SELECTION OF SITE

SELECTION OF SITE –

Choosing a site on which to locate a new home is not a simple task. Countless factors – natural, man-made, social and economic – must be examined. Where we choose to build and how we build on a site have an impact on the local and global environments, ongoing costs (utility bills, maintenance) and our physical and psychological well-being. Whether selecting a site or working with an existing site, and whether the site is urban, suburban or rural, there are many aspects that can be examined with respect to how healthy for people and the home on that site can potentially be.

Location: -Selecting a building site close to work, schools, shopping, etc. will minimize travel distances and time. Short distances, sidewalks, bike paths and bus stops will allow for healthier modes of transportation and the avoidance of excessive costly, polluting automobile trips. A lot in an established neighborhood located close to town is a particularly good choice for many people.

Avoiding environmentally sensitive areas helps protect some of the features that makes many areas so special – our creeks, lakes, aquifer, tree-covered hills, wildlife, native wildflowers & plants.  Flat to moderately sloped sites are preferable to steeply sloped lots, as soil erosion, loss of hillside vegetation and damage to waterways are more difficult to avoid when building on steep slopes.

Design for the Climate, Flora, and Fauna & Soils: -The chosen building site can greatly affect the comfort and energy efficiency of the home built upon it. A south-facing slope or good southern exposure on a lot which allows for the long sides of the building to face north and south will facilitate the utilization of our prevailing summer breezes and desirable winter solar heat gain. A hot, bare site will require a greater investment in wide overhangs, shading devices such as awnings or trellises, and shade trees to keep utility bills down and comfort levels up.

Examination of a particular site’s unique characteristics is important. Location and type of trees should be evaluated for summer shading assistance, summer breeze channeling or blocking, winter wind blocking, and winter solar heat gain penetration.

A lot that allows for placement of the house on a relatively flat area and in a natural clearing will minimize disruption of the natural vegetation. This will avoid erosion, discourage growth of invasive exotic vegetation, and be less expensive than massive reconstruction. Minimizing disruption of natural drainage patterns is generally less expensive up front and avoids costly maintenance of elaborate constructed drainage systems. Respecting existing wildlife trails and habitat will enhance wildlife observation enjoyment.

Minimization of Raw Materials: - One of the best ways to minimize the use of raw materials is to select a site that already has a home on it, and remodel as necessary. At times it makes sense to move an existing home to a new site. Some sites may offer sources of usable building materials such as wood, stone, clay and sand which, if carefully and thoughtfully considered, can be a sound alternative to importation.

One of the best ways to minimize the amount (and cost) of building materials required is to keep the size of the home reasonable. With thoughtful design a small home can be very comfortable, functional and respectful of privacy. Smaller, more affordable lots should not be overlooked.

Social/Psychological/Functional: -How the site “feels” – inviting or forbidding, hot or cool, open or intimate – may affect how much the new homeowners take advantage of outdoor living spaces. Maximum use of patios, decks, natural clearings, or other outdoor rooms can result in the need for less indoor square footage that needs to be constructed then heated and cooled, not to mention the psychological and physical benefits of being outdoors. A prospective building site should be examined for existing tree groupings, landforms or structures that will aid in creating pleasant, usable outdoor spaces. Offsite conditions which may affect outdoor livability or indoor living with open windows (such as traffic noise, odors or pollution) should be considered before selecting a site.

TYPES OF HOUSE PLANS –

SITE PLAN:

A site plan is an architectural plan, landscape architecture document, and a detailed engineering drawing of proposed improvements to a given lot. A site plan usually shows a building footprint, travel ways, parking, drainage facilities, sanitary sewer lines, water lines, trails, lighting, and landscaping and garden elements.

Such a plan of a site is a "graphic representation of the arrangement of buildings, parking, drives, landscaping and any other structure that is part of a development project".

It is a set of construction drawings that a builder or contractor uses to make improvements to a property. Counties can use the site plan to verify that development codes are being met and as a historical resource. Site plans are often prepared by a design consultant who must be either a licensed engineer, architect, landscape architect or land surveyor.

