting the site analysis, it should include a visual representation of the site in the form of on-site photographs, sketches, site mapping and overlaid diagrams. Site analysis diagrams are the tools that begin to illustrate the origins of the design process, what is possible, and what are the conditions that influence decision making.

Typically the people who are involved in the site analysis will vary based on project size, design team size, and a site’s relative proximity, but the process will always benefit from being collaborative. The majority of projects you will encounter can and will require consulting with land surveying services and engineers, both geotechnical and civil, who can provide answers to questions surrounding topography, soils, hydrology, utilities, zoning and land uses. Your analysis should also include consideration and input from the community members in which the project is based and thus impacting the most.

Creating a site analysis diagram is essentially mapping information. There are many different types of site analysis diagrams. They can be narrative, subjective or objective. If your goal is to tell a story or present the findings of your information at face value, it can essentially be formatted to fit your needs. Depending on your specific format it will reveal the relationships of your findings in different ways — take the time to utilize a method of diagramming that best reveals the characteristics of your site and guides you into your design process.

Site analysis will most likely continue throughout the design process as new questions and ideas arise. The process of translating your data collection into visual information reveals patterns that could not have been understood otherwise. Starting with your base survey drawing or plan view image while superimposing your data collection on top, you can begin to take note of how various characteristics of the site interact or influence each other, revealing how relationships are formed between different qualities. Superimposing or extruding multiple data sets over your base site drawing is just one way of diagramming that may emphasize that the characteristics of the site do not exist in a bubble, but all play into one another.

As with any map, the decisions made in terms of what information is included and excluded gives importance to information. You can create visual hierarchies to further distinguish which details of your site analysis findings hold significance moving forward in the design process. This can be done through line weight or repetition of information.

There is no format for producing a site analysis diagram — you will find that historically different methods of producing site analysis diagrams have been used to serve the interests of various influential voices or motives of a given project. Some site analysis diagrams are more schematic, potentially for the purpose of simplifying information, although this can be reductive; others take on a more experiential or representational style, which can be effective in reaching a more spatially or visually oriented viewer.

As an architectural designer, you have the ability to use all aspects of a project to further articulate the concepts of the eventual architecture you’re aiming to produce. In preparation for beginning the design phase of a project, it is crucial to familiarize and understand the context in which you’re designing to the best of your abilities. In observing the material conditions and history of a site, sitting with these characteristics and their implications, you can begin to ground an architectural project in reality.

The questions that are answered through the process of site analysis will lead you into the programming/schematic design phase, inform the decisions made throughout the remainder of the design process, and, if done successfully, should reflect the needs of the community the project sits within. You may very well find that the site assigned is not well suited for the project at hand. There is no better indication for the success of an architectural project than its ability to meet the needs of those who utilize and are most impacted by it.

Stay tuned for our upcoming project’s site analysis.

Tabula rasa.

With a new year approaching and the pandemic still lingering, my first blog post aims to explore a new approach to an architectural practice and not a typical, trite resolution. I will be striving to re-imagine or re-tool the canvas of today’s stodgy architectural practice. My ultimate goal is to establish a clean slate or a ‘tabula rasa,’ in which it provides exceptional design with recession-proof and sustainable income streams. Given the current state of how we live, this blog will provide insights and ideas that help others with their next project, the inquisitive student, or decipher the subtle nuances of an architectural lifestyle, all in a digital format.

I want tf_wrks to embody thoughtful, environmentally responsible design strategies, while depicting site analysis, theory, design and construction. Architects, now more than ever, should be thinking differently about how a person uses a space, rather than how it photographs for an industry magazine’s perennial award spread. For me, there is an intense yearning for structures and landscapes that span generations but also respond to the modern world in which we live, all the while avoiding self-indulgent notoriety. But hey, are we not architects? Egomaniacal behavior and inflated egos come with the territory.

Feel free to follow along with the first project located on a lake in Montana followed by next year’s New England farm project. I will be documenting the process here on the blog, Instagram and eventually making YouTube videos in the future to bring it to a larger audience. Wishing you a prosperous new year.