Site  Analysis  as  Design  

Gabriel  Kaprielian,  Temple  University

Introduction   dents  that  have  shaped  their  theoretical  framework.  This  work  
explores  modes  of  site  thinking  and  representation  that  seek  to  
To  begin  with  why,  we  often  start  with  a  study  of  the  site,  the   uncover  embedded  knowledge,  which  can  inform  architectural  
people,  history,  and  environmental  factors  that  make  each   design  by  combining  an  analytical  and  intuitive  approach.  I  will  
place  unique.  While  the  physical  site  serves  as  the  base  of  the   explain  the  objectives  of  the  site  analysis  exercises,  methodolo-­‐
project,  analysis  provides  the  basis  for  an  informed  and  mean-­‐ gies  used,  and  reflect  on  what  was  learned  from  my  observa-­‐
ingful  design  approach.  T HE  A RCHITECT’S  H ANDBOOK  OF  P RO-­‐ tions  and  student  feedback.    
FESSIONAL   P RACTICE  states,  “Site  analysis  is  a  vital  step  in  the  
design  process”  to  identify  “constraints  and  opportunities”  that  
led  to  “good  building  design  [which]  responds  to  the  inherent  
1  
qualities  of  the  site.”  

Why  is  it  then  that  site  analysis  is  so  quickly  discarded  after  the  
design  process  begins?  Architecture  students  often  approach  
site  analysis  as  a  passive  and  objective  endeavor  that  is  required  
in  order  to  get  to  the  exciting  part,  designing  a  building.  Some-­‐
times  they  view  the  site  with  contempt  that  it  may  actually  hin-­‐
der  their  creativity,  rather  than  inspire  it.  Is  this  due  to  purely  
formalist  tendencies  of  the  architecture  student?  Could  it  be  the  
dominance  of  other  design  factors  such  as  program,  structure,  
and  materiality?  Or,  is  it  perhaps  that  our  approach  to  site  anal-­‐
ysis  is  disconnected  with  the  design  process?  

I  propose  that  we  reframe  site  analysis  as  a  design  exercise,  one  
that  involves  active  and  subjective  work  through  investigation  
and  representation  of  contextual  information.  I  believe  that  this  
will  provide  an  opportunity  for  architectural  designs  that  are  
more  connected  with  the  site  and  whose  form  is  developed  in  
response  to  a  narrative  of  place.  By  critically  thinking  about  site  
analysis  as  a  beginning  phase  of  the  design  process,  students  
can  better  tackle  complex  relationships  between  the  built  and  
Fig.  1  Site  Lines  Collage,  Adrian  Tsou  (Cal  Poly)  
natural  environment,  observable  and  unseen  factors,  and  social  
issues  that  more  thoroughly  place  a  design  response  within  the  
Site  Thinking  
continuum  of  history  and  culture  imbedded  in  a  site  location.  
Site  is  not  easily  defined  in  architecture,  as  it  represents  both  a  
In  an  attempt  to  frame  site  analysis  as  an  integral  part  of  the  
physical  place  and  a  conceptual  construct.  Site  is  never  a  blank  
architectural  design  process,  I  will  discuss  series  of  exercises  that  
canvas  or  tabula  rasa,  but  a  rich  tapestry  of  embedded  
I  have  used  in  beginning  design  studios  and  the  literary  prece-­‐
Gabriel  Kaprielian  

nd
Fig.  2  Site  Lines  Collages,  2  year  architecture  students  (Cal  Poly)  

 
knowledge  and  dormant  potential.  Site  is  more  than  “con-­‐ tual  identities,  site  offers  to  participate  in  a  dialog  with  the  de-­‐
straints  and  opportunities”  from  a  suitability  analysis.  It  is  more   signer.  Site  gains  meaning  through  analysis  and  the  designer  
than  an  analytical  process  of  categorizing  geological  and  climatic   gains  knowledge  through  its  representation.  Andrea  Kahn  states  
information,  real  estate  value,  or  demographics.  It  is  at  once   that,  ”ideas  of  site  come  through  making.  Designers  confront  the  
measurable  and  comprehensible  only  through  analysis  of  its   challenge  of  defining  sites  through  a  creative  process  of  repre-­‐
parts.  Sites  incorporate  multiple  realities  simultaneously  and  can   sentation.”4  It  is  precisely  the  process  of  discovery  through  site  
be  represented  through  diverse  perspectives  and  subjective   analysis  and  representation  that  I  am  most  interested  in.  
interpretations.  Site  analysis  offers  fertile  ground  for  an  en-­‐
gagement  with  the  architectural  design  process.    Site  Mapping  

