The site

Any area which has played a significant role in the history of a country. Such significance may be:

 Historical
 Cultural
 Archaeological
 Sociological
 Scientific and Economical

Definition of site planning

 Site for human activities may be divided into lots, street patterns and provided with such
facilities such as water, sewer, power, drainage, etc.
 Every site is a unique interconnected web of things and activities that imposes limitations and
offers possibilities. A site varies in size, location, and characteristics.
 The art of arranging structures on the land and shaping the spaces between; an art linked to
architecture, engineering, landscape architecture and city planning – Kevin Lynch
 Site planning occurs after strategic planning has taken place and after the land use has been
decided in relation to social, economic, and environmental needs.
 Site planning involves planning for a smaller urban area already defined for commercial,
residential, industrial, recreational, or mixed used development.
 Site planning determines the detailed layout of an area so that it functions effectively in relation
to a given range of land uses on the site and others around it.

Site planning is working out the detail of:

1. What should happen to a given area of land?

2. How it should happen?
3. What will it cost to implement and manage proposed developments on the area of land?

Brief history of site planning

Four basic models of site planning in history:

 Fixing the Place

 Defining the Enclosure
 Sense of Order
 Form of Axial

SITE SELECTION

 The process selects from a list of potential sites one that suits best the given use and
requirements of the project.
 DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABILITY PROCESS

 This process selects the best possible use and development suited for a given site.

SITE ANALYSIS

 Analysis of the building site which includes the assessment of its better features as well as its
constraints and liabilities.
 It involves the evaluation of an existing or potential site in relation to the development program,
environmental impact, impact on the community and adjacent properties, project budget and
schedule.
 Site appreciation and analysis can be earned out in either of the following two situations:

1. Site factors – relating to the characteristics of the site.

2. Use factors – relating to the proposed use of the site.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE BY DEFINITION

LANDSCAPE

- German “landschaft” – small collection of bldgs. as a human concentration in a circle of pasture

or cultivated space surrounded by wilderness.

SCHAP – ship

LAND – ground or soil

- The most basic commodity

- Becomes landscape when it is described or seen in terms of physiographical & environmental
characteristics.

LANDSCAPE – a picture of natural inland scenery.

Landscape Architecture concerns:

- With planning & design of land & water for use by society

Planning

- Futuristic approach to land

- Land is regarded as a resource to be considered in relation to demands & predicted needs of
society & its values.

Design

- Qualitative &function arrangement of parcels of land set aside in the planning process for some
specific social purpose such as housing education or recreation.
- Planning & design suggest man-made, or man regulated landscapes.

Landscape Architecture is both science and art.

 - Planning and design is further articulated with the attributes and concepts of management and
stewardship of the land taking advantage of scientific research and technology. It aims to achieve
an environment which is purposeful because it is useful, enjoyable, healthy, and safe.

Republic Act 9053 of 2000

- As signed in 2001 recognizing the full status of Landscape Architecture as a new profession.
Graduates of landscape architecture will therefore have to take the licensure examination given
by the professional regulation commission.
- Like interior design, it ceases to remain a specialization of building architects. Graduates of
Architecture and related courses may however opt to take this program as a second profession.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT’S ROLE

1. Landscape architects contribute to City Planning and Policy Making

- Landscape planning is a recognized subset of Landscape Architecture. Landscape planners assess
and resolve environmental, economic, and social opportunities, advise on policymaking, prepare
strategy within legal frameworks, prepare green infrastructure plans and implementation
strategies, master planning for development and regeneration schemes.
2. Landscape architects manage water and stormwater.
- Landscape architects instill the basic/foundational practice of water conservation across various
scales. They use green infrastructure approaches like bioswales, retention and detention ponds,
green roofs, rain gardens, pervious paving to combat flooding during storms/disaster and
conserve water in the times of water scarcity.
3. Landscape architects design Transportation solutions
- Landscape architects are often hired to design multi-use transportation corridors, which are
inclusive of all users. A complete street accommodates pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, people
with disabilities and people who use public transport.
4. Landscape architects support active lifestyles by creating community/ public and open parks.
- City spaces and public parks are a tangible reflection of the quality of life in a community. They
provide and identity for citizens and are a major factor in the perception of the quality of life of a
given area.
5. Landscape architects contribute to sustainability goals and energy saving.
- Sustainability is a very integral component of landscape design approaches. Landscape architects
try to achieve the same in various ways:
a. Improving energy efficiency through planning
b. Improving water management
c. Incorporating healthy ecological designs
d. Use of low impact materials.

