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100 Site Analysis Essentials; An Architect's Guide Peter
Farrall
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Published by RIBA Publishing, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD
ISBN 9781915722058
The rights of Peter Farrall and Iain Jackson to be identified as the Authors of this Work have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 sections 77 and 78.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Commissioning Editor: Alex White
Assistant Editor: Flo Armitage-Hookes
Production: Jane Rogers
Designed by CHK Design
Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk
Printed and bound by Pureprint Group Ltd
Cover image: Illustration of canal running through central Manchester. Produced by the Authors with all rights reserved to Peter Farrall and Iain Jackson.
While every effort has been made to check the accuracy and quality of the information given in this publication, neither the Author nor the Publisher accept any responsibility for the subsequent use of this information, for any errors or omissions that it may contain, or for any misunderstandings arising from it.
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003485988
Historical
Socialandcultural
Economic
Densityanddevelopment
1 Investigate the layers of history.
2 Consider the stylistic diversity.
3 Explore the historical development with maps.
4 Study the pace of change.
5 Create your own Nolli Map.
6
Research the social and economic landscape.
7 Investigate the type of people who live and work in the area.
8 Investigate the cultural influences and assets.
9 Use census data to produce your own diagrams.
10 Use census information to understand about local residents and housing ownership.
11 Identify the local social hubs.
12 Consider the significance of land values.
13 Review the socio-economic demographics of an area.
14 Consider the influence of ownership and landlords.
15 Review the density and plot size.
16 Consider the human density and household composition.
17 Consider competing future visions and other stakeholders.
18 Consider sustainability when exploring communities.
19 Explore if recent interventions can also provide opportunities.
Materialityandstyle
Political
Physicalinfrastructure
20 Consider the availability of locally sourced materials.
21 Research local styles and forms of construction.
22 Consider why the city looks the way it does.
23 Who are the political influencers?
24 Review the Local Authority planning policies.
25 Is your site part of a conservation area?
26 Explore types of places and spaces around the site.
27 Investigate why the city looks the way it does.
28 Identify monuments and nodes.
29 Review the scale of the street.
30 Review the physical infrastructure.
31 Identify neighbourhoods and districts in and around your site.
32 Identify the scale of the district.
33 Consider how historical backstory impacts on the urban grain.
34 Consider the district as part of the overall city.
35 How might the public realm influence your proposal?
36 Think vertically as well as horizontally; consider different programmes at different levels.
37 Explore underlying city plans and structures.
Invisiblecity
38 Track movement to provide data on how people interact with the city.
39 Consider the impact of any underground services.
40 Consider traffic data and restrictions.
41 Download or build your own 3D model of the site.
42 Are there any literary references relating to your site?
ROUTES
Vehicular
Pedestrian
Transport
Timeframe
43 Establish the hierarchy of routes affecting your site.
44 Identify bus and cycle routes.
45 Experience the city by walking.
46 Explore the alternative routes.
47 Explore pathways based on desire lines.
48 Consider the bigger picture of transport infrastructure and accessibility.
49 Explore how well your site is served by transport terminals and bus stops.
50 How well is the site connected nationally?
51 Consider how special events impact the city.
52 Review how intensity of use varies over time.
Climate
Topographical
Naturalfeatures
Man-madefeatures
Timeframe
Streethierarchies
Sustainability
Phenomenology
53 Assess sun paths, shading and daylight.
54 Establish the local wind paths and prevailing winds.
55 Consider how the microclimate affects the site.
56 Consider if tidal patterns or rising sea levels have an impact on your site.
57
Survey site levels and features.