While  Site  Planning  and  Design  remains  a  core  component  to   The  work  and  writing  of  James  Corner  has  brought  site  analysis  
licensure  examination,  like  professional  practice,  it  contains  a   into  the  foreground  of  the  design  process.  Like  Kahn,  Corner  has  
narrow  view  of  the  relationship  of  site  to  architecture.  This  view   come  to  a  similar  conclusion  in  his  essay  on  the  “A GENCY  OF  
has  been  primarily  focused  on  the  physical,  rather  than  the   M APPING ,”  where  he  states  “…  mapping  is  perhaps  the  most  
conceptual  understanding  of  site;  more  concerned  with  defin-­‐ formative  and  creative  act  of  any  design  process,  first  disclosing  
ing  what  is  “important”  and  “valuable”  information,  outlined  in   and  then  staging  the  conditions  for  the  emergence  of  new  reali-­‐
prescribed  deliverables.  Architectural  pedagogy  has  mirrored   ties.”5  Mapping  is  a  subcategory  of  site  analysis  that  as  Corner  
practice,  often  approaching  site  through  an  analytical  and  scien-­‐ describes  is  itself  a  design  process.  It  involves  the  geo-­‐spatial  
tific  approach.2  This  paper  proposes  that  it  is  time  to  explore   representation  of  information,  which  must  be  selected,  orga-­‐
innovative  approaches  to  incorporate  site  analysis  as  a  design   nized,  and  abstracted  for  visual  clarity.  As  Corner  says,  “Maps  
exercise.  This  begins  with  site  thinking  to  question  and  redefine   present  only  one  version  of  the  earth’s  surface,  an  eidetic  fiction  
site  in  relation  to  architectural  design.   constructed  from  factual  observation.”6  

In  S ITE  M ATTERS,  Carol  Burns  and  Andrea  Kahn  describe  site   Mapping,  as  a  component  of  site  analysis,  derives  its  meaning  as  
thinking  as  “continually  oscillating  between  material  and  con-­‐ a  creative  practice.  Maps  are  able  to  layer  information  to  high-­‐
ceptual,  abstract  and  physical,  discursive  and  experiential,  and   light  areas  of  convergence;  they  can  uncover  unobservable  site  
general  and  specific  points  of  view.”3  This  varied  and  contradic-­‐ factors  and  visualize  multiple  time  periods  simultaneously.  In  
tory  interpretation  reconfigures  site  as  a  dynamic  process  and   this  way,  maps  can  “reveal  and  realize  hidden  potential”  and  “by  
places  it  in  a  broader  discourse.  With  both  physical  and  concep-­‐ showing  the  world  in  new  ways,  unexpected  solutions  and    
 Site  Analysis  as  Design  

th nd
Fig.  3  Narrative  Mapping  Collages,  4  year  architecture  students  (Temple  University)  and  2  year  architecture  students  (Cal  Poly)  

 
 effects  may  emerge.”7  However,  it  is  the  mapping  process  as  a   Christian  Norberg-­‐Schultz  continues  this  ontological  perspective  
design  activity,  rather  than  the  map  representation,  which  I  see   as  it  relates  to  a  sense  of  place  in  the  built  environment.  His  
as  the  most  important  aspect  to  incorporate  in  site  analysis   concept  of  “genius  loci”  is  described,  as  “representing  the  sense  
pedagogy.     people  have  of  place,  understood  as  the  sum  of  all  physical  as  
well  as  symbolic  values  in  nature  and  the  human  environ-­‐
Site  Experience   ment.”10  A  reading  of  the  site  in  these  terms  cannot  be  easily  
reduced  to  a  representative  form.  However,  this  personal  and  
In  contrast  to  mapping,  direct  site  experience  allows  the  body  to   experiential  understanding  of  site  is  a  wellspring  for  design  inspi-­‐
observe  the  site  through  the  senses.  A  site  visit  literally  puts  the   ration.  I  believe  that  Juhani  Pallasmaa  says  it  best;  “My  body  is  
site  in  perspective  view.  Rather  than  the  predominantly  plano-­‐ truly  the  navel  of  my  world,  not  in  the  sense  of  the  viewing  point  
metric  view  of  most  maps,  walking  through  a  site  allows  for   of  the  central  perspective,  but  as  the  very  locus  of  reference,  
another  form  of  mapping  that  can  record  temporal  moments   memory,  imagination  and  integration.”11    
and  phenomenal  characteristics.  Elizabeth  Meyer  has  called  this  
experiential  perception  of  site  “haecceity.”8  The  sights,  smells,   Site  Representation  
sounds,  tastes,  and  feel  of  a  site  recall  a  corporeal  knowledge  
that  is  often  referenced  in  a  phenomenological  understanding   As  a  practice,  architecture  is  primarily  concerned  with  design  
of  the  world.  Furthermore,  this  type  of  intimate  site  knowledge   representation.  Similarly,  the  process  and  product  of  represen-­‐
begins  to  define  a  sense  of  place.   tation  in  site  analysis  serve  as  an  act  of  disclosure.  Andrea  Kahn  
says  that  “site  representations  construct  site  knowledge;  they  
The  philosophy  of  experience  found  in  a  phenomenological   make  site  concepts  manifest  by  design.”12  In  this  way,  site  analy-­‐
approach  to  architecture  offers  an  important  counterbalance  to   sis  becomes  a  design  process  that  is  connected  to  architectural  
site  knowledge  mitigated  through  the  computer  screen.   production.  Nevertheless,  it  is  the  process  of  site  representation  
Heidegger’s  concept  of  “dwelling”  ascribes  meaning  to  site  or  a   rather  than  the  product  that  is  the  most  generative  aspect.  
locale  when  it  is  built  upon.  He  describes  the  process  of  defining   Kahn  continues  by  adding  that  “representations  such  as  draw-­‐
a  boundary,  which  I  take  as  a  reference  to  site  analysis,  as  “that   ings  and  models,  do  not  simply  illustrate  what  designers  think;  
from  which  something  begins  its  essential  unfolding.”9     more  profoundly,  they  reveal  how  designers  think.”13  This  
reflects  my  own  interest  in  understanding  how  students  learn  to  
design,  and  in  this  case,  how  the  site  can  inform  their  approach.  
Gabriel  Kaprielian  

