CLIMATEANDSITEANALYSIS

GOAL:
Tobecomeawareofenergyefficientdesignsandconstructionthatwillsaveenergy,costlessto
operateandhavelessofanegativeimpactonthenaturalenvironment.
OBJECTIVES:
Thestudentwilldemonstratehowknowledgeofthenaturalenvironmentandsitedetailscan
affectthedesignprocessinbuildinganenergyefficientstructurebyconductingasiteanalysis.
GLOSSARY:
PhysiographyThephysicalfeaturesofgeography(site).
HydrologyWatermovementonthesite.
SensoryStimuliAnythingthatstimulatesthesenses.
EvapotranspirationVegetationpullingwaterupfromthegroundandevaporatingitthrough
itsleaves,thuscoolingthesurroundingair.
PrerequisiteRequiredbeforehand.
LESSON/INFORMATION:
Anunderstandingofthesiteanditsenvironmentisanintegralpartofabuildingprogramandis
aprerequisiteforgooddesign.Thebuildinglocationonthesiteisbasicallyestablishedbyoneof
twodifferentviewpoints.Inone,thebuildinglocationisgivenbytheclient.Inthesecondand
mostadvantageous,thebuildingsiteisrevealedbyathoroughsiteanalysis.Asiteanalysisisthe
gatewaytoenergyconsciousdesignandenvironmentalresponsivearchitecture.
Siteanalysis.
Siteanalysisisapredesignresearchactivitywhichfocusesonexistingandpotentialconditions
onandaroundthebuildingsite.Itisaninventoryofthesitefactorsandforces,andhowthey
coexistandinteract.Thepurposeoftheanalysisistoprovidethoroughinformationaboutthesite
assetsandliabilitiespriortostartingthedesignprocess.Onlyinthiswaycanconceptsbe
developedthatincorporatemeaningfulresponsestotheexternalconditionsofthesite.
Thetypicalsiteanalysisincludesthesitelocationandsize,neighborhoodcontext,zoning,legal
aspects,geology,physiography(naturalandmanmadefeatures),hydrology,soils,vegetation,
wildlife,climate,culture,pedestrianandvehicularcirculation,access,utilities,historicfactors,
density,sensorystimuli,andanyotherfactordeemedappropriatefortheparticularsite.
Anunderstandingoftheseissuesisimportantindesigningasuccessfulhomethatnotonlymeets
itsinternalresponsibilities,butalsorelateswelltoitsexternalenvironment.Thehomeshould
lastformanyyears,sotheanalysisofthesiteshouldtakeintoaccountthesite'sexistingand
futureproblemsandcapabilities.
Thesecretofusingthesiteanalysisistodesignagoodrelationshipbetweenthebuildingandthe
siteitself.Thebuildingdesignshouldbeinharmonywiththosebeneficialsiteconditionsand
strivetosave,reinforce,amplify,andimproveonwhatisexisting.Theanalysiswillidentify
thosesiteconditionswhichmaybealtered,eliminated,coveredup,disguisedorreformed.
Basically,takeadvantageofthegoodthingsnaturehastoofferandprotectagainstthebad
aspectsofthesite.Itisimportanttomakethesedecisionsdeliberatelyandthoughtfullysothat
theeffectsofthebuildingonthesitearedeliberateratherthanaccidentalorincidental.
Allthefactorsneededforacompletesiteanalysiscangenerallybecategorizedintoaesthetic,
cultural,andnaturalforces.Aestheticshastodowithwhatthepersonwhowillliveonthesite
thinksisbeautiful(thedesignerhastheresponsibilitytoeducatetheclienttopossibilities)

cultureisthebackgroundofthepeoplelivingintheareaandthenaturalfactorsarethe
backgroundoftheenvironmentalelements.Forthepurposeofenergyefficientdesign,natural
factorsneedtobeinvestigatedandunderstood.Thenaturalfactorswhicharemostimportantfor
thermalcomfortinthisanalysiscanbelistedunderclimateandmicroclimate.
Microclimate.
Eachspecificsitehasitsownuniqueclimaticcharacteristicsthatneedtobeanalyzed.The
climaticaspectsofthespecificsiteorareasonthesitearecalledthemicroclimate.Thespecific
characteristicsofthesiteareanalyzedonlyafteronehasagoodunderstandingofthe
macroclimateandgeneralclimaticcharacteristicswhichgiveanoverviewoftheclimateforyour
region.Themicroclimatemustbestudiednotonlyforthenaturalelements,butforhowany
manmadeelements,suchasbuildingsandlandscapingareaffectingand/orwillaffectthesite.
Forexample,awindbreakthatprotectsagainstthewinterwindscanchangethemicroclimateof
thesitesignificantly(SeeFigure1).