COMPONENTS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

LANDS ASSESSMENT & LAND PLANNING

 - Concerned with regional scale land use, environmental impact predictions.
- Concerned with systematic evaluation of large areas of land in terms of land’s suitability or
capability for any likely future use.
- The selection of land suitable for urbanization should depend on an assessment of its fragility
and its value for other uses.
- The creation of environment that satisfies the functional needs of the project while remaining
sensitive to local site conditions.
- Concerned with analysis of site.
- The site planning and the detailed design for specific projects seeks to improve the quality of the
landscape, producting tangible forms with structures and with plants whose growth results in
chaing appearances with the deseasons passage of time.
- Provides design services and prepares detailed layouts for a wide variety of projects including
but not limited to:
 Open space
 Housing projects
 Residential areas
 School grounds, university, and college campuses
 Urban parks
 Campgrounds
 Downtown shopping malls
 Streets systems
 Industrial parks
 Waterfront projects

DOMAIN OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

 Architectural Communication
 Design
 Ecology and Planning
 Construction and Technology
 Professional Practice/Ethics

SITE INVENTORY: PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

TYPES OF DATA

 Mega – the very large, or huge context of the site including the suburbs and even the larger city
conditions and relationships.

1. Location
 Geographic Location – identify the site location address, lot number or reference.
 Site survey – obtain the site survey document and identify the significant information on this
document.
 Aerial photographs and maps – obtain historical and current photographs and maps of the site,
suburb and surrounds and identify the significant information on these documents.
 Site boundary – identify the boundary locations and confirm it is clear and correct on the
physical site.
 Dimensions – determine the size, dimensions, angles, shape, and proportion or radii of the site.

2. Legal
 Site identification – confirm the registered site address, lot number or legal reference.
 Title and ownership – obtain the site title document, the legal owner or titleholder, and the
status of mortgages or multiple mortgages on the site.
 Caveats – caveats or legal action pending on the site that prevents access, development, or
construction.
 Easements and rights of way – identify any legal overlays that give another permission to use the
site or prevent the owner from accessing or building on any part of the site.

3. Authorities
 Zoning – obtain zoning plans or documents. Determine the zoning of the site under local
authorities and the allowances and restrictions for development and building under this zoning.
 Overlays – obtain overlay plan or documents. Determine any heritage, environmental or other
overlays of the site and the allowance and restriction for development and building under these
overlays.
 Flood levels – obtain flood records. Identify regular floods in the area.
 Protected animal or plant species – identify any protected plant or animal species or tree
preservation orders.
 Other development controls – obtain other development controls and local authorities
documents and identify development restrictions or requirements.
 Development application requirements – the process of applying for development approval and
the requirements of your local authorities in terms of site analysis, meetings, documentation,
report, community consultation, timeframes lodgment process etc.

4. Utilities & infrastructure

 Sewer – underground and above-ground pipes, access, substations, and connection point
location/s.
 Water – underground and above-ground pipes, access, substations, and connection point
location/s.
 Gas - underground and above-ground pipes, access, substations, and connection point
location/s.
 Electricity - underground and above-ground wires, cables, power poles, substations, and
connection point location/s.
 Communications – underground and above-ground telephone and internet wires, cables power
poles, access, substations, and connection point location/s.
 Fire underground and above-ground pipes, hydrants, access, and connection point location/s.
5. Adjacent structures & conditions
 Land uses – the different uses of adjacent sites, spaces and structures.
 Adjacent natural conditions – natural conditions on adjacent sites of the site.
 Adjacent artificial conditions – artificial or human-made conditions on adjacent sides of the site
including private properties or public footpaths, entries or roadways.
 Distance – the distances of the adjacent sites, spaces and structures from the site.
 Heights – the different heights of adjacent sites, spaces, and structures.
 Vernacular – the different vernacular, styles or characteristics of adjacent sites, spaces and
structures.

6. Streetscape, elevations, and sections

 Streetscape panoramas of the site – panoramic photographs to show the extent of the site and
adjacent conditions and communicate character, form, and materials.
 Street and site elevations – elevation at the boundary and or center of the street to show levels,
boundaries, allowed building envelope, vegetations, and existing structures as well as and
adjacent conditions to include buildings and structure height and distance.
 Site sections – cut showing levels, boundaries, vegetations, and existing structures as well as
adjacent conditions to include buildings and structure height and distances.