58 Determine the site boundary – it is not always clearly defined.
59 Investigate the ground conditions.
60 Celebrate the natural features.
61 Consider the roots and crown of all trees within the site.
62 Conduct an environmental assessment of natural habitats.
63 Check flood risk data, especially in low-lying locations.
64 Explore the backstory of any formal landscapes.
65 Consider the existing streetscape.
66 How does street furniture impact on the site?
67 Consider the impact of telecommunications, masts and satellite dishes on your site.
68 Consider the impact of artificial lighting.
69 Is your site impacted by noise?
70 Investigate how the site use varies over 24 hours.
71 Explore how site use changes over the course of a year.
72 Consider the proportion of pavement to road.
73 Consider the street’s height to width ratio.
74 Explore opportunities to utilise the site’s resources.
75 Consider opportunities to deploy local materials.
76 Explore opportunities to create the sense of a journey
77 Consider the potential for an architectural promenade and mystery.
78 Be aware of historical connotations.
GROUPINGS AND USAGE
Siteusage
Aroundthesite
Relationshiptothewider area
INTERFACE
Siteboundary
79 Map out the various functional uses around your site.
80 How has the function of your site changed over time?
81 Be aware of activities or functions associated with your site or brief.
82 Consider the proximity of key facilities.
83 Investigate the previous uses of the site.
84 Establish current usage categories locally.
85 Investigate emerging types and planned developments.
86 Map repeating services, forms and types.
Viewsintothesite
Viewsoutfromthesite
Neighbours
87 Establish the extent and nature of the site boundary.
88 Assess the permeability of the site boundaries.
89 Undertake an accurate site survey to assess the site’s potential.
90 Consider thresholds where boundaries are poorly defined .
91 Research any legal restrictions impacting the site.
92 Make a sketch looking into the site.
93 How will your proposal impact the townscape?
94 Survey the adjacent properties.
95 Make a sketch of the skyline.
96 Identify key axes and monuments.
97 Establish interface distances to adjacent properties.
98 How will rights of light impact your proposal?
99
Consider the implications of any legal restrictions.
100 Consider legal restrictions on routes and rights of access.
and Dylan
Peter Farrall: to Nora
Iain Jackson: to Jo, Pippa
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We’d like to thank our colleagues and students at the University of Liverpool School of Architecture, for their help and encouragement, especially Alex Dusterloh, Lucretia Ray, Anna Gidman and Nick Wilde. We would also like to acknowledge the input from the architects who provided the case studies and gave valuable insight into their design process. Specifically, we would like to thank Jo Day, Alan Dunlop, Jim Eyre, Ian Ritchie, Hans van der Heijden, Steven Hodder and Gurmeet Sian.
The overall structure of the book: Context, Routes, Environment, Groupings and Interface (CREGI) was actually discovered left on a blackboard at the University of Bristol School of Architecture in the 1970s, but we have been unable to find out who gave the lecture! The Head of School and professor at that time was Ivor Smith and he invited some of the most talented designers of the day to teach at the school, mostly from London, and affectionally referred to as ‘Ivor’s flying circus’. This approach to site analysis has been extremely useful over 40 years of practice and has also been developed over 20 years of teaching, including the later addition of phenomenology.
Thank you too to our commissioning editor, Alex White, for his support and encouragement.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Peter Farrall is Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Liverpool, teaching in both the MArch and BA programmes, as well as Professional Studies. Prior to this, he was partner for 25 years in a multidisciplinary practice in Chester, specialising in the education sector. He is a former president of the Liverpool Architectural Society and served on the National Council and Conduct Committee of the RIBA. Peter is a lecturer and examiner on the RIBA Part 3 course and has delivered lectures and webinars for RIBA CPD programmes. He co-authored the RIBA Good Practice Guide: Fees with Professor Stephen Brookhouse and is author of Feasibility Studies: An Architect’s Guide.
Iain Jackson is an architect and professor at University of Liverpool. Iain worked in practice on educational projects and completed his PhD on the Rock Garden of Chandigarh in India. He is the Research Lead for Architecture at the University of Liverpool and Co-director of the Architecture Heritage and Urbanism in Western Africa (AHUWA) research group. He is currently researching the architecture of the United Africa Company. Iain teaches architectural studio, architectural history and supervises PhD students. He has co-authored several biographies including Herbert Rowse and The Architecture of Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew.
INTRODUCTION
Conducting a site analysis is an essential part of the architectural design process. By carefully examining, recording, observing and documenting, you can cultivate a deeper understanding of the place you are designing for. This will result in a more considered and appropriate solution, crafted and calibrated for that spot.
Site analysis is sometimes seen as the starting point that leads to a design solution, but it is also an ongoing and integral part of the design process. Site analysis can help with initial feasibility studies, but it can also help refine the design intent and brief, contribute to the design options and justification and form part of a post-design review.
Architecture should respond and relate to the place where it is built. It is a fixture and works best when calibrated to suit local materials, skills, cultures and communities. Site analysis is an investigation into these qualities. It must also consider climatic data – such as sun and shadow paths, temperature and humidity ranges – as well as society – with its complexity, competing demands, contradictions and ongoing changes.
