SITE ANALYSIS; CHANGING PARADIGMSAuthor, Raymond Thomas Cheenath1., and Guide, Ar.Bimal P 2 1Student, Department of Architecture, NIT Calicut, raymondcheenath@outlook.com2Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, NIT Calicut, bimalp@nitc.ac.in

ABSTRACTThis Seminar deals with Identification and verification of various modern tools, softwares and effective traditional methods available for Site Analysis for Architectural Design Process.The main argument of the seminar is that, the Site analysis in Architectural Colleges is done just for the sake of submissions without doing proper analysis. The students completely forgets about the Site Analysis when they enter to Design Stage. But role of Site Analysis in developing a Sustainable Design is Inevitable.The main contribution of this Seminar is to find easy and effective ways to do Site Analysis without much time consumption and difficulty.A study is done in Department of Architecture, NIT Calicut among students of different Years for identifying how far site analysis phase is done in their design process. Different Modern Softwares and effective traditional methods are identified for each stage of Site Analysis. The Effectiveness of the methods are checked by doing live Analysis of Site Examples. Effective Sequences are proposed for each Stage of Site Analysis.

Keywords

Site Analysis; Modern Softwares; Traditional Methods; Changing Paradigms; Effective Sequences.

1. INTRODUCTION

Site Analysis is the initial step of any design process in Architecture. Most of us still do it with lots of Manuel work. But the question is, when you have the idea and a machine that works for you, why do it manually. In this Seminar I try to put together all effective softwares and traditional methods useful for Architectural Site Analysis in its each step. Students of Architecture often fails to do it properly because of lack of time and difficulty faced.There are lots of effective traditional methods and easy modern Softwares available for students to explore and gain knowledge about.The aim of this Seminar is to propose an easy and effective sequence for site analysis in architectural design and field study process, integrating modern softwares and traditional methods.

1.1 Relevance

Students of Architecture lacks in the phase of Site Analysis in their Architectural Design Process. But there are effective and easy methods available for Site Analysis in this world of technology. Students are unaware of effective traditional methods and modern softwares available for Site Analysis in Architectural Design Process.Time consuming techniques prevents Architects and Students from exploring.Softwares as techniques to Site analysis is a road less travelled.The ability of various Softwares available for site analysis are studied properly from various resources and the workflow is documented.This Seminar, attempts to reduce the gap between Software techniques and site analysis

1.2 Methodology

i. A study is done in Architecture Design Studio of various Years to know the current scenario of site analysis.ii. Books, Online Resources and People are referred for knowing Traditional and current methods of Site Analysis.iii. Softwares are identified through online resources and are studied for the same.iv. A site is chosen and analysis is done with the help of software'2. CURRENT SCENARIO OF SITE ANALYSIS

Site Analysis done by different students of various years are collected and are analysed.Location: Department of Architecture, NIT Calicut.

Table 1 Site Analysis Scenario in Dept. of Architecture, NIT CalicutAttributes1st Year2nd Year3rd Year4th Year5th Year

Physical Attributes

Soils

Topography

Hydrology

Geology

Climate

Biological Attributes

Vegetation

Wild Life

Cultural Aspects

Land use

Legal

Utilities

Circulation

Historic

Sensory

From the Analysis of the Table, We can easily say that, most attributes of Site Analysis are missing in almost all years of Students. So an efficient and easy sequence should be created for students for doing Site Analysis.

Sequences are created for each attribute of Site Analysis Procedure integrating Traditional Methods and Modern Software Techniques.

Based on the Created Sequence two Site examples are chosen and site analysis are done as per sequence guidelines.3. SITE ANALYSIS METHOD VERIFICATION

For verifying whether the proposed sequence can be used for Site Analysis of Sites, certain sites are chosen and proposed site analysis is carried out for different Academic Years.3.1 Site I

Site Location; NITC Campus, Kerala, IndiaSite Area 15.56 Acres (63000sq.m)

Figure 1 Analysed Site at NITC Campus

3.1.1Mapping Roads by My Track Application and importing GPx Data in ArcGISFigure 2 Mytrack Path covered Figure 3 ArcGIS Import of Gpx from MyTrack Figure 4 Site Map Location Figure 5 Site Contour Map

3.1.2 Soil pH

Soil pH Identified from site soil experiment = 6.8 (Neutral)

3.1.3 Shadow Analysis Figure 6 Site Topography with Existing Vegetation

Figure 7 Shadow Analysis in Revit Architecture

3.2 Site II

In the 4th Year Course of Urban Design Studio, Students have to choose a larger site area for Urban Development.Site LocationFigure 8 Site Location MapSite is located in Beypore, IndiaSite Area: 5.12 Sq.km

3.2.1 Mapping out RoadsFor getting the entire road network, MyTrack Application is used and travelled through all the roads and the data is imported in ArcGISFigure 9 Gpx Data Imported in ArcGIS Figure 10 Road Map Developed in ArcGIS

3.2.2 Hydrology Map Hydrology Maps are developed in ArcGIS from DEM file of that locality helps us to identify various channel flow or pattern of rainwater drainage routes.Figure 11 Hydrology Map from ArcGIS

3.2.3 Creating different typology Maps

Survey is done and all building footprint is marked in ArcGIS.All Building Properties are also added in ArcGIS.

Figure 12 Buildings Map

Later Various Maps are Generated Considering Single or Multiple Attributes from ArcGIS.Figure 13 Map of buildings with Single Storey, Flat Roof, Medium Class, and High Income

4. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

The Proposed Sequences Developed for Different Stages of Site Analysis are;4.1 Soil Analysis Sequence;

Different Tests are conductedLaboratory Test Acidity Test Porosity Test4.2 Topography Analysis Sequence;

Marking out boundaries with MyTrack application Creating Contours with SketchUp / Surveying with Total Station Creating Topography in Revit Architecture4.3 Hydrology Analysis Sequence;

Collecting DEM file of your location from remote sensing agencies Developing Watershed diagram in ArcGIS4.4 Climate Analysis Sequence;

Creating Site Components in Revit Architecture Shadow Analysis in Revit Architecture or Autodesk Vasari.4.5 Wind Analysis Sequence;

Adding Topography and Site Location in Autodesk Vasari Shadow Analysis in Autodesk Vasari

5. CONCLUSION

Seminar can be concluded stating that the aim of the Seminar is achieved by studying the various modern and traditional methods available for Site Analysis and by proposing a model sequence for each kind of Analysis.By following the proposed Sequences, the students can do better Site Analysis without much difficulty and time loss. The modern Softwares had made the Site Analysis, less time consuming, easy and with more precise results.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Author expresses his sincere thanks to Ar.Bimal P, for guiding him throughout the seminar preparation, providing valuable suggestions and driving him forward. The author would also like to thank his Seminar Coordinator Ar.Chithra K for spending her valuable time for this.

REFERENCE

1. James A. LaGro Jr., Site Analysis A Contextual Approach to Sustainable Land Planing and Site Design, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2. Dr. Balagopal. T.S. Prabhu, Dr. A. Achuthan., Vastuvidyapraveshika A textbook on Vastuvidya, Vastuvidyapratisthanam, Saraswatham, Kiliyanad, Calicut - 6730013. http://sustainabilityworkshop.autodesk.com4. http://sustainablesites.org5. http://www.brighthubengineering.com