7. Natural physical conditions

 Typography – obtain any existing surveys and confirm the accuracy of contours, levels above sea
level, gradients and slopes and existing terrain.
 Vegetation – identify the vegetation and different species on the site including trees,
 Geology, soil type and state – obtain any geotechnical or soil reports.
 Animal species – any animal, bird or insect species of significance and the requirements of and
obligations to these species.
 Natural qualities and characteristics – the natural materials, textures, colors and patterns of the
natural environment in and around the site.

8. Buildings and structures

 Existing buildings or structures on the site including the use, heights, distances, materials,
and conditions.
 Roads and kerbs – Roads and/or kerbs on, entering, or adjacent to the site and the
materials, levels, dimensions, and conditions.
 Footpaths – Footpaths on, entering, or adjacent to the site and the materials, levels,
dimensions, and conditions.
 Ground surfaces and materials – Different ground materials on, entering, or adjacent to the
site and the materials, steps, levels and changes, dimensions, and conditions.
 Street furniture – street furniture on or adjacent to the site.
 Materials textures colors and patterns – the materials, textures, colors, and patterns across
the site and any themes or opportunities.
 Artificial features or highlights – human-made elements of specific interest, relevance or
significance.
 Items to retain, remove, and improve – what needs to be retained removed or improved.
9. Climate
 Sun path, solar gain, and shadows - A good sun study will show sun direction and resultant
shadows for at least 3 different times of the day (eg. 9am, 12pm and 3pm) at different times
of the year.
 Precipitation – The high, low, median, and average rain, snow, and humidity for 4seasons
including rain, snow, hail, and humidity.
 Temperature – The seasonal changes in temperature including the high, low, median, and
average temperature for each of the 4seasons.
 Wind – The wind direction and intensity for each of the seasons, areas of exposure that require
shelter and elements that provide existing shelter from the wind.

10. Hazard and risks]

 Exposed services (electricity, telephone, sewage, water, gas) – Are there any wires, pipes, open
access panels or other services elements that could cause damage, trip, or fall?
 Machinery – Machinery in storage or operation on or nearby that someone could walk into, or
access?
 Drainage – Where is the drainage point/son and from the site? What is the path of water across
the site? Could this be dangerous in heavy rains or if there is a blockage of drainage?
 Natural events – Flooding, landslides, volcanoes, cyclones – What is the frequency of natural
events? What has the impact been on the site in the past?
 Derelict buildings – Are there abandoned buildings or structures that have dangerous, loose
materials or elements that could collapse, or cause someone to trip or fall?
 Unfinished building works – Is there partly finished building works that could collapse, or cause
someone to trip or fall?

11. Site history and significance

 Previous use/s – A brief (bullet point) history and previous uses of the site.
 Contamination – A summary of manufacturing, industrial or other processes or operations that
could have or are contaminating the site.
 Archaeological significance – Anything previously built on the site that could still be present
under the ground in some form. Known inhabitants on the site or local area that could have
inhabited the site or left any objects or remnants of historical significance on it.
 Historical significance – Anything about the site, the past uses, the structures, or the people who
used the site that is significant or needs to be preserved, recognized, or considered in the design.
 Cultural significance – Anything significant about the site in terms of the ideas, customs and
social behavior of a particular people or local group of society.
 Demographic significance – The science that deals with populations and their structures,
statistically and theoretically to consider who are the people who live in the area, what are their
needs and how might this affect the project.
 Planning 1 Reviewer

Three related planning paradigms

- Smart growth
- New urbanism
- Sustainable design

Communities aspiring to become more sustainable and livable are taking steps to attain the following
attributes:

1. Open space systems that protect site natural resources and provide recreational opportunities.
2. Site and architectural designs that enrich public open spaces,
3. Mixed and integrated uses with a diversity of housing types and prices.
4. A center that combines commercial, civic, and cultural uses.
5. Multimodal transportation systems (pedestrian, bicycle, transit, automobiles)

Responsiveness to site and contextual conditions demands consideration of diverse constraints. These
conditions include the following:

- Sun and wind exposure

- Lot size and shape
- Location in relation to transportation systems
- Significant vegetation, topography, and other natural features
- Prominent vistas and views of natural or cultural landmarks
- Building scale and character
- Conceptual design in site planning follows and flows directly from the site inventory and analysis.
- Analysis of the site and its context typically reveal biophysical and cultural features that limit the
number of feasible design configurations.
- The lack of site character also makes it more challenging to create a unique sense of place.