Site  Analysis  as  Design   a  mountain  peak,  or  more  immediate  topography  such  as  rock  
formations  and  trees.  They  were  asked  to  take  photos  of  these  
Where  and  how  do  architecture  students  begin  their  design?   views,  while  also  recording  images  that  created  a  “palate”  of  the  
What  informs  their  design  process?  What  determines  whether   site’s  colors,  textures,  and  patterns.  In  addition  to  the  sensorial  
their  design  is  an  appropriate  response  to  place?  How  do  they   aspects  of  the  site  analysis,  students  were  asked  to  consider  
conceive  meaning  and  develop  an  argument  to  justify  their   what  they  were  not  able  to  experience  directly.  This  included  
design  approach?  I  will  share  examples  of  how  I  have  attempted   temporal  factors  such  as  climatic  changes  over  the  course  of  the  
to  address  these  questions  by  incorporating  site  analysis  exer-­‐ day  and  year,  how  the  site  has  transformed  throughout  history  
cises  as  a  core  component  of  the  design  process.  This  includes  a   and  geologic  time,  and  the  relationship  of  the  immediate  site  to  
broad  view  of  site  definition  that  recasts  its  boundaries,  both   the  larger  region.  
physical  and  theoretical.  A  variety  of  mapping  techniques  are  
utilized  to  uncover  hidden  site  information  that  cannot  be  ob-­‐ Back  in  studio,  students  transcribed  their  fieldwork  onto  a  digital  
served,  while  experiential  site  visits  form  a  basis  of  corporeal   site  map  and  added  to  it  with  Site  Lines  that  were  not  visible  
knowledge  and  complement  the  geo-­‐spatial  studies.  Ultimately,   during  the  visit.  Using  Climate  Consultant  and  a  sun  path  dia-­‐
the  exercises  that  I  will  describe  explore  the  way  students  make   gram,  students  mapped  the  predominant  wind  directions  and  
meaning  from  site  analysis  and  incorporate  it  into  their  design.   important  sun  angles  at  different  times  of  the  year.  The  combi-­‐
nation  of  the  Sight/Site  Lines  subsequently  served  as  a  scaffold  
Site  Analysis  as  Architecture   for  the  next  three  exercises,  Site  Lines  Collage,  Site  Morphology  
and  Monastery  Mash-­‐up.    
nd
At  Cal  Poly,  I  taught  two  consecutive  years  of  2  year  Architec-­‐
ture  Studio  and  the  corresponding  activity  session  for  Environ-­‐ The  Site  Lines  Collage  exercise  asked  students  to  combine  on-­‐
mental  Control  Systems  (ECS).  When  developing  the  curriculum   site  observation  with  historical,  geological,  and  cultural  research  
for  the  studio,  I  sought  to  incorporate  knowledge  from  the  ECS   of  the  site.  Using  the  Sight/Site  Lines  as  an  organizing  principle,  
lectures  and  labs  directly  into  the  design  process.  However,   students  were  tasked  with  visually  composing  their  site  re-­‐
student  attempts  to  integrate  a  traditional  approach  to  site   search,  with  focus  given  to  representation  and  compositional  
analysis  into  the  design  process  often  appeared  more  of  an   hierarchy.  The  final  production  was  a  complex  reading  of  the  
afterthought  than  a  design  driver.  What  originally  began  as  an   site  mapping  and  layering  of  information  that  revealed  new  site  
attempt  to  integrate  concepts  from  the  ECS  class  into  the  studio   knowledge  and  manifested  ground  to  build  upon.  
led  to  a  much  larger  exploration  of  site  and  how  it  is  perceived  
and  taught.  