Architecture is often expected to (and should) last a long time. It has a public face and impacts the town, neighbourhood and street in much more profound ways than most other creative endeavours and professional activities. Architecture forms part of our habitat and our environment.
Architects have a duty to design buildings that serve their clients and communities, and that enrich the lives of future generations too. By considering the context of the design –both what has been built in the immediate vicinity as well as the wider cityscape – you can develop designs that respond with sensitivity. This should allow you to produce designs of the appropriate scale and materials, which both optimise the client’s investment and ensure societal enjoyment of the work.
Contextual design does not necessarily mean that everything ‘fits in’ or is deferential to what has gone before. It may be that a contrast or reaction to what is already there becomes necessary and appropriate.
Structure of the book
This book provides a series of lenses, strategies and ideas that you can deploy to increase your understanding and knowledge of a place. There are many other approaches, but in following this method and producing your own ‘library’ of findings, you will pick up the right tools to explore, rationalise and convince others that your solution is valid, considered and appropriate.
At the end of each chapter is a series of case studies using projects undertaken by prominent architects to demonstrate their approach to site analysis and its impact on their design proposals. These are followed by two examples that show an incremental approach to site analysis leading to a set of strategic design proposals.
Site analysis can be broken down into five main headings and there is a chapter devoted to each of these. You can consider these as a checklist to work through when conducting your own site analysis but note that not every item will be relevant to every project.
Context
This is concerned with the wider area around the site in question. Consider the density of the neighbourhood, the size of the city blocks and the historical development of the site. This should take in a wide geographical range where possible. Identifying key landmarks, cultural references and other significant buildings in the area (such as schools, hospitals, transport hubs, etc.) should also be done at this stage.
Beyond the physical context, this part of the analysis should also consider the wider sociological and economic conditions of the site. This data should be represented graphically to help build a comprehensive picture of the site and any opportunities for development.
Routes
How is the site connected to other places? What is the scale and nature of these routes? What transport infrastructure and facilities are available? Proximity to rail and mass-transit infrastructure may have a major impact on the land value, usage patterns and desirability of a site. Pedestrian links, the streetscape and a well-connected urban form can all affect your design solutions and the nature of the architectural proposal.
Environment
Responding to the climatic conditions of a site can enhance most design proposals and have a significant impact on the ongoing energy costs and interior comfort of a building. A well-sited and properly orientated design can capture sunlight whilst minimising solar gain, and create spaces that are pleasurable to be in. Temperature, humidity and seasonal change should also be considered. Wind, particularly around tall structures and in coastal settings, needs special analysis. Noise pollution can be problematic, but it can be mitigated with a sensitive design proposal. Beyond climate conditions, consider topography and natural features, such as animal habitats, trees, rivers and sea levels.
Consider how the site ‘feels’ and the responses it may provoke in the visitor. Perhaps the site holds a particular history, myth or association that resonates with the population. Places can become infamous or gain associations linked to a particular event or memory. A plot that was once a religious site will have a different feel and meaning to a place next to a famous sports stadium, for example.
Not everything important can be measured and a phenomenological approach can help to reconcile contradictory or less tangible site attributes. Consider moving beyond what you can see and begin to notice the noises, smells, textures and feelings you can detect around the site. Do they have any implications for your design choices?
Groupings and usage
What takes place in the vicinity of and within the site? Is it devoted to a particular activity, for example, is it a residential site or mixed-use office, a restaurant or apartments? Try to find out how the wider district or neighbourhood is currently used and how your site fits in with a wider planning agenda.
Interface
This is all about the immediate context and how the site abuts its neighbours. As well as the physical boundaries around the perimeter of the site, you need to consider the views in and out. Consider how the site is accessed and how much of the site will be built on. What affect will your proposal have on the surrounding buildings and their occupants?
FOCUS OF THE STUDY
The whole point of carrying out a site analysis is to inform the briefing, feasibility and design process such that a consideration of the site context makes a significant, positive difference to the final outcome.
In live projects, the process of assessing the site tends to happen in parallel with the briefing process. On some occasions, for example with an architectural competition, the brief and client’s aspirations may be clearly stated. Often, however, the brief is ‘in progress’ and the architect helps the client to confirm the brief by asking the right questions. In these circumstances the site analysis will accompany the briefing process and the outcomes from the analysis may be revisited many times.