DESIGN DETERMINANTS

- Significant site and contextual conditions are design determinants that shape, or inform, the
development of sustainable site plans.
- Design determinants include on-site and off-site factors.
- Design determinants provide the basis, or rationale, for organizing and articulating the program
on the site.

Program and Preferences

- The project’s objectives or program plays an obvious role in determining how a site is designed.
- These activities range from private sector real estate development to public-sector nature
conservation and restoration.
- Depending on the type of project, the client may even have preferences regarding design style,
theme, or character.
On-Site Form Determinants

- design determinants include intrinsic site features that are retained, undisturbed, in the site
plan.
- A steep, wooded slope or other natural or cultural features lends character to the site and
contributes to the site’s unique sense of place. These elements can be viewed as development
constraints that, if disturbed, would have negative environmental or community impacts.

- Important on-site form determinants include the following:

1. Physical conditions
2. Regulations and standards (zoning codes, building codes, land development codes, and
design guidelines).
- The site boundary or interface with off site properties or public infrastructure is a particularly
important site planning consideration.
- Ecological linkages between the site and the surrounding landscape can be maintained and
strengthened through undeveloped open spaces or conservation areas.
- These open spaces not only have significant ecological value but also can provide recreational
and educational opportunities, in addition to visual amenity value.

Off-site Form Determinants

- Off-site features often influence the location and organization of program elements on the site.
- Adjacent streets or transit stops suggest preferred locations for providing access to the site.
- Land development regulations also routinely affect the design of site entrances. Local
development regulations commonly limit the number of entrances, or “curb cuts”, to a site and
impose a minimum distance requirement between site entrances and nearby street
intersections.
- Off-site conditions can include nuisances, such as a busy highway, that impact the site with
noise, odors, and undesirable views.
- Uses that are less sensitive to negative impacts can be sited closer than the other, more
sensitive, uses.
- Other design determinants include off-site features such as a prominent iconic building.
- Neighborhood, community, and regional character.
- Nearby buildings and infrastructure.

Design Theory

- Is a set of guiding principles and strategies for making design decisions.

- Encompasses the decision-making process.
- Encompasses assorted “rules of thumb” for organizing program components on any given site,
and for articulating those components through more detailed design.

Creativity & Conceptual Design

- Site selection is largely an optimization problem aimed at finding an available site that can best
satisfy the project objectives.
 - Once a site is selected, identifying its constraints and opportunities is an effort to understand the
“puzzle” that the site poses for the program under consideration.
- And an acceptable site plan is not only one that best meets the project objectives as defined by
the client, but also by the community in which the site is located.
- Community goals expressed in various ways including comprehensive plans, zoning codes, and
development review standards-generally seek to promote public health, safety, and welfare.
- Creative problem solving by Kvashny (1982, p. 1-07),
1. Facts
2. Problems
3. Ideas
4. Solutions
5. Acceptance
- The programming and site inventory phases involve fact finding.
- This assessment identifies “problems” and “ideas”.
- Conceptual design and subsequent design development generate “solutions” that seek to avoid
or, in some cases, overcome the site’s constraints.
- These solutions are communicated, evaluated, and if approved by the client and the other key
stakeholders implemented.
- Site planning involves judgements of relevance.
- Site planning also involves acts of creating, including arranging and articulating project
components and assessing the implications of those decisions.
- Site planning excellence can make significant contributions to the development of sustainable
built environments. Or the environment in the future.
- There are significant consequences for poor site planning. These impacts range from exposing
people to life and property risk to making people endure inconvenience and visually unattractive
surroundings.
- Protecting public health, safety, and welfare is the primary reason for licensing professional
landscape architects, and engineers.

SITE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

Design development

1. Sustainability and livability

2. Why does appearance matter?
3. Spatial organization
4. Principles of composition
5. Creating order
6. Open space
7. Circulation systems
8. Buildings
1. SUSTAINABILITY AND LIVABILITY
 Smart growth “principles” are relatively broad policy goals that help guide both capital
investment in public infrastructure and the regulation of land development over a hierarchy of
scales from the regional to the local. Creating sustainable and livable communities requires
implementation.
 Ensuring that future generations have the resources they need to pursue their goals is a core
precept of sustainable development.
 Sustainable site planning as discussed entails five actions.
1. Protect the environment from unnecessary impacts.
2. Restore environmentally degraded areas.
3. Reuse already developed sites.
4. Build compact, distinctive, walkable places.
5. Conserve resources.