Figure1.Windbreak
DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS
1.Whatisthepurposeofasiteanalysis?
2.Whatisincludedinasiteanalysis?
3.Factorsaffectingthesitearegroupedintowhatthreecategories?Whatdothesethree
categoriesmean?
4.Whatismicroclimate?
5.Besidesstudyingnaturalelementsinamicroclimatestudy,whatelsemustbeconsidered?
ClimateElements
1.Sun.
Thesun'smovementonthesitewillbethesameasthatshowninthesundiagramsin"Appendix
C".Existingelements(naturalormanmade)onandaroundthesitewillhavedefiniteshading
patterns.Understandingthosepatternscanhelpindeterminingthebuildinglocationand
configuration.Foranygivenspotonthesite,onecandrawtheexistingelementsonthesun
graphgridprovidedin"AppendixC".Justasthesunpathwasplottedbyknowingtheazimuth
andaltitudeofthesun,existingsiteelementscanalsobedrawnonthegraphfromanyonespot
onthesite.Thediagramnowshowswhichlocationsonthesitereceivesunshineandshade.
Thesesamediagramscanbeusedtodetermineshadowpatternstobedrawninplan.
2.Wind.
Windatthesiteandatdifferentlocationsonthesitecanvaryfromthegeneralwinddatagiven
foryourarea.Abetterunderstandingcanbeobtainedbytestingatruescalemodelofthesiteand
buildingsinawindtunnel.Whenwindtestingisnotfeasible,thedesignercanunderstandwind

directionandspeedbyusingfivebasicprinciplesofairmovement:velocity,direction,pressure,
densityandtheventurieffect.
First,asaresultofthefriction,airvelocityisslowernearthesurfaceoftheEarth.Thecauseof
thisreductioninvelocityistheroughnessoftheground,includingcontourchangesand
vegetationconfiguration.Groundwindvelocitiesmeasuredatthesitearefrequentlymuchlower
thanthosemeasuredatthetopofanairporttower.Likewise,exposedsitesorbuildingsat
altitudeshigherthantheairporttowerarelikelytoexperiencemuchhigherwindvelocities.
Thesecondprincipleisthatairtendstocontinuemovinginthesamedirectionwhenit
encountersanobstruction.Asaresultittendstoflowaroundobjectslikewaterflowsarounda
rockinastream,ratherthanreflectingofftheobjects.
Third,airflowsfromhighpressuretolowpressureareas.Forexample,crossventilationis
createdbyapositivepressurebeingbuiltuponthewindwardsideofastructureandanegative
pressurebeingcreatedontheleewardside.
Thefourthprincipleofairmovementisconvection,whichinvolvesthetemperatureanddensity
oftheair.Forexample,airflowingfromaforestedareatoameadowwilltendtorisebecauseair
inthemeadowisexposedtomoresolarradiation,makingthatairlesswarmeranddense(See
Figure2).

Figure2.AirConvection
Andfinally,whentheairflowischanneledandrestricted,thepressurerisesandthevelocity
increases.Thisiscalledtheventurieffect(SeeFigure3).

Figure3.VenturiEffect
Byusingtheseprinciplesandunderstandinghowairmovesandactssimilartoafluid,likewater,
wecanvisualizewindpatternsondifferentsitesandindifferentconditions.
Thewindpatternnearlargebodiesofwaterisgeneratedbytheheatgain,heatloss,andheat
storagevariationsbetweenlandandwater.Waterwillhavemorestabletemperatures.Thewind
isusuallymovingtowardthelandduringthedaywhenthelandisheatingupfasterthanthe
waterandwhenthewaterisabsorbingsolarheat.Atnightthedirectionisreversed,withthe
breezesflowingfromtheland,asitcools,tothewater,asitradiatesstoredheattothenightsky
(SeeFigure4).

Figure4.
Invalleys,thewindmovesuphillduringthedayasthesunwarmstheair,causingittobecome
lessdense.Atnight,airflowsbackdownthevalleyslikeariver,asitcoolsandbecomes
heavier.Pocketsorlakesofthiscoolnightaircanbedamnedjustaswatercan.Thiskindof
windpatternissimilartofogthatformsinthecoolairpocketsofLouisiana(SeeFigure5).

