This document discusses the key elements of site analysis, including location, orientation, topography, soil conditions, vegetation, precipitation, hydrology, facilities, site context, views, and locally available resources. Conducting a thorough site analysis provides important information to incorporate site features into building design and placement.

1. SITE ANALYSIS
BY
NORHAYATI BT YUSUF
POLITEKNIK SULTAN HAJI AHMAD SHAH

2. WHAT IS SITE ANALYSIS
• Inventory of site elements
• Information about the properties of the
site, from topography to climate to wind
pattern and vegetation
• Analyze the features and incorporate them
into the design

3. LOCATION
• Where is the site located?
• How is the site approached?
• What is the name of the street, the road etc
on which the site is located?
• How far away is the major junction?
• How far is the nearest city or other points of
interests

4. Orientation
• Sun orientation
• Wind Direction
• The placement of the building on the site and
arrangement of spaces and openings – should consider
sun path and wind direction
• Large openings should not facing directly the East and
West as to avoid direct sunlight and concentration of
heat. The lesser surface area / or building facade
exposed to the sun, lesser will be the conductive
heating
• Placing openings parallel to the wind orientation
creates cool interior

5. Wind Orietation
• To design a climatologically responsive building, it
is important to consider the direction of the wind
so that it can be channelized through the interiors
• Consider the placement & size of openings for
optimum ventilation
• The wind direction may vary from place to place
inside the site itself, thus check the direction from
a few different places especially if it is a large site

6. Soil Type and Condition
• Sandy soil, clayey soil etc, all have different
properties, which affect the design of the
building.
• Soil type and conditions determine the
building structure, types of column, sizes and
types of foundation

7. Topography
• Topography refers to the slope and level of the land –
whether the land is flat and plain, or whether it is
sloping?
• The exact slope can be interpreted from a detailed
Contour map.
• The placement of of the building should consider
contour locations and spacing of contours
• Buildings designed or placed along with the contours
reduce unnecessary cutting and filling of soil.
• Also, during the site visit, it is important to check out
the stability of the slopes – whether the slopes are
solid enough to permit construction on it.

8. Vegetation and natural features
• Good design integrates vegetation and natural features into the
design
• The vegetation - consist of trees, flora and fauna present on the
site
• Vegetation and natural features should me marked onto the site
plan so that it will assist during the design stage:
i. Location of trees
ii. Type of trees
iii. Size of the trees - diameter or spread of the branches
iv. Heights of the trees
• Natural features
i. rock formations
ii. swamps
iii. River, pond etc

9. Precipitation & Hydrology
• The amount of rainfall the time period during which
the rainfall occurs
• The average annual rainfall, often measured in
mm, gives the idea about the precipitation throughout
the year
• Identify if the site is flooded during rainy season
• identify ponds, lakes, rivers etc in or around the site.
The location and size of these water elements should
be studied so that they can be integrated into the
design scheme.
• The presence of water elements will reduce the overall
temperatures

10. Hidrology
• The water table refers to the level below the
soil at which water is present.
• The water table may be very shallow for areas
close to water bodies (lake, pond, river).
• A shallow water table will affect the stability
of foundations and additional precautions will
have to be taken.

11. Facilities
• Important facilities to be considered while
planning the zoning in the site:
i. water supply
ii. drainage connection
iii. waste disposal
lv. electricity supply

12. Site Context
• the surrounding landuse
• Existing buildings around the site
• The incompatible land use - may lead to creation
of issues in the design. For example, if there is a
school right next to the site, the noise
disturbance will have to be factored in while
designing.
• The height and setbacks of adjacent buildings are
important in affecting the flow of air and also
sunlight.

13. Prominent Vision lines / Visual
linkages
• Views:
i. The views to the site
ii. The views from the site
• Views are important factors to be considered –
important spaces such as living room, dining
Should be facing nice views
• If views are incompatible, creations of views should be
considered – such as gardens, ponds etc

14. Locally available resources
• Sustainable design – consider materials
available in and around the site that can be
used in the design
• Reducing the transportation energy & costs.