《设计基础》课程教学资源（电子图书）Architecture Design Notebook

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3 ARRIVING AT THE DIAGRAM RESPONDING TO THE SITE ness of designing can get under way.There are obvious physical characteristics like contour Unless you are designing a demountable tem- and climate,for example,which may stimulate porary structure capable of erection on any the designer's creative imagination but first it is site,then the nature of the site is one of the imperative to comprehend the'sense of place' few constants in any architectural programme. which the site itself communicates.It is neces- Other fundamentals like,for example,the sary therefore,to have some understanding of brief,or the budget may well change as the the locality,its history,its social structure and design progresses,but generally the site physical patterns or 'grain',so that the form remains as one of the few fixed elements to and density of your proposed interventions which the designer can make a direct are appropriate.This is best achieved by response.Just as an architect may establish observation and sketching on site as is the quite early in the design process an 'image' less problematic recording of the site's physi- of his building's organisation and appear- cal characteristics.How for instance will the ance,so must an image for the site be con- site's topography suggest patterns of use?Is structed concurrently so that the two may the utility of concentrating activity on the level interact. areas of the site overridden by concerns for maintaining mature planting or avoiding over- shadowing,for example?Are gradients to be Analysis and survey utilised in generating the sectional organisa- An understanding of the site and its potential tion of the building?How will the building's suggests an analytical process before the busi- physical form respond to and moderate the

3 ARRIVING AT THE DIAGRAM RESPONDING TO THE SITE Unless you are designing a demountable tem￾porary structure capable of erection on any site, then the nature of the site is one of the few constants in any architectural programme. Other fundamentals like, for example, the brief, or the budget may well change as the design progresses, but generally the site remains as one of the few fixed elements to which the designer can make a direct response. Just as an architect may establish quite early in the design process an ‘image’ of his building’s organisation and appear￾ance, so must an image for the site be con￾structed concurrently so that the two may interact. Analysis and survey An understanding of the site and its potential suggests an analytical process before the busi￾ness of designing can get under way. There are obvious physical characteristics like contour and climate, for example, which may stimulate the designer’s creative imagination but first it is imperative to comprehend the ‘sense of place’ which the site itself communicates. It is neces￾sary therefore, to have some understanding of the locality, its history, its social structure and physical patterns or ‘grain’, so that the form and density of your proposed interventions are appropriate. This is best achieved by observation and sketching on site as is the less problematic recording of the site’s physi￾cal characteristics. How for instance will the site’s topography suggest patterns of use? Is the utility of concentrating activity on the level areas of the site overridden by concerns for maintaining mature planting or avoiding over￾shadowing, for example? Are gradients to be utilised in generating the sectional organisa￾tion of the building? How will the building’s physical form respond to and moderate the

14 Architecture:Design Notebook climate?Is it important to maintain existing views from the site or will the building construct its own inward-looking prospect?How is access to the site to be effected and how can the placing of buildings on the site reduce roads and site works to a minimum whilst at the same time allowing for easy circulation of people and vehicles?How do site access points respond to an existing infrastructure of vehicular and pedestrian routes?Where are Figure 3.1 Fawcett,A.Peter,House for Anaesthetist, existing services to the site located? Sheffield 1987. Such a survey need not be exhaustive to prompt a designer's key site responses.These pedestrian links to local facilities.The local in turn will be reappraised and modified along authority insists that all mature trees on site with other decisions as the design progresses. are retained.The initial steep gradient from During these initial explorations it is advisable the road makes vehicular penetration of the to draw the site and outline building proposals site impracticable and,in the event,undesir- to scale so that relative sizes of the site and able,given its mature planting.The client's major building elements may be absorbed needs appear to be even more demanding; early on in the design process.In this way it is he wishes to retire to this house with his wife possible even at this stage to test the validity of and requires to live,eat and sleep at road level, basic design decisions and whether there exists that is,on an elevated plane to the north a fundamental harmony between the site and boundary.Moreover,he wishes to store his the proposed buildings which it is to accom- three historic motor cars at the same level modate. and adjacent to the road to minimise hard sur- This whole question of an architect's facing on site.As much as possible of the response to a specific site is best illustrated by mature planting on site must be retained(it is example (Figure 3.1).Here is a generous the former garden of an adjacent nineteenth- south facing sloping site with mature planting century villa).The initial diagrammatic solu- within a lush western suburb of Sheffield. tion (Figures 3.2,3.3)demonstrates not Dramatic distant views of the city are afforded only how responses to the site and,for exam- to the south and a major road forms the site's ple,client's needs are interdependent,but also northern boundary together with vehicular and the need to consider simultaneously various