The  architecture  studio  project  was  a  small  monastery  sited  in  

the  Carrizo  Plains  of  California.  The  monastery  was  required  to  
be  off  the  grid  and  without  electricity  and  central  heating.  As  an  
externally  load  dominated  building,  this  foregrounded  issues  of  
site  location,  climatic  conditions,  orientation,  and  passive  sys-­‐
tems  covered  in  the  Environmental  Control  Systems  lab  and  
lectures.  The  labs  for  ECS  take  an  analytical  and  scientific  ap-­‐
proach  to  understand  concepts  such  as  solar  angles  for  fenes-­‐
tration  and  how  this  can  inform  building  orientation,  aperture  
size,  and  appropriate  shading  devices.  In  an  attempt  to  incorpo-­‐
rate  these  topics  into  a  beginning  design  exercise,  I  realized  it   Fig.  4  Site  Morphology,  Adrian  Tsou  (Cal  Poly)  

becomes  a  subjective  and  exploratory  investigation  with  a  mul-­‐

In  the  next  phase,  students  translated  their  two-­‐dimensional  
titude  of  potential  meanings  and  outcomes.    
site  analysis  into  three-­‐dimensional  form  through  the  Site  Mor-­‐
The  first  exercise  was  to  create  Sight/Site  Lines.  This  began  with   phology  exercise.  This  involved  transcribing  the  Sight/Site  Lines  
a  field  trip  to  the  site  in  the  Carrizo  Plains  where  students  were   onto  a  solid  base  and  then  using  piano  wire  and  museum  board  
asked  to  demarcate  observable  phenomena  as  lines.  These   to  respond  to  the  site  analysis  through  construction.  Specific  
lines  may  include  views  to  distant  geographical  features,  such  as   guidelines  were  given  on  how  the  wire  and  board  could  be  fold-­‐
ed  to  maintain  a  level  of  structure  and  abstraction.  This  was  not  
 Site  Analysis  as  Design  

to  be  considered  a  building,  but  rather  a  design  response  to  the   Since  the  students  were  unable  to  visit  the  site  in  person,  an  
site  factors,  allowing  for  a  diversity  of  interpretations.  This  ap-­‐ experiential  aspect  of  the  Sight/Site  Lines  exercise  was  missing.  
proach  involved  allowing  the  intuitive  “thinking  hand”  to  collab-­‐ To  compensate  for  this,  students  conducted  extensive  mapping  
orate  with  the  “analytical  mind”  to  develop  a  meaningful  and   of  the  surrounding  area  using  Google  Earth  for  views  and  ArcGIS  
compositionally  compelling  respond  to  the  site  analysis.  For   to  layer  data.  With  digital  mapping  software,  each  team  layered  
example,  the  wire  may  start  as  the  angle  of  the  sun  on  a  sum-­‐ current  city  data  and  geo-­‐referenced  historic  maps  to  investi-­‐
mer  solstice  and  then  bend  into  alignment  with  a  view.  The   gate  the  urban  transformations  along  the  waterfront  and  on  
folded  board  could  follow  the  line  of  the  wire  or  be  considered  a   their  assigned  pier.  In  addition  to  transcribing  important  view  
separate  element,  deciding  to  enclose  an  area  and  block  pre-­‐ sheds,  climatic  factors,  and  the  present  built  environment,  the  
dominant  winter  wind  or  create  an  opening  to  receive  the  sun   Sight/Site  Lines  also  layered  past  transformations  and  future  
and  reveal  a  view.  While  there  was  no  scale  in  the  model,  stu-­‐ sea-­‐level  rise  scenarios.    
dents  were  asked  to  consider  the  scale  of  parts  to  each  other  in  
the  composition.      

