SITE SELECTION FOR BUILDINGS

CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
 Site Selection - Objectives
• Safety

• Developable Topography

• Close to place of work

• Climate of the region

• Cost and time frame

• Availability of Materials
 Site Selection for Buildings
• Questions to ask
• Is the land suitable for development?
• Are there better uses for the site?
• Does the land have cultural, historical, or archeological
significance?
• Are clean air, water and soil present?
• Are roads, highways and transportation options nearby?
 Good Siting Practice
• Take advantage of natural site features such as topography,
geology, hydrology, sunlight / shade, breeze, existing land use,
land cover & infrastructure
• Integrate the building architecturally into natural context of site
which minimize the appearance-Aesthetic views
• Minimize site clearing, excavation and earthworks to reduce
costs
• Preserve existing vegetation which can reduce landscape
maintenance cost
Contd ……
 Good Siting Practice
• Mitigate erosion to reduce topsoil loss

• Manage the storm water runoff and erosion

• Minimize groundwater and surface water pollution

• Minimize disturbance to natural drainage & hydrological system

• Reduce the risk of nature through prevention & mitigation

• Investigate ground condition before planning design &
construction
 Natural Calamities
• Building sites are prone to natural calamities like:-
• High speed winds
• Heavy rainfalls
• Cloud bursts
• Flash floods
• Avalanches
• Earthquakes
• Landslides
• These natural disasters cause annual losses to life and property
• The use of new materials and technologies is imperative in addition to the need to lay down
standards on strengthening measures for the existing structures, as well as design parameters
for new structures
• Hazardous sites should be avoided for building construction to minimize risks against natural
disasters
 Design features to reduce the effect of the forces of high winds on a
house - Rules of thumb
• Avoid sites on or near tall hills. Tall hills can increase wind speed by as much as 50
percent.
• Valleys tend to funnel winds creating abnormally high wind speeds. Therefore, efforts
should be to avoid such sites.
• Building places near one another shall develop intense suction on the gable end of
pitched roofs. Building shall also be spaced with small gaps to stabilize the flow on
the lee side.
• A house plan of circular shape shall be ideal for high wind regions.
• The natural wind breaks, such as stands of trees, small hills or hedges should be
made.
 Design features to reduce the effect of the forces of high winds on a
house - Rules of thumb
• Do not build any opening which cannot be reached & closed off during the calamity.
• Provide openings in suitable locations where wind pressure can escape.
• Design the roof to reduce suction and breaking lifting pattern.
• Design corners to reduce the pressures by allowing wind to slip around the corners
(This can be done often by rounding or beveling the corners of a house).
• Avoid creating areas where wind can be trapped and excessive pressure can build up.
• Avoid creating courtyards or patios to reduce circular or turbulent winds.
• Provide all doors and windows not less than 1 m from each other and also not less
than 1 m from the end of a wall.
 Flash Floods / Cyclones
• Prefer sites away from sea coast, flood plains and lakesides
• Provide protective measures such as channelization, ponding
areas, flood walls, etc.
  Flash floods / Cyclones
• Following to be avoided:
• Low elevation relative to lagoon, river or surrounding land
• Low lying areas, wetlands and lagoon mouths
• Lack of natural outlet to discharge water or restriction at the outlet
• Edges of inland lakes
• Flood plains and particularly the flood way
• Downstream banks and flow ways below dams, particularly in
earthquake areas
• Building at the foot of slopes receiving direct surface run-off
 Flood Prone Areas
• The land should be higher than the last recorded flood level in the area
• It should be easily accessible and there should not be any barriers to
access
• Building on land that was previously abandoned / polluted water body or
garbage disposal site should be avoided because of danger of groundwater
contamination and land settlement and consequent damage to houses,
especially during flood
• The space around the land should be open as much as possible to allow
adequate air flow, ventilation and light
• There should be a nearby ditch, canal or other appropriate place for
drainage of water away from the site
Buildings in Coastal Areas
Buildings in Coastal Areas
• Building failures are mostly due to poor site selection
• Building a small lot between a road and an eroding shoreline
is a recipe for trouble
• Siting a building near the edge of a bluff (near vertical slope)
increase the likelihood of building loss
• Siting near the tidal inlet with a dynamic shoreline can result
in the building being exposed to increasing flood and erosion
hazards over time
• Siting a building immediately behind an erosion control
structure may lead to building damage from the wave
overtopping
 Snow Avalanches
• Prefer sites away from avalanches sites