Site analysis: -Site analysis is an inventory completed as a preparatory step to site planning, a form of urban planning which involves research, analysis, and synthesis. It primarily deals with basic data as it relates to a specific site. Site Analysis is an element in site planning and design.

Site plan building blocks: -A site plan is a top view, bird’s eye view of a property that is drawn to scale. A site plan can show:

·         Property lines

·         Outline of existing and proposed buildings and structures

·         Distance between buildings

·         Distance between buildings and property lines (setbacks)

·         Parking lots, indicating parking spaces

·         Driveways

·         Surrounding streets

·         Landscaped areas

·         Easements

·         Ground sign location

·         Utilities

Site planning: -Site planning in landscape architecture and architecture refers to the organizational stage of the landscape design process. It involves the organization of land use zoning, access, circulation, privacy, security, shelter, land drainage, and other factors. This is done by arranging the compositional elements of landform, planting, water, buildings and paving and building. Site planning generally begins by assessing a potential site for development through site analysis.

Transportation planning: -Transportation planning is the field involved with the siting of transportation facilities (generally streets, highways, sidewalks, bike lanes and public transport lines). The role of the transport planner is shifting from technical analysis to promoting sustainability through integrated transport policies.Modern-day transport planners need to be both technically proficient and politically astute.

Urban planning: -Urban, city, and town planning is the integration of the disciplines of land use planning and transport planning, to explore a very wide range of aspects of the built and social environments of urbanized municipalities and communities. Regional planning deals with a still larger environment, at a less detailed level.

FLOOR PLAN:

In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces and other physical features at one level of a structure.

Dimensions are usually drawn between the walls to specify room sizes and wall lengths. Floor plans may also include details of fixtures like sinks, water heaters, furnaces, etc. Floor plans may include notes for construction to specify finishes, construction methods, or symbols for electrical items.

A "reflected ceiling plan" shows a view of the room as if looking from above, through the ceiling, at a mirror installed one foot below the ceiling level, which shows the reflected image of the ceiling above. Reflected Ceiling Plans or RCP's are used by designers and architects to demonstrate lighting, visible mechanical features, and ceiling forms as part of the documents provided for construction.

Building blocks: - A floor plan is not a top view or bird’s eye view. It is a measured drawing to scale of the layout of a floor in a building. A "top view" or "bird's eye view" does not show an orthogonally projected plane cut at the typical 4' height above the floor level. A floor plan could show:

·         Interior walls and hallways

·         Restrooms

·         Windows and doors

·         Appliances such as stoves, refrigerators, water heater etc.

·         Interior features such as fireplaces, saunas and whirlpools

·         The use of all rooms

Types: -Floor plans show the size and perimeter of a new residence as well as all interior living spaces. It’s of the following types –

One story floor plans – This type of floor plan has the living and sleeping space all on one level. This is ideal for people who don’t want stairs in their home. It usually costs more to build a one-story home than a two-story home with the same square footage because more land is usually required to build a one-story home.

Two story floor plans –This floor plan can usually fit on a smaller lot, is less expensive to build and costs less to heat and cool. There is also more privacy in a two-story house. The biggest drawback is the stairs, which on average take up 100 square feet of space.

Three story floor plans – The advantages and disadvantages of a three-story floor plan are similar to that of a two-story. A two-story home can sometimes be changed into a three-story by adding a high-pitched roof, dormers and finishing the attic space.

Multi-level floor plans – These home plans have floors at different levels. They are usually built on lots that slope. They are better suited for smaller lots. Stairs usually connects the levels. One problem with multi-level home design plans is that noise travels easily throughout the house.

Multifamily floor plans – Multiple families share in house in this type of home plan. They usually cost less per square foot than a single-story floor plan because the home shares land and walls.

Duplex floor plans – Duplex design plans have two home plans together that make a housing unit for two families. The interiors usually mirror one another.

Condo floor plans – These are similar to duplexes but sometimes have more levels or units.

Townhouse Floor Plans – Townhouses are usually two stories tall. They are usually repeated in rows and typically have anywhere from two to eight units per row.

