1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design
Job No: PD0710-67/3184Chapter 3 final (3.2)_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 7:41 AM Page 82
TextThe design projectSite, context and placeOccasionally, through its location, resources or cultural
significance, a site provokes a project to come into
being. Most often, development is triggered simply by
availability or the opportunity for re-use of a site. The
demands of the site can transcend those of the client
because every building, no matter how private, belongs
to the public: its users include those who walk around
it every day, whether they are invited to enter or not.
A single building is only a fragment of an urban, rural or
suburban composition and will never be experienced in
isolation. Therefore, it cannot be designed in isolation.
The physical composition of a site contributes to making
it a distinct place through the particular arrangement, type,
scale and materiality of buildings or topography. Overlaid on
its physical composition is a social, political, economic and
cultural context, which influences the way that people use
the site and which gives it its character. The character of a
place is what distinguishes it from other places. This gives
meaning to our experience of being there; it can inspire the
users of the place and the architects asked to design there.
Our shared human reaction to a place is created by the
dynamic of the physical site and its cultural context. This
dynamic needs to be understood and interrogated by the
architect preparing to design there. The information to be
sought is tangible and intangible, objective and subjective.
It ranges from the physical measurements and geology of
a site to the atmosphere of that place at different times of
the day or the emotional reaction of its inhabitants, perhaps
to a significant event in the past.
The architect must visit, observe, participate in and record
the site. Their perception must be heightened if they are to
understand complex and subtle facts and reactions to the
site that are not always expressed by the inhabitants. As
with all complex architectural problems, the architect must
use their critical judgement to discriminate and set priorities
because an attempt to express all the characteristics of
a place equally is likely to result in a shallow rendition or
meaningless cacophony. The architect must pursue what
seems most relevant and what they understand best.
They must communicate in a way that leaves scope for
interpretation and adjustment for change in the future.Typical activities
at this stage
Site visits
Sketching
Surveying
Photography
Gathering information
Managing complexity
Collaboration
Site analysis
Mapping
Site strategy1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design
Job No: PD0710-67/3184Chapter 3 final (3.2)_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 7:42 AM Page 82