2. Why does appearance matter?

 Design theory is concerned with form and indirect appearance because the form of the built
environment directly affects its function.
 The spatial organization and articulation of the built environment its buildings, open spaces,
and transportation systems are fundamental determinants of community sustainability and
quality of life.
 Urban form also concerns the physiognomy or visible outer surface, of the built
environment.
 An appreciation for well-designed built environments is not the exclusive domain of
professional planners, architects, and landscape architects.
 The design of the physical environment affects quality of life and, consequently, location
preferences for housing choices and other location decisions that people make in their daily
lives.
 Richard Florida (2022), The Rise of the Creative Class, writes that better educated higher
income professionals essentially “vote with their feet” and seek regions and cities with a
high quality of life, which is often the result of plentiful public open space, environmental
quality, and visually attractive built environments.
 The organization and articulation of the built environment influences human experiences
and preferences. The scale and character of a community, for example, determines how easy
or difficult, and how pleasant or unpleasant, it is to live within the community.
 Every community, therefore, should closely examine the quality of their built environment
and ask a variety of questions. Do most school children walk to school, or does vehicle traffic
make it too dangerous? Do tourists visit? Do prospective employees, with skilled workforce
needs, move here? If not, why not?

3. Spatial organization
 Open space is a vital component of any community, and its location and design play a
very important role in how the community is experienced. Space—whether inside
buildings or outdoors—is defined by a ground plane, and to varying extents, a vertical
plane and overhead plane.
  Any built environment can be viewed as a three-dimensional “design” that at it’s most
basic, sculptural level is composed of masses and voids. These three-dimensional
compositions are derived from elements in the ground or “floor” plane and, in many
instances, also in the vertical or ‘wall’ plane and the overhead or “ceiling” plane.
 Good design, from and aesthetic or visual perspective, creates an integrated and
harmonious ensemble of forms, colors, and other visible qualities that, together,
comprise a coherent and unified whole.

4. Principles of Composition

Unity

 Most comprehensive of the three principles. Visual unity is achieved through the following:
1. Repetition of similar qualities and similar elements.
2. Simplicity limiting the number or” palette” of different qualities and elements.
3. Rhythm
4. Proportion
 In nature, landscapes undisturbed by development or other significant human activities
epitomize the principle of unity. Vernacular landscapes throughout the world also exhibit this
appealing characteristic visual unity with subtle, yet extensive variation.
 Unity in the built environment implies both internal coherence and compatibility with the
surroundings. Visual coherence may occur over a range of spatial scales, from landscapes and
communities down to neighborhoods, blocks, and individual sites.

Balance

 Balance refers to the visual “weight” associated with color, form, texture, and other visible
qualities of the built environment.
 Balance is a relative term, with the “weight” of an element or composition being important in
relation to a reference point or line.
 A balanced composition successfully manages:
1. Weight of visible attributes
2. Scale

Emphasis

 The third major aesthetic principle of composition is established when a building or other design
element is distinct, in some way, from other nearby elements.
 This is often accomplished, as follows:
1. Contrast adds interest or creates focal points.
2. Hierarchy

5. Creating order
 Geometry is important in the organization and articulation of the built environment.
Geometric frameworks provide consistency in organizing and arranging disparate materials
and components.
Rectilinear Theme

 In a rectilinear framework, elements are organized as follows:

1. Straight lines
2. Right angles
3. Squares and rectangles

Angular Theme

 In an angular framework, the parts or the key elements are organized as follows:
1. Points
2. Radiating lines and acute or obtuse angles
3. Triangles and hexagons

Curvilinear Theme

 In a curvilinear framework, the key parts or elements are organized by the following:
1. Generative points
2. Arcs and tangents
3. Circles and semi-circles

Combined Themes

 The rectilinear, angular, and curvilinear frameworks are frequently combined to create
hybrid themes where two or more geometric patterns are juxtaposed.

6. Open space
 Protecting sensitive natural areas is a fundamental goal of good site planning. These open
spaces provide a wide range of environmental, economic, and social goods and services and
are essential components of sustainable and livable communities.
 Open spaces in the built environment span a diverse range of modifications, from the
relatively undisturbed natural or conservation open spaces to the developed open spaces,
including entirely paved, architectonic urban plazas.

Conservation open space:

 Woodland
 Grassland
 Water

Developed “hard” open space.”

 Plaza
 Promenade
 Courtyard

Developed “soft” open space:

 Lawn
 Garden
  Park

CONSERVATION OPEN SPACE

 Conservation open space provides a range of benefits that society values, including the
protection of natural resources, opportunities for outdoor recreation, and aesthetic amenity.