Apartment floor plans – An apartment usually consists of four or more units in a building. Soundproofing is highly recommended.

ELEVATION PLAN:

An elevation is a view of a building seen from one side, a flat representation of one façade. This is the most common view used to describe the external appearance of a building. Each elevation is labeled in relation to the compass direction it faces, e.g. the north elevation of a building is the side that most closely faces north. Buildings are rarely a simple rectangular shape in plan, so a typical elevation may show all the parts of the building that are seen from a particular direction.

Geometrically, an elevation is a horizontal orthographic projection of a building on to a vertical plane, the vertical plane normally being parallel to one side of the building.

Interior elevations are used to show detailing such as millwork and trim configurations.

In the building industry elevations are a non-perspective view of the structure. These are drawn to scale so that measurements can be taken for any aspect necessary. Drawing sets include front, rear and both side elevations. The elevations specify the composition of the different facades of the building, including ridge heights, the positioning of the final fall of the land, exterior finishes, roof pitches and other architectural details.

A developed elevation is a variant of a regular elevation view in which several adjacent non-parallel sides may be shown together, as if they have been unfolded. For example, the north and west views may be shown side-by-side, sharing an edge, even though this does not represent a proper orthographic projection.

CROSS-SECTIONAL PLAN:

A cross section, also simply called a section, represents a vertical plane cut through the object, in the same way as a floor plan is a horizontal section viewed from the top. In the section view, everything cut by the section plane is shown as a bold line, often with a solid fill to show objects that are cut through, and anything seen beyond generally shown in a thinner line. Sections are used to describe the relationship between different levels of a building.

A sectional elevation is a combination of a cross section, with elevations of other parts of the building seen beyond the section plane.

Geometrically, a cross section is a horizontal orthographic projection of a building on to a vertical plane, with the vertical plane cutting through the building.

Requirements of a cross-sectional plan: -

·         Final grade – the slope and shape of the ground around the building after the project is complete, and the distance between the ground and the floor joists.

·         Foundation footing size and depth below grade, foundation wall thickness, and rebar locations.

·         Location of beams, blocking, treated sill plates and the vapor barrier.

·         Size and spacing of all joists, studs, headers, rafters and trusses.

·         Specify the roof, floor and wall sheeting.

·         Specify the siding, roofing, interior wall and ceiling finish materials.

·         Show all floor, wall and ceiling insulation, expressed in “R” values.

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PERSPECTIVE PLAN:

Perspective in drawing is an approximate representation on a flat surface of an image as it is perceived by the eye. The key concepts here are:

·         Perspective is the view from a particular fixed viewpoint.

·         Horizontal and vertical edges in the object are represented by horizontals and verticals in the drawing.

·         Lines leading away into the distance appear to converge at a vanishing point.

·         All horizontals converge to a point on the horizon, which is a horizontal line at eye level.

·         Verticals converge to a point either above or below the horizon.

The basic categorization of artificial perspective is by the number of vanishing points:

·         One-point perspective where objects facing the viewer are orthogonal, and receding lines converge to a single vanishing point.

·         Two-point perspective reduces distortion by viewing objects at an angle, with all the horizontal lines receding to one of two vanishing points, both located on the horizon.

·         Three-point perspective introduces additional realism by making the verticals recede to a third vanishing point, which is above or below depending upon whether the view is seen from above or below. Three-point perspective gives a casual, photographic snapshot effect.

The normal convention in architectural perspective is to use two-point perspective, with all the verticals drawn as verticals on the page.

Aerial perspective is a technique in painting, for indicating distance by approximating the effect of the atmosphere on distant objects. In daylight, as an ordinary object gets further from the eye, its contrast with the background is reduced, its color saturation is reduced, and its color becomes bluer.

A montage image is produced by superimposing a perspective image of a building on to a photographic background. Care is needed to record the position from which the photograph was taken, and to generate the perspective using the same viewpoint.

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                     BY 

                                                                                      N.VIJAYALAKSHMI

                                                          HEAD DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR DESIGN AND DECOR