Figure5.
OneofthemoreimportantprinciplesforventilationinLouisianaisthathighpressureandlow
pressureareasdeveloparoundanobjectthatobstructsthepathofairflow.Someofthe
aerodynamicprinciplesthatresultarethatthewindwardsideusuallycreatesahighpressurearea
asairstacksupandattemptstomovearoundtheobject,creatingacavityofnegativepressure
(lowpressurearea)ontheleewardsideoftheobject.Thevelocityofairmovementincreasesas
itrushesaroundandoveranobject,anditcanalsocreateadeadairspaceontheleewardsideof
theobject.
3.Humidity.
Siteslocatednearlargebodiesofwaterorriverstendtobemorehumidthaninlandareas.Wind
directionalsoaffectshumidity.Downwindfromthewaterismorehumidthanupwind.
Vegetationwillalsoincreasemoistureintheair.Watervaporisagasthatoccupiesthesame
spacewithothergasesthattogetherconstituteair.Butinsomeways,watervaporacts
independentlyoftheair.Foranygiventemperatureanddegreeofsaturation,watervaporinthe
airexertsitsownvaporpressure.Itflowsormigratesfromareasofhighervaporpressuretoward
areasoflowervaporpressureinairorinmaterials.Moisture,drivenbyvaporpressure,caneven
travelthroughporousmaterialsthroughwhichaircannotpass.
4.Temperature.
Themicroclimatetemperaturesofthesitemaybedifferentfromthegeneraldatacollectedatthe
airportandcanvarysignificantlyatthesite.Again,largebodiesofwaterwilltendtostabilize
temperaturesonthelandadjacenttothem.DuringahardfreezeintheFalseRiverareaof
Louisiana,mostofthecitrustreeswithinaquartermileofthelakesurvived,whilemostofthose
outsidethatareadidnot.
Throughevapotranspiration,treesandothervegetationcooltheairaroundthem.Amoistlawnis
10to15Fcoolerthanbaresoiland30Fcoolerthanunshadedasphalt.Theshadetemperature
ofalargetreecanbe10to15Fcoolerthantheunshadedlawnduringasummerday.
Siteswithamoresouthernslopewillbewarmerthanaflatsitebecauseradiationfromthesunis
moreperpendiculartoitssurface.Likewise,anorthernslopingsitewouldnotreceiveasmuch
radiationandwouldthereforebecooler.
DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS
1.Whatistheadvantageofknowingthesun'spatternatagivensite?
2.Whatarethefivebasicprinciplesofairmovement?

3.Whataffectsthelevelofairvelocity?
4.Whathappenswhenairencountersanobstruction?
5.Whatcausesairtomove?Inwhatdirectiondoesitmove?
6.Whatisconvection?
7.Whatistheventurieffect?
8.Withwhatcanwindpatternsbecompared?
9.Whataffectsthewindpatternsnearlargebodiesofwater?
10.Whatarethewindpatternsinvalleys?
11.Whattwothingsaffectthelevelofhumidity?
12.Whatiswatervapor?
13.Howdoeswatervapormove?
14.Whataffectdoeslargebodiesofwaterhaveontemperaturesofadjacentlands?
15.Whateffectdoestreesandothervegetationhaveontemperaturesaroundthem?
16.Whywillsiteswithamoresouthernslopebewarmerthanaflatsite?
ACTIVITY:
1.Onasiteplanofagivenlot,conductasiteanalysis.Youshouldanalyzethesite'slocation
withinacity,communityandneighborhood,theneighborhoodcontext,sizeandzoning,legal
matters,naturalphysicalfeatures,manmadefeatures,circulation(vehicularandpedestrian),
utilities,sensoryaspects,humanandculturalandclimate.
2.Itwilltakemorethanonevisittothesiteforatrueanalysis.Visitthesiteonarainydaytosee
howitdrains,atmorningorafternoonpeaktraffictime,ontheweekend,onasunnyday,ona
nightwithafullmoon,etc.Itwouldalsohelptoanalyzethesiteduringthesummerandwinter,
butsomethingslikedifferentseasonsneedtobeanticipatedortheanalysiswilltakeforeverto
complete.
3.Putalltheanalyticalremarksand/orgraphicsdirectlyonabluelineprintofthesite.
INFORMATIONCHECK:
IndicatewhetherthefollowingstatementsareTRUEorFALSE.
____1.Understandingthesiteanditsenvironmentisanintegralpartofabuildingprogramanda
prerequisiteforgooddesign.
____2.Asiteanalysisshouldbeconductedafterthebuildingisdesigned.
____3.Thebuildingdesignshouldreflectthesiteconditionsandgeneralclimateconditions.
____4.Aestheticshastodowithwhatisbeautiful.
____5.Onlythenaturalfactorsneedtobeinvestigatedforacompletesiteanalysis.
____6.Microclimatehastodowiththeuniqueclimatecharacteristicsofthespecificsite.