Design projects in a school of architecture normally have a defined brief and this information allows you to focus on the areas of site analysis most relevant to the programme and ambition of the project. Conducting detailed investigations into all aspects of a site analysis described in this book may not be
appropriate to the task. It is therefore important to focus on the key issues affecting the project and ensure that the analysis is communicated in a clear way.
Students sometimes carry out excellent analysis, but the impact and findings of these studies are not evident in the design proposition. Alternatively, the analysis goes into too much detail and fails to focus on the key issues unique to the site.
Level of detail
After considering the brief it is important to decide how far to progress with the site analysis. For example, a brief for a new museum with national significance will require an understanding of how the proposed site relates to other similar facilities around the country and how accessible the site is by car and public transport. Being able to respond to large visitor groups will also be important. If the proposal is for a new village hall within a conservation area, then understanding the needs of the local community, the impact of the proposal on the local townscape and how the hall might relate to other community facilities nearby will be valuable.
You need to consider what is special or unique about the site. If it’s in an exposed coastal location, then details of extreme weather will be important, whereas a new visitor centre set in the grounds of a heritage site will require an in-depth understanding of the history, landscape and architecture of the site. The point is to recognise and respond to the unique and specific attributes, rather than attempting to cover everything in your site analysis.
Analysis and synthesis
Having gathered the data and recorded information about the site, it is then necessary to analyse and consider which aspects will impact the design. For example, you may have gathered information about levels of employment, but what does this say about an area and how does it compare with national averages? Setting down the key findings of your investigations, and what they mean to the project, provides a stepping stone towards your design proposal.
Looking for the gaps
The analysis may lead you to question the brief and you might be faced with conflicting information. Identifying the gaps can be an important stage in the analysis and one that may lead you to a unique standpoint or innovative design solution. Start to test some design ideas as you conduct the site analysis. Don’t generate lots of data without considering how it might shape your initial ideas and how it relates to the requirements set out in the brief.
Communicating the results
The output from the site analysis needs to be communicated in a clear and effective way. Editing the data and identifying key outcomes allows you to develop clear diagrams, maps and sketches. This is crucial in any presentation to a client, or to your colleagues, to communicate the backstory of the site. These drawings can also act as a personal reminder of the aspects of the site that you consider to be significant. Ideally, this content should be condensed into a small number of sheets, which could be pinned up above your workspace so that you are reminded of the key design drivers and site attributes.
Considering the opportunities
Sometimes it is helpful to summarise the output from the analysis into an ‘opportunities’ sheet. This identifies the opportunities that the site presents in terms of development potential, links and views as well as clues to materials and scale. These are the elements that influence the design before you put forward any design solutions.
Demonstrating connections
Often the site analysis will be revisited as the design proposals are developed and certain aspects become more relevant and important as design drivers. Reinforcing these connections can be useful to further demonstrate the validity of the design as well as the aspects that underpin the design strategy. Sometimes this process shows a mismatch between the design and the analysis,
in which case it may be necessary to revisit aspects of the site analysis or modify the design proposals.
Importance of on-site recording
Throughout this book, we stress the importance of visiting the site to gain a first-hand impression and feeling about the area. The act of on-site sketching tends to achieve this in a natural way. Whist sitting or standing to record a scene you are inevitably absorbed; passers-by may chat to you and you will take in the sounds and smells over a longer period. These sketches may also trigger memories in a more significant way than by simply taking a photograph on your phone. Often, these recollections can be vivid, months or even years later. Even if you do not consider yourself to be a great artist, the sketches you produce tend to communicate something very personal about the site and this can help when presenting proposals to a client or in a design review.
Key takeaway
In summary, it is important to identify what is significant about the site and how this complements the design brief.
Do not try to incorporate everything into your analysis. Be prepared to revisit the site to test your observations and findings. This may require you to return several times, even after you have begun to develop the design proposals.
Draw and map your analysis so that you can communicate your findings and ideas in a way that explains to others what is important about the site. You also need to explain how your site analysis informs your design proposal and ensure this is communicated in an effective way using appropriate media.
The ‘Quick Start Chart’ breaks down site analysis into five parts: context, routes, environment, groupings and usage and interface. These are the key things to consider when analysing a site and the subheadings help you to explore what might be relevant to your specific project. The tips that follow give some examples from actual sites and how they might influence design proposals. It is unlikely that all of these subheadings will be
relevant to every project and your analysis should be driven by the brief and your project’s specific needs. In this way you can develop your own subheadings depending on what is special about the site.