 “key socioeconomic trends most notably, population growth, rising incomes, development, and
increasing open space scarcity motivate interest and support for preserving open space, when
open space lands remain unprotected” -Kline and Wichelns.

DEVELOPED OPEN SPACE

 Communities can limit urban sprawl and reduce the loss of open space by encouraging the
redevelopment of previously developed sites.

 Meaningful outdoor spaces are an essential component of a well-designed community.

Developed open space includes both “soft” and “hard” spaces. These outdoor “rooms” and
“corridors” when human-scaled, appropriately furnished, and functionally linked are vital to
community livability.

 Well-designed open spaces can strengthen a community’s identity or “sense of place,” add value
to real estate within the community and provide a safe environment that is conducive to active
living.

 “lost” spaces typically poorly defined and often neglected are missed opportunities to improve
the visual quality, human scale, and walkability of the built environment.

 Open spaces are created by the strategic arrangement of site elements. The primary method of
enclosing outdoor space is by organizing the built environment’s solids or mass primarily
buildings.

 Sense of enclosure is influenced by the height of the defining wall planes and the dimensions of
the open space. An outdoor spaces’ “sense of enclosure” is strong at a height/width ration of 1:2
or 1:3.

 Buildings have a significant effect on microclimate, which is an important consideration in the

design of outdoor urban space.

 In warmer climates, shade is valued for its cooling effects. Plants serve many different, yet vital,
functions in the built environment, including providing shade. In cooler climates, sunlight in
public spaces is not only valued but also mandated by ordinance in some cities.

7. CIRCULATION SYSTEM
  Physical planning at the site scale is where many of the broad neighborhood and community
goals are realized.
 Livability connotes a walkable, safe, and healthy environment served by a multimodal and
highly interconnected transportation system.
 Livable communities provide the following:
1. Transportation choices
2. Interconnected transportation modes
3. Networks of streets with high levels of connectivity and short blocks
4. Networks of streets with high levels of connectivity and short blocks
5. Sidewalks in all new developments
 Pedestrian circulation systems at the site scale perform three important functions that make the
sites safer and more comfortable for pedestrians.
 They provide:
1. Access to the site
2. Mobility within the site
3. Outdoor spaces for socializing and individual activities such as reading or eating.
 Well designed pedestrian circulation systems provide a clear sense of entry and arrival to the
site. They also provide places for lingering, such as the following:
1. Nodes, providing opportunities for social interaction.
2. Oases, providing opportunities for quiet respite.
3. Niches, providing opportunities for prospects with refuge.

 Whether at the community, neighborhood, or site scales, a convenient, safe, and fully functional
pedestrian circulation system must meet the following design criteria:
1. Separation
2. Connectivity
3. Capacity
4. Accessibility
5. Amenities

8. BUILDINGS
 Besides the important issue of building design, the placement or siting of a building has a
substantial influence on the character and scale of the built environment.
 Factors that should be considered in siting a building include the terrain, the climate, and
proximity to nearby streets and building.
 The articulation of a building’s exterior involves choices regarding materials, colors, and forms,
as well as several other attributes.
 Buildings achieve contextual compatibility by “echoing” the attributes of well-designed
precedents within the site’s neighborhood, community, or region.
 When a distinct building style is repeated over time in sufficient density, the precedent or style
may be identified with a particular city or region.
 Architectural styles associated with specific cities or geographic regions are not uncommon.
 Sustainable and livable neighborhoods bring residential, commercial, and civic uses, and outdoor
recreation, together in proximity.
 Residential and commercial uses may be in separate buildings located close together within
individual buildings typically, with professional offices, restaurants, and retail uses on the first
one or two stories, and residential uses on the stories above.
 A building’s scale is a function of both massing and articulation. Buildings that are in scale with
the human body tend to be well articulated at ground level and at least the first one or two
stories above that.
 This is the zone that has the greatest visual impact on pedestrians entering or walking past the
building.
 Regardless of a building’s height along the street edge, the design of the building’s first story,
especially, is critically important to a livable streetscape.
 A building with extensive windows on the first floor is not only visually interesting but also allows
a visual relationship between the building’s interior and exterior. This contributes to a more
inviting presence and a sense of belonging to the community.
 Good site planning is concerned with the siting or placement of buildings in response to specific
site and contextual conditions.
 Building footprints, as well as their placement, should be adapted to fit the site. Hilly sites may
lead to the design of a building in which both the foundation and the floors of the building “step
down” the hillside. Both functional and visual indoor-outdoor relationships may also influence
the design of the building and site.