The  final  exercise  to  incorporate  the  Sight/Site  Lines  involved  

creating  a  deconstructivist  mash-­‐up  from  a  Cistercian  monas-­‐
tery  case  study.  Students  were  asked  to  draft  the  floor  plans  of  
an  assigned  monastery  in  order  to  understand  an  ascetic  pro-­‐
gram,  building  organization,  and  scale.  Like  a  mash-­‐up  song,  the  
programmatic  parts  of  the  monastery  could  be  cut  and  rear-­‐
ranged  using  the  Sight/Site  Lines  geometry  to  create  a  new  
composition.  The  resultant  Monastery  Mash-­‐up  combined  site  
analysis,  representation,  and  precedent  study  together,  estab-­‐
lishing  a  framework  to  inform  further  design.  

Site  Analysis  as  Urban  Design  

th
At  Temple  University,  I  taught  a  4  year  Urban  Design  studio  this  
past  fall,  where  I  employed  similar  site  analysis  exercises  to  see  
how  they  would  work  in  a  larger  urban  context.  The  studio  pro-­‐
ject  was  to  redesign  the  Northeastern  Embarcadero  waterfront  
of  San  Francisco  for  the  year  2040,  accounting  for  sea-­‐level  rise  
by  the  mid  and  end  of  the  century  and  projected  population  
growth.  The  studio  was  tasked  with  creating  a  resilient  water-­‐
front  plan  for  the  entire  waterfront  site  from  the  Ferry  Building  
to  the  Cruise  Terminal.  For  the  first  half  of  the  semester,  stu-­‐
dents  focused  on  the  urban  design  scale  and  were  paired  up  to  
redesign  one  of  seven  piers  and  the  corresponding  waterfront  
area.  The  second  half  of  the  semester  focused  on  individual   Fig.  5  Narrative  Mapping  Collage,  Lauren  Benegas  (Temple  University)  
architectural  design  of  a  single  building  on  their  pier.  
The  Narrative  Mapping  Collage  represented  site  analysis  re-­‐
Given  the  complexity  and  scale  of  the  project,  I  incorporated  a   search  of  the  past,  present,  and  future.  Beginning  with  ArGIS,  
variety  of  new  exercises  that  utilized  mapping  to  uncover  the   students  created  a  scaled  geo-­‐spatial  map  as  the  base  of  their  
interrelationships  between  social,  ecological,  and  infrastructural   composition.  Their  collages  combined  photomontage  tech-­‐
factors.  Additionally,  the  importance  of  urban  transformations   niques  with  geo-­‐referenced  maps  and  data,  uncovering  a  lay-­‐
along  the  waterfront  was  vital  to  an  understanding  of  the  cur-­‐ ered  understanding  of  complex  and  intertwined  site  factors.    
rent  and  future  conditions.  Therefore,  students  researched  the  
local  urban  morphology  and  historical  ecology  to  inform  their   The  second  phase  of  the  Sight/Site  Lines  exercise  involved  creat-­‐
Sight/Site  Lines  and  Narrative  Mapping  Collage.     ing  a  compositional  hierarchy  by  defining  major  and  minor  lines,  
deleting  and  trimming  geometry,  specifying  important  nodes  of
Gabriel  Kaprielian  

intersection,  and  defining  spatial  relationships.  While  abstract  

and  relatively  subjective,  students  were  asked  to  consider  the  
meaning  of  each  operation  as  it  related  to  the  site  factors.  

Students  conducted  case  studies  of  similar  waterfront  projects  

around  the  world,  which  they  drafted  as  scaled  figure  ground  
projections.  Again,  students  created  a  Case  Study  Mash-­‐up,  
where  they  arranged  building  footprints  from  precedent  studies  
and  then  edited  them  with  their  Sight/Site  Lines  geometry.  This  
gave  the  students  an  understanding  of  scale  and  how  buildings  
might  be  situated  on  their  constructed  site  design.  After  a  refin-­‐
ing  of  the  resultant  figure  ground  footprint,  students  overlaid  a  
Fig.  6  Sight/Site  Lines,  Case  Study  Mash-­‐up,  Programmatic  Word  Collage,  Lauren  
Benegas  and  Sierra  Summers  (Temple  University)     programmatic  word  collage  to  represent  design  intent  of  each  
interior  and  exterior  built  space.    

Given  the  wealth  of  information  in  the  urban  context,  the  site  
analysis  exercises  proved  to  be  highly  successful  in  generating  
site  knowledge  and  formal  representations.  Each  team  usually  
focused  on  a  few  Sight/Site  Lines  as  major  organizational  factors,  
whether  they  were  based  on  a  connection  to  the  existing  pat-­‐
tern  of  development,  climatic  orientation,  or  views.  Some  teams  
were  inspired  by  their  Case  Study  Mash-­‐up  compositions,  while  
others  focused  more  on  an  infrastructural  or  formal  pattern  of  
development.    