Practical tips
There are some basic tools and equipment required for carrying out a site visit. These include tracing paper, a clipboard, a map of the area, a scale rule, coloured pens, a camera and a sketchbook. Ensure all your maps and diagrams include a title, a north point and a scale shown with a key as necessary. Add the date and time of your survey for future reference. Remember that tracing over or redrawing the plans requires you to edit and filter the information to communicate what you feel is significant about the site. The aim is to draw and think at the same time –and often it is the thinking that takes time.
Your site photographs are crucial and need to be taken with care. Try to capture the conditions around the site, how it is approached and its connections. Be systematic with your photography so that you don’t miss an important detail. Each photograph needs a purpose and a message. Remember that your photographs may be used to communicate to people who have never visited the site. Carefully review your images and identify them on a map so you can remember where each one was taken and communicate this to others. You might also have access to drone footage and ariel photography.
Look at maps of an area drawn at different scales. Start with a large city-scale map and then incrementally zoom in to details of the actual site. Working at different scales will reveal different details, insights and narratives.
Moving beyond the plan view, draw sketches and axonometric projections. The core ideas expressed in Gordon Cullen’s The Concise Townscape (1961) are concerned with the visual arrangement and coherence of the urban environment. He considers the layout of buildings and roads, and the emotions they elicit in the viewer. Many of these ideas cannot be observed through the plan.
Cullen focuses on four ideas: serial vision, place, content and functional tradition, and these ideas are explored using sequential illustrations along a route.
Kevin Lynch’s The Image of the City (1960) analyses a city that allows the viewer to orientate themselves using five elements:
• paths, such as streets, trails, canals and railways
• edges, such as boundaries, walls and the edge of a district
• districts, medium or large, identifiable by common characteristics
• nodes, which are focal points in a city, junctions, crossing or convergences in paths, breaks in transport routes, or key areas people recognise
• landmarks, such as churches, public buildings, monuments or unique and memorable features.
These are certainly great starting points, but also consider the site beyond the physical characteristics – make sure you weave in culture, history, politics and social conditions. All the maps and other images in this book were hand drawn, requiring the authors to interpret information to communicate key messages. A variety of styles and techniques have been used. We encourage you to do the same. Experiment with different ways of drawing, use colours, diagrams and urban sketching to document and enhance your thinking. Photographs are wonderful, but a sketch can convey far more often with a lot less. Find your own style to communicate and get your message across.
CASESTUDY1 HAZELWOOD SCHOOL
ALAN DUNLOP
What you can see
This special school on the outskirts of Glasgow is for deaf and blind children with special needs. It is located in a mostly residential area and close to a busy motorway. The design had to meet specific briefing requirements associated with the specialist teaching. The unusual plan form and disposition of accommodation was largely driven by the site conditions.
What does this mean?
The relationship between the school and the adjoining residential properties was very sensitive. There were existing mature trees on the site to consider. Also, noise pollution from the motorway to the south caused problems for some children.
What the architect says
Existing trees on the site were retained, dictating the snaking plan form of the building. The special needs of the pupils required that they were shielded from the noise of the traffic, so classrooms were placed on the opposite side of the building from the motorway. In addition, direct sunlight can cause difficulties for some pupils, so the teaching areas were placed on
the north side with gardens to the south. Areas where noise is less of a problem, such as the swimming pool and activity areas, are also located on the south side. Apartments located on an adjacent site look directly onto the site from an elevated position and so the roof was important and becomes the fifth elevation. The analysis, briefing and design process took over a year, including extensive liaison with stakeholders.
CONTEXT
‘Context’ is the term given to the immediate area around and abutting your site. It is the materials, styles and physical infrastructure of our streets. But more than just the neighbouring buildings, context is also about the wider area, the historical background and the intangible aspects, such as the social and economic influences on the area.
Ideally you should first view your site in person to absorb its qualities. Then search for information online in the form of data, maps, historical photographs and policies. The ‘invisible city’ and virtual environments are also becoming more important and relevant as we enter the age of smart cities, data-driven design and ever-increasing digital realms.
Your site has a collective memory. Traces of the past bleed through to inform the future. Our buildings and places serve as a kind of archive, or repository, for and of the community and its heritage.
Historical
When considering a proposal, it is often the historical context that is the most important influence on how the site looks today. What is the background of the site and the surrounding area, and what is known about the layers of its history?