• Avoid formation of snow pockets on roof and on site

• Design roofs with slopes greater than 50° to disregard

snow load

• Provide avalanche defense structures (mainly steel

brides & wire nets), avalanche deflecting and
catching dams and protection sheds for roads and
railways

• Forest helped prevent avalanches and rare

avalanches are observed beyond the timberline
Snow Avalanches Defense Structures
Earthquakes
• A devastating earthquake in the Kashmir valley (Oct
08,2005) claimed over 70,000 lives. The magnitude
of the earthquake was 7.6 on Richter scale
• Site Investigations will assist in identifying potential
danger of sliding, erosion, land subsidence or
liquefaction during an earthquake
• The local practice of managing any such hazard
should be given due consideration
 Landslides & Hilly Terrain

• Landslides includes all kinds of mass

movements on hill slopes that can affect the

safety of human settlements, buildings services

or infrastructures

• Hilly Terrains includes all grounds that have a

slope equal to or more than 15 percent

 Potential Hazardous Sites
• Simple indication of sustained stability of a slope is the

presence of upright standing trees on it. Abnormally inclined

trees on a slope indicate instability of the hill slope

• The forests are really useful to stop landslides but building

should not be constructed close to any big tree, as tree might

fall during earthquake. The distance between tree and house

should preferably be at least equal to the height of tree or

house, whichever is greater

Landslides - Signs
Earthquakes
• A safer site is the one having:-
• No danger of landslides
• Sufficient plantation on slope
• Trees not too close to the house
• Mild slope
• Far from river banks
 Earthquake
• Use available data on nature of faulting and spread of poor bearing soils and
unrestrained sands

• Avoid narrow ridges, steep slopes, narrow valleys and sites near cliffs or large
gullies that is within 150 m

• Prefer sites with hard bedrock at or near the surface

• Prefer sites where landslides are unknown in surrounding area

• Prefer sites where there is no sign of active faulting and avoid offset rock lays,
row of ponds or swamps and deep or long cracks in ground

• Avoid building on filled-up land or on the edge of a slope

Potential Hazardous Sites
• Buildings should not be constructed near steep
slopes and unstable slopes

• Cliffs made of soft or crumbly, clay loam, deposit

materials etc. should be avoided

• Landslides, or rock fall areas should be avoided.

Apparently some slopes may look stable, but failure
could be triggered by an earthquake. However,
buildings in these areas can be constructed after
providing proper retaining walls and green barriers
 Potential Hazardous Sites
• Have a safe space between the down stream retaining wall and the
house. Do not use this wall as a house wall. Ideally the distance ‘d’
should be equal to the height of the retaining wall or house

• Building should be far enough from the toe of the slope

Potential Hazardous Sites
• Building should not be constructed on loose fill. On
a filled ground, the bearing capacity of foundation
sub-soil is low and settlement of foundations may
occur

• Geological and rupture areas that are usually

visible, permanent, deep, and active should be
avoided for construction. Buildings should be
constructed at least 250 m away from these lines
 Potential Hazardous Sites

• Buildings should not be constructed

close to another building. The distance

between two houses should be at least

equal to the height of house

Hilly Area Siting
• Proper disposal of rain and sewage water with proper spouts
and gutters in the roof so that the undue loading is not
generated in the foundation or in the retaining wall due to
accumulation of water.
• Flat land is normally not available in hilly regions. The houses
are required to be constructed on partially sloping land made
available by cutting and filling. It shall be necessary to
protect the house by building retaining walls / breast walls to
avoid landslides occurring at time of earthquakes or heavy
rains.
 Hilly Area Siting – Misc
• No house shall preferably be located closer than 1 m to
another house
• No house shall preferably be located closer than 10 m to a
steep slope
• No house shall be built on a land fill or on the edge of a
slope known to have been levelled
• A house plan of rectangular shape shall be evolved, provided
length to width ratio does not exceed 2.5:1
• The parallel walls of the buildings shall be of equal length
and height
• The height of building shall be minimum. Maximum height
of double storied building shall be restricted to be 6.0 m
Hilly Areas Siting
Hill Setbacks
Any Questions ????