Site  Analysis  as  Past,  Present,  and  Future  

The  last  example  of  site  analysis  integration  in  design  that  I  will  
share  is  from  a  summer  program  that  I  directed  at  UC  Berkeley  
called  Design  and  Innovation  for  Sustainable  Cities.  In  this  inten-­‐
sive  five-­‐week  program,  students  explored  an  interdisciplinary  
and  multi-­‐scalar  approach  to  design  and  analysis  in  the  urban  
environment.  Through  lectures,  urban  seminars,  workshops,  
field  studies,  and  studio  work,  students  engaged  in  discourse  
and  design  aimed  at  addressing  the  challenges  of  urbanism  with  
innovative  and  sustainable  solutions.  In  response  to  the  San  
Francisco  Resilience  Plan  for  2040,  students  worked  in  teams  to  
develop  resilient  urban  design  proposals  in  four  neighborhood  
corridors  within  the  city.  Their  task  was  to  respond  to  several  
interconnected  challenges  posed  by  the  city  including,  climate  
change,  infrastructure,  social  inequity,  and  housing.    

With  only  a  quarter  of  the  students  having  a  design  background  

and  the  vast  majority  coming  from  abroad  or  across  the  coun-­‐
try,  the  importance  of  site  analysis  was  paramount  to  develop-­‐
ing  an  informed  design  response.  Site  analysis  was  framed  in  
both  physical  and  theoretical  terms.  The  urban  seminars  and  
lectures  allowed  for  discourse  into  the  meaning  of  site  and  a  
Fig.  7  Urban  Design  Mid-­‐Semester  Poster,  Lauren  Benegas  and  Sierra  Summers   critical  examination  of  methodological  tools  for  design  and  
(Temple  University)   study.  Field  trips  to  the  sites  with  guest  lectures  combined  an  
 Site  Analysis  as  Design  

experiential  understanding  with  a  deeper  framework  of  site   graved  acrylic  base  with  a  massing  model  of  existing  buildings  
knowledge.  Students  worked  in  groups  to  create  analog  map-­‐ cut  out  of  basswood.  The  speculative  design  proposal  was  then  
pings  of  their  sites,  examining  the  observable  factors,  categoriz-­‐ 3D  printed  and  overlaid  on  top.  Besides  creating  a  compelling  
ing  and  geo-­‐referencing  photographs  and  notes  on  the  wall.     physical  artifact,  the  Past,  Present,  Future  Model  sought  to  make  
visible  both  the  final  design  and  the  process  of  site  analysis  as  
Students  had  a  robust  introduction  to  mapping  with  ArcGIS  to   one  composite  assemblage.    
compare  with  their  analog  mapping  observations  and  investi-­‐
gate  the  unseen  ecological,  social,  and  infrastructural  factors,   Reflections  
past,  present,  and  future.  Teams  were  asked  to  consider  the  
urban  transformations  of  the  past,  how  this  affected  the  pre-­‐ What  is  clear  from  my  experience  attempting  to  develop  site  
sent,  and  how  it  can  be  used  to  inform  future  design  proposals.   focused  design  coursework,  is  that  there  are  a  vast  number  of  
The  studio  result  was  an  urban  design  proposal  that  sought  to   approaches  and  comprehensions  of  site  possible.  Methods  and  
address  the  challenges  posed  by  the  San  Francisco  Resilience   perceptions  of  site  analysis  that  are  currently  incorporated  in  
Plan,  while  responding  to  the  unique  conditions  of  their  neigh-­‐ the  practice  of  architecture  are  only  scratching  the  surface  and  
borhood.  The  final  production  included  a  model  that  combined   may  not  equip  students  for  the  future  trajectory  of  the  profes-­‐
analysis  of  the  past  and  present  urban  environment  and  specu-­‐ sion.  Rather  than  mirror  practice,  I  believe  that  it  is  essential  to  
lative  future  design.   challenge  the  normative  approach  to  site  and  expand  our  
methodologies  and  perception  of  what  is  “useful”  site  infor-­‐
mation.  I  see  new  potential  directions  for  architectural  peda-­‐
gogy  to  incorporate  site  thinking  and  site  representation  as  a  
primary  design  driver.  