climate? Is it important to maintain existing views from the site or will the building construct its own inward-looking prospect? How is access to the site to be effected and how can the placing of buildings on the site reduce roads and site works to a minimum whilst at the same time allowing for easy circulation of people and vehicles? How do site access points respond to an existing infrastructure of vehicular and pedestrian routes? Where are existing services to the site located? Such a survey need not be exhaustive to prompt a designer’s key site responses. These in turn will be reappraised and modified along with other decisions as the design progresses. During these initial explorations it is advisable to draw the site and outline building proposals to scale so that relative sizes of the site and major building elements may be absorbed early on in the design process. In this way it is possible even at this stage to test the validity of basic design decisions and whether there exists a fundamental harmony between the site and the proposed buildings which it is to accom￾modate. This whole question of an architect’s response to a specific site is best illustrated by example (Figure 3.1). Here is a generous south facing sloping site with mature planting within a lush western suburb of Sheffield. Dramatic distant views of the city are afforded to the south and a major road forms the site’s northern boundary together with vehicular and pedestrian links to local facilities. The local authority insists that all mature trees on site are retained. The initial steep gradient from the road makes vehicular penetration of the site impracticable and, in the event, undesir￾able, given its mature planting. The client’s needs appear to be even more demanding; he wishes to retire to this house with his wife and requires to live, eat and sleep at road level, that is, on an elevated plane to the north boundary. Moreover, he wishes to store his three historic motor cars at the same level and adjacent to the road to minimise hard sur￾facing on site. As much as possible of the mature planting on site must be retained (it is the former garden of an adjacent nineteenth￾century villa). The initial diagrammatic solu￾tion (Figures 3.2, 3.3) demonstrates not only how responses to the site and, for exam￾ple, client’s needs are interdependent, but also the need to consider simultaneously various 14 Architecture: Design Notebook Figure 3.1 Fawcett, A. Peter, House for Anaesthetist, Sheffield 1987

Arriving at the diagram 15 components of the programme.Furthermore, it demonstrates how apparently severe pro- grammatic constraints may provide a real springboard for creativity and form-making; hence the linear,single-aspect plan;the ele- vated living floor for access and views with ser- vice areas below;the retention of the boundary retaining wall to the north to serve also as the building's boundary thereby minimising its footprint'on site to preserve all mature plant- ing;the minimal 'mews'vehicular access. Figure 3.2 Fawcett,A.Peter,House for Anaesthetist, Sheffield 1987,Ground floor and basement plans. Intervention This demonstrates how aspects of a specific programme can interact with a site to deter- mine an optimum formal outcome.But exem- plars have also conditioned architects' responses to the site during this century; these have taken on extreme positions from the archetypal Corbusian model where precise geometrical building form is set up in dramatic contrast to the landscape (Figure 3.4),and where 'pilotis'allow the building to hover in apparent detachment from the site,to an alter- native modernist orthodoxy where a building's organic'form is perceived as an outcrop of the site itself(Figure 3.5).These positions have variously been interpreted as the self-con- scious designed object contributing to the landscape (Figure 3.6),or,as in the case of Figure 3.3 Fawcett,A.Peter,House for Anaesthetist, Cullinan's visitors' centres for sensitive Sheffield 1987,Section/site plan. archaeological sites,for any intervention to

components of the programme. Furthermore, it demonstrates how apparently severe pro￾grammatic constraints may provide a real springboard for creativity and form-making; hence the linear, single-aspect plan; the ele￾vated living floor for access and views with ser￾vice areas below; the retention of the boundary retaining wall to the north to serve also as the building’s boundary thereby minimising its ‘footprint’ on site to preserve all mature plant￾ing; the minimal ‘mews’ vehicular access. Intervention This demonstrates how aspects of a specific programme can interact with a site to deter￾mine an optimum formal outcome. But exem￾plars have also conditioned architects’ responses to the site during this century; these have taken on extreme positions from the archetypal Corbusian model where precise geometrical building form is set up in dramatic contrast to the landscape (Figure 3.4), and where ‘pilotis’ allow the building to hover in apparent detachment from the site, to an alter￾native modernist orthodoxy where a building’s ‘organic’ form is perceived as an outcrop of the site itself (Figure 3.5). These positions have variously been interpreted as the self-con￾scious designed object contributing to the landscape (Figure 3.6), or, as in the case of Cullinan’s visitors’ centres for sensitive archaeological sites, for any intervention to Arriving at the diagram 15 Figure 3.2 Fawcett, A. Peter, House for Anaesthetist, Sheffield 1987, Ground floor and basement plans. Figure 3.3 Fawcett, A. Peter, House for Anaesthetist, Sheffield 1987, Section/site plan

16 Architecture:Design Notebook Figure 3.4 Le Corbusier,Villa and apartment block, Wessenhofsiedlung,Stuttgart,1927.From Visual History of Twentieth Century Architecture,Sharp,D.,Heinemann. Figure 3.6 Richard Meier,Smith House,Long Island, 1975.From Five Architects,Rowe,C.,et al.,Oxford University Press. be virtually consumed by the landscape so that physical intrusion is minimised(Figure 3.7). CHOOSING AN APPROPRIATE 'MODEL' Although it may be ill-formed and far from clear,architects generally arrive at a visual image for their building soon after the design process gets under way.Such an image often merely exists in the mind's eye long before the laborious process begins of articulating such imagery via drawings and models and then Figure 3.5 Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin West,Arizona, 1938.From FLW-Force of Nature,Nash,E.P.,Todtri,p. testing its validity;nevertheless,this initial 61. creative leap into form-making,this point of

be virtually consumed by the landscape so that physical intrusion is minimised (Figure 3.7). CHOOSING AN APPROPRIATE ‘MODEL’ Although it may be ill-formed and far from clear, architects generally arrive at a visual image for their building soon after the design process gets under way. Such an image often merely exists in the mind’s eye long before the laborious process begins of articulating such imagery via drawings and models and then testing its validity; nevertheless, this initial creative leap into form-making, this point of 16 Architecture: Design Notebook Figure 3.4 Le Corbusier, Villa and apartment block, Wessenhofsiedlung, Stuttgart, 1927. From Visual History of Twentieth Century Architecture, Sharp, D., Heinemann. Figure 3.5 Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin West, Arizona, 1938. From FLW
Force of Nature, Nash, E. P., Todtri, p. 61. Figure 3.6 Richard Meier, Smith House, Long Island, 1975. From Five Architects, Rowe, C., et al., Oxford University Press