____7.Theonlyprincipleofairmovementyouneedtounderstandiswindvelocity.
____8.Invalleys,theairmovesuphillduringthedayanddownhillatnight.
____9.HumidityisnotaprobleminLouisiana.
TEACHERSNOTES:
1.ReadSiteAnalysisbyE.T.Whiteandreviewthisinformationwiththestudents.Haveeach
studentdrawthesitetoscaleandgetaprintforfieldnotes.Ifyouhavetheequipment,doa
contourstudytoseehowthesitedrains.Havethestudentsvisitthesiteduringdifferenttimesof
thedayandweek.
2.Afterthesitehasbeenanalyzedwithfieldnotes,havethestudentspresenttheiranalysisona
cleanprintwithnotesandgraphicsexplainingthesiteconditions.
ANSWERSTOTRUE/FALSE:
1.True
2.False
3.True
4.True
5.False
6.True
7.False
8.True
9.True
ANSWERSTODISCUSSIONQUESTIONS:
1.Thepurposeistoprovidethoroughinformationaboutthesiteassetsandliabilitiesbefore
startingthebuildingdesign.
2.Ananalysisincludesthesitelocationandsize,neighborhood,zoning,legalaspects,geology,
naturalandmanmadefeatures,hydrology,soils,vegetation,wildlife,culture,pedestrianand
vehicularcirculationaccess,utilities,historicfactors,etc.
3.Thethreecategoriesareaesthetic,culturalandnaturalfactors.Aestheticshastodowithwhat
thepersonwhowillliveonthesitethinksisbeautiful.Culturalisthebackgroundofthepeople
livingthearea,andnaturalfactorsarethebackgroundoftheenvironmentalelements.
4.Theclimaticaspectsofthespecificsiteorspecificareasonthesitearecalledmicroclimate.
5.Besidesstudyingnaturalelements,manmadeelementssuchasbuildingsandlandscapingthat
affectthesiteshouldbestudied.
ClimateElements
1.Knowingthesun'spatternsatagivensitewillhelpindeterminingthelocationandshapeof
thebuilding.
2.Thefiveprinciplesofairmovementarevelocity,direction,pressure,density,andtheventuri
effect.
3.Frictioncausedbytheroughnessoftheground(contourchangesandvegetation)affectsthe
levelofairvelocity.
4.Whenairencountersanobstruction,ittendstocontinuemovinginthesamedirectionand
flowsaroundtheobject.

5.Differencesinpressurecausesairtomove.Airmovesfromhighpressuretolowpressure
areas.
6.Convectionisthetransmissionofheatbythemassmovementoftheheatedparticles.
7.Whenairflowischanneledandrestricted,thepressurerisesandthevelocityincreases,thisis
calledtheventurieffect.
8.Windpatternscanbecomparedtothemovementofwaterinastream.
9.Thewindpatternsnearlargebodiesofwaterareaffectedbyheatgain,heatloss,andheat
storagevariationsbetweenlandandwater.
10.Invalleys,windmovesuphillduringthedayasthesunwarmstheaircausingittobeless
denseandatnightairflowsbackdownthevalleysasitcoolsandbecomesheavier.
11.Winddirectionandvegetationaffectsthelevelofhumidity.
12.Watervaporisagasthatoccupiesinthesamespaceasothergases.Togetherallthegases
constituteair.
13.Watervaporflowsfromareasofhighervaporpressuretowardareasoflowervaporpressure.
14.Largebodiesofwaterwilltendtostabilizetemperaturesontheadjacentland.
15.Treesandothervegetationcooltheairaroundthem.
16.Siteswithamoresouthernslopewillbewarmerthanaflatsitebecauseradiationfromthe
sunismoreperpendiculartoitssurface.
RECOMMENDEDREADING:
SiteAnalysis.E.T.White,Tucson,Arizona:ArchitecturalMediaLtd.(Published),1983.
SitePlanning.J.LynchandG.Hack,Cambridge,Massachusetts:McGrawHillBooks,1975.
NaturalLouisianaArchitecture.Cazayoux,HebertandWinn.BatonRouge,LA.Louisiana
DepartmentofNaturalResources,1991.
REFERENCES:
"TheComfortZone".....E.J.Cazayoux,USLMonthlyPressRelease.
Commentsorquestionsto:TechAsmt@LA.GOV
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