The  exercises  that  I  have  presented  represent  a  modest  step  at  

incorporating  site  analysis  as  a  design  activity  in  the  architecture  
studio.  It  is  clear  to  me  that  these  exercises  have  been  success-­‐
ful  in  foregrounding  site  as  a  primary  factor  in  the  architectural  
design  process,  while  at  the  same  time  they  are  idiosyncratic,  
flawed,  and  bias  in  the  approach.  The  question  of  how  to  begin  
the  design  process  is  a  complex  and  divisive  one.  We  often  de-­‐
velop  “tricks”  in  our  design  methodologies  that  allow  for  an  
abstraction  of  variables  and  system  of  problem  solving  that  is  
both  analytical  and  intuitive.  Architecture  is  neither  a  clear  nor  
linear  process,  as  design  decisions  are  worked  on  and  reworked  
through  an  iterative  process.    

The  Sight/Site  Lines  exercise  represents  one  methodology  to  

incorporate  a  variety  of  site  factors  to  begin  determining  rela-­‐
tionships  between  the  building  and  surrounding  context.  This  
abstraction  allows  for  a  level  of  subjectivity  and  intuitive  design  
thinking,  while  incorporating  analytical  and  measurable  factors.  
The  ambiguous  relationship  between  the  two  is  often  confusing  
for  students  at  first.  However,  in  the  process  of  editing  the  
Sight/Site  Lines,  students  make  a  vital  leap  from  transcribing  site  
factors  to  developing  a  hierarchy  of  relational  qualities  that  
Fig.  8  Past,  Present,  Future  Models,  Design  and  Innovation  for  Sustainable  Cities  (UC  
Berkeley)   make  a  path  for  site  thinking.  In  this  way,  students  begin  to  ac-­‐
tively  participate  in  creating  a  mapping  of  the  site  rather  than  a  
This  Past,  Present,  Future  Model  incorporated  a  light  box  in  the   “tracing.”  
base  that  illuminated  the  historic  maps  printed  on  a  transparen-­‐
cy  sheets.  The  current  urban  form  was  depicted  by  a  laser  en-­‐
Gabriel  Kaprielian  

The  planar  approach  of  the  Sight/Site  Lines  and  Collage  exercis-­‐ rate  this  understanding  into  their  design  studio  project,  while  
es  are  certainly  bias  toward  a  planometic  design.  This  is  a  limita-­‐ others  simply  describe  how  the  focus  on  site  analysis  as  design  
tion  to  the  formal  arrangement  of  a  design  process  that  looks   allows  them  to  see  the  world  in  a  new  way.  
primarily  from  a  single  vantage  point.  By  beginning  in  the  plan  
view,  students  tend  to  base  much  of  their  design  on  floor  plans.   Conclusion  
The  Site  Morphology  exercise  is  an  attempt  to  begin  translating  
the  two-­‐dimensional  work  into  three-­‐dimensional  form  without   Architectural  pedagogy  should  not  remain  static  in  an  approach  
simply  extruding  the  plan  view.  In  many  ways,  I  believe  this  ex-­‐ to  site  analysis  that  mirrors  the  profession,  but  rather  explore  
ercise  is  more  successful  than  traditional  massing  models  for  its   new  tools  and  techniques  that  aim  to  incorporate  site  
formal  constraints  and  abstraction.  However,  students  have   knowledge  directly  into  the  design  process.  This  may  come  from  
often  expressed  similar  confusion  in  translating  a  three-­‐ rethinking  the  relationship  between  conceptual  construct  and  
dimensional  abstraction  of  the  site  analysis,  while  not  directly   physical  condition  of  the  site,  leading  to  what  Carol  Burns  and  
designing  a  building.  I  feel  it  is  precisely  this  tension  that  leads  to   Andrea  Kahn  refer  to  as  “concrete  theorizing.”16  New  ap-­‐
design  breakthroughs.   proaches  may  also  be  informed  by  interdisciplinary  cross-­‐
pollination.  I  believe  mapping,  as  described  by  James  Corner,  is  
The  use  of  mapping  in  the  site  analysis  exercises,  while  also  bias   still  a  relatively  untapped  potential  in  the  architectural  design  
toward  a  planometric  view,  is  a  rich  process  of  “gathering,  work-­‐ process,  which  can  open  new  worlds  of  knowledge,  past,  pre-­‐
ing,  reworking,  assembling,  relating,  revealing,  sifting,  and   sent,  and  future.  There  is  no  blank  canvas  for  architecture.  The  
speculating.”14  Mapping  is  itself  a  design  activity  that  makes   site  is  a  rich  and  fertile  ground  of  information,  stories,  and  haec-­‐
sense  of  layered  information  through  abstraction  and  represen-­‐ ceity.  By  finding  innovative  ways  to  uncover  what  is  imbedded  
tation.  The  use  of  mapping  in  the  architecture  studio  is  far  more   in  each  site,  architectural  responses  will  be  all  the  richer  for  it.      
than  creating  a  base  map.  Rather,  it  is  a  process  of  uncovering  
multiple  layers  of  information  and  making  them  visible  through   Notes  
representation.  James  Corner  reflects  on  the  “maker’s  own  
participation  and  engagement  with  the  cartographic  process”  as                                                                                                                            
a  vital  aspect  of  developing  new  insights  in  developing  a  dis-­‐ 1  Floyd  Zimmerman,  “Site  Analysis,”  in  The  Architect’s  Handbook  of  