Social and cultural
The social and cultural make up of an area can determine what is architecturally viable and appropriate. Who lives and works in the surrounding area of your site? What is the social mix and ethnicity? Where has the population come from? Is it a harmonious neighbourhood?
There may be traditions, social norms or folk laws that impact on the cultural identity and provide clues for future propositions. A qualitative and quantitative review might involve interviewing local people. An individual’s story can offer unique insights to the broader perspective and offer a sounding board for future interventions. Be wide-ranging in your community engagement. Communicating effectively and sharing your ideas is essential. Census data can also be useful in giving an objective ‘big data’ framework within which to work. Just as your design will be drawn at different scales, consider the ‘contextual scales’ moving from the wider district to the community and down to the individual level.
When exploring a particular community, it is sometimes helpful to establish who are the key stakeholders and primary users of the facilities. Landlords, politicians and community leaders can all bring a unique perspective too and will have different concerns to residents and participants. Identifying key community organisations and pressure groups can be important, and it is often wise to seek consultation when developing a proposal to ensure voices and concerns are heard.
Economic
Economics will often drive the viability and appropriateness of a design within a particular area. Although the client may be able to fund a project, the extent to which the proposal is appropriate
will be affected by the demographics and the economic buoyancy of an area.
What are typical land values? Are they increasing? What rental levels can be realised and what are the council tax rates?
Levels of unemployment will affect the prosperity of an area, as will typical income levels and the spread from richest and poorest. These issues are very different from the physical context, but they still play a major role in what gets built and where.
Density and development
The existing density – that is, the dwellings/buildings per hectare and occupancy levels per dwelling – will provide important clues as to what may be appropriate with a new development and will also influence the ratio of open space to buildings. A high land value tends to drive an increased density level to capitalise on the value and to recoup the expense of building on that land. Of course, the human density may change at different times of the day/week/year depending on the type of population and activity within the area, so it’s worth thinking about how this impacts your design solution.
Materiality and style
As architects we are aware of the materials and styles used in the buildings around the site, and it is often this aspect of the urban grain that makes a place so distinctive. Analysing these characteristics and what makes the area different to other places will provide an important clue for your own proposal. The aim is not to replicate or mimic; a contrast can be more convincing than an attempt to fit in.
Don’t just think in terms of two dimensional plans; consider the impact of volumetric scale and different massing in various parts of the site.
Looking at street elevations, consider the scale and rhythm of the architecture and what this might mean for your proposal. The rhythm of the architecture might be expressed through window patterns, material changes or through decorative patterns.
Political
Considering the political context at both a local and national level provides an insight into the area and may have a big impact on what can be achieved. Local authority planning restrictions and national guidelines often dictate what level of development is possible and what is not. When dealing with projects in a professional context, these can be critical considerations.
Physical infrastructure
Considering the spaces between the buildings allows the scale of the street to be assessed, and it is important to think vertically as well as horizontally. When exploring the qualities of the ‘public’ or outside spaces, consider how successful they are used along with any space left over after planning (SLOAP). When investigating the physical infrastructure, consider the ‘solids’ and ‘voids’, the built-up and the spaces, the public and private. Finally, how does the site fit within the existing street patterns? Is there a rhythm or over-riding city layout, and how will this shape your intervention?
Invisible city
The boundaries between the virtual and the real world are increasingly blurred as online information becomes more accessible and the virtual world more immersive. Street views, models of entire cities and virtual reality are all changing how we interact with, and think about, the built environment. We can use these tools to test and share our ideas with a global audience. Our built environment is becoming ‘smart’ – it can respond to changing conditions and events in real time. Cyber cities, virtual environments and Google maps can all relay retail and commercial data informing how we design and can test the impact of our ideas on the existing cityscape.
Assessment of a site within Clifton conservation area
TIP1 CONTEXT
HISTORICAL
INVESTIGATE THE LAYERS OF HISTORY.
What you can see
The ‘cross’ or central crossroads at Chester is offset so that the church forms the end of the vista from Bridge Street leading south to the river.
What does this mean?
The reason for this is that the original Roman plan had a principia at this location and the later Christian church was built in the same place.
How might it affect your proposal?
Understanding the history of the city and the reasons behind the planning allows you to work with what is already there and to be sensitive to the underlying story. Unwrapping the layers of history can sometimes give clues as to how to move forward.
Tip links with 2, 3, 20, 21, 22, 27, 78, 83 and 90.