course  with  the  site  to  inform  appropriate  design  solutions.15   2  Carol  J.  Burns  and  Andrea  Kahn,  “Why  Site  Matters”  in  Site  Matters:  
Incorporating  the  composite  montage  of  the  collage  adds  an-­‐ Design  Concepts,  Histories,  and  Strategies,  Burns,  Carol  J.  and  Andrea  
Kahn,  eds  (New  York:  Routledge,  2005),  x.    
other  layer  of  agency  in  uncovering  and  representing  site  mean-­‐
ing.  This  technique  breaks  from  the  conventions  of  the  geo-­‐ 3  Burns  and  Kahn,  Site,  xxi.  

spatially  referenced  information  and  allows  the  students  to   4  Andrea  Kahn,  “Defining  Urban  Sites.”  in  Site  Matters:  Design  Con-­‐
layer  alternative  site  imagination,  which  can  convey  multiple   cepts,  Histories,  and  Strategies,  Burns,  Carol  J.  and  Andrea  Kahn,  eds  
(New  York:  Routledge,  2005),  (New  York:  Routledge,  2005),  286.  
subjective  realities.  
5  James  Corner,  “The  Agency  of  Mapping:  Speculation,  Critique  and  
In  the  seminar  class  that  I  am  currently  teaching,  called  appro-­‐ Invention,”  in  Mappings,  ed.  Denis  Cosgrove  (London:  Reaktion  Books  
Ltd.,  1999),  216.  
priately  “Site  Analysis  as  Design,”  I  have  been  incorporating  a  
similar  theoretical  framework  for  course  reading  and  discussion,   6  Corner,  “Agency  of  Mapping,”  215.  
while  utilizing  many  of  the  site  analysis  design  exercises.  How-­‐ 7  Corner,  “Agency  of  Mapping,”  217  
ever,  in  this  case,  there  is  no  architectural  design  project  in  the   8  Elizabeth  Meyer,  “Site  Citations:  The  Grounds  of  Modern  Landscape  
course.  The  design  is  the  representation  of  the  site  analysis  it-­‐ Architecture,”  in  Site  Matters:  Design  Concepts,  Histories,  and  Strate-­‐
self.  The  course  is  set  up  to  explore  and  question  what  it  means   gies,  Burns,  Carol  J.  and  Andrea  Kahn,  eds  (New  York:  Routledge,  
to  construct  knowledge  through  design  and  discussion  of  the   2005),  110-­‐112  

site.  Students  have  expressed  how  little  they  have  focused  on   9  Martin  Heidegger,  “Building  Dwelling  Thinking,”  in  Basic  Writings,  
site  in  previous  design  studios,  or  how  this  type  of  investigation   trans.  David  Farrell  Krell  (New  York:  Harper  Collins,  1977),  356.  

is  not  typically  taught  in  architecture,  but  rather  the  disciplines   10  Gunila  Jivén,  Peter  J.  Larkham,  “Sense  of  Place,  Authenticity  and  
of  landscape  architecture,  planning,  or  geography.  However,   Character:  A  Commentary,”  in  Journal  of  Urban  Design,  Vol.  8,  No.  1,    
(Philadelphia:  Taylor  and  Francis,  2004),  67-­‐81.  
they  have  already  shown  a  deep  interest  and  aptitude  for  ex-­‐
ploring  concepts  and  representational  techniques  that  manifest   11  Juhani  Pallasmaa,  The  Eyes  of  the  Skin:  Architecture  and  the  Senses,  
(Wiley-­‐Academy,  Great  Britain,  2005),  11.  
site  knowledge.  Many  have  discussed  how  they  might  incorpo-­‐
 Site  Analysis  as  Design  

                                                                                                                                                                                               
12  Kahn,  “Defining  Urban  Sites,”  286.  

13  Kahn,  “Defining  Urban  Sites,”  287.  

14  Corner,  “Agency  of  Mapping,”  228.  

15  Corner,  “Agency  of  Mapping,”  228-­‐229.  

16  Burns  and  Kahn,  “Site,”  ix.