1 2 AREN 3080 | Architectural Design Studio 1 Jay Arehart Lecture 8: Site & User Analysis Learning Objectives By the end of this class, you will be able to:

1. Describe the components of a site and user assessment. 2. Develop a plan for your own site and user assessment. 19A 3/6/23 1 3 4 ● Site Analysis Why might you carry out a site and user analysis? What types of information would we need to collect? How might we collect this information? O Site Analysis A site analysis is the activity of evaluating a location's characteristics or features such as: Neighborhood context: where is the site in relation to other buildings? What public transportation links exist? O Natural physical features: these include trees, topography, rivers, ponds, drainage considerations, key features (positive and negative), exposure, flood plains. O Access and Circulation: including both vehicle and pedestrian movements in, through, and around the site. Consider also the timing of circulation and its future evolution. Climate: what is the sun pattern? Is there shading from other buildings? Are there prevailing winds, if so, which direction do they come from? How many days is heating, or cooling required? Are there limitations to building orientation to consider? Views: how does the site connect to the surrounding buildings or area from a visual perspective? Consider both private views out, and public views in. Other Sensory: what other visual, audible, or tactile aspects of the site exist? Is there noise that needs to be considered? Human and cultural: in what historical and cultural context does the site exist? 3/6/23 2 5 6 A user analysis is the activity of evaluating the needs and patterns of building occupants: What types of users will be using the building? Access and Circulation: including both vehicle and pedestrian movements in, through, and around the site. Consider also the timing of circulation and its future evolution. O O Program: what types of spaces are needed? These are often defined by the owner of the building, and refined by the architect, asking the questions: What types of activities occur? What are the space requirements of each? When and where do these activities occur? How do these activities relate to one another? While some of the program is given in the project description, some elements will need to be developed by each of your groups in MOD IV Site Analysis Preparing for the design of a new Architectural Engineering building, site characteristics from locations on the North West corner of Discovery Dr. and Colorado analyzed. We have considered typical wind paths, sun paths, e were flooding areas, walking paths, noise issue traffic fl of access, and possible views from the new location. 3 Summer Sunset Winter Sunset (A) flow, ease 100 ft Astrophysics Research Lab User Analysis Architect Aerospace Engineering Building Discovery Drive (Ligh Colorado Ave. (Heavier Traffic) Examples Sustainability) Energy, & Environment Building Campus architecture is most commonly defined by sand- stone walls, red tile roofs, and limestone trim. That being said, this style has not been strictly followed on East Campus thus far. Summer Sunrise KEY Winter Sunrise Traffic Routes New Building Footprint Existing Building Footprints Sun Path Typical Wind Path - Walking Path ■Creek -Flood Line Road Noise View Facing South View Facing West View Facing South Sunrise in the summers will reach the building from the North East, while in the Winter it will come from the South East. The sunset. patterns will follow suit, in setting in the North West in the summers and in the South West in the winters. 3/6/23 3 7 8 Student Preferences Study Spaces 40% Due to the current hybrid course schedule, more students drive to campus than used to. While the majority of students walk or drive to campus, it is still important to design pathways that accommodate bikers and those that take the bus. Accessibility Ease of Use 21.1% Aesthetics. 21.1% Flatiron View to the South West When asked what they valued most in campus facilities, 40% of students valued comfortable study spaces. While fewer responses of ease of use or aesthetics were collected, complaints about campus facilities most commonly involved these two categories. Students reported that their favorite study spaces off-campus included cafés or student apartments. Overall, students communicated that they enjoy comfortable seating and the availability of drinks and snacks when picking a study space. Examples course for The average architectural engineering students is 16 credit hours; that means that each student could potentially spend 16 hours in our building every week. A typical school day lasts from 8am - 6pm but students can be found studying on campus late into the night. SITE ANALYSIS Architectural Engineering Program Colorarado Ave. Examples Water Boundary Vehicular Access Pedestrian Access ★Site Choice Discovery Dr. ARXE User Analysis Due to the specificity of programming requirements, data collection focused on occupancy data as well as the priorities of future occupants when describing campus buildings. In order to inform our design of the new Architectural Engineering building, our team set out to better our understanding of our future occupants. Through CU Campus Resources and surveys involving both students and professors, we are more prepared to design a welcoming and functional space for all. General Service 7.1% Lecture Hall 7.1% The Architectural Engineering program will include roughly 300 undergraduate students. While students make up the largest group of occupants, nine specific AREN faculty as well as other students within the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering department should be accommodated. Specific programming information can be found below, displayed in a pie chart. Percentages represent total floor area in square footage. Architectural Engineering Building Program Other 20.4% Classroom Space 13.3% Office Space 31.6% Collaborative Space 8.2% Makerspace 11.2% Site Conditions: The site is already level and prepared for construction. Despite the surrounding groundwater conditions, this site is not in the floodplain. Views: This site provides a clear view of the Flatirons to the south west. Selecting a site adjacent to Colorado Ave. makes this building one of the most publicly visible allowing its spectacular architecture to be seen by all. Accessibility: This site has easy access by bus (stampede and bound) or car. It is also accessible for pedestrians via the sidewalk adjacent to Colorado Ave, and other paths throughout East Campus. Sunlight: This site is essentially unobstructed with no vertically imposing structures around, as shown in the sun path diagram below.. 3/6/23 4 9 10 USER ANALYSIS Architectural Engineering Program Students Population: 214 Activities: class, research, studying (group and individual), attending meet- ings, etc. Desires: easy access to professors and other students, easy access to food and recreation, community feel, work- spaces, intuitive layout, spaces to relax. or sleep living/relaxation CLIMATE collaboration TEMPERATURE RANGE individual work ILLUMINATION RANGE WIND SPEED DIAGRAM LEGEND Space Use in EC Outside of Classtime LEGEND This climate is suitable for passive cooling in the summer, but for the most part is a heating climate. Passive solar is a fantas- tic option for this location, using 60 degree cut off shading on south facing glass for the highest impact. Wind in this area is spurad- ic and does not consistantly come from one direction, so blocking it externally is not an option. We can create a passive ventilation system that takes the wind speed over time into account though. Faculty & Admin. Population: 12 Activities: teaching, individual work, attending meetings, office hours, etc. Desires: centralized location for meet- ings, easy access to food and recreation, nice office space, adaptable classroom layouts, thermal comfort in rooms for extended periods living/relaxation Examples collaboration PLAINS COTTONWOOD TREES STAMPEDE BUS LINE individual work Number of classes in session NIS AN m Instruction Classroom Minimum Requirments Individual Work Collaboration Living/Relaxation WEST VIEW Examples AEROSPACE BUILDING 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PM AM time MWF TTh Engineering Center Problems - outdated HVAC system confusing layout not enough solo study space - too little natural light ·lack of access to recreation -classrooms only set up for lecturing New Building Solutions state of the art systems • experience-focused design efficient use of space - daylighting focused design connection to trails adaptive classroom setup NORTH VIEW SEEC Weekday Activities faculty arrives 7AM first class starts 8 AM line for breakfast/coffee studying/relaxing peak class time line for lunch club meetings faculty leaves 6 PM last class ends 9 PM studying SITE ANALYSIS The site overall is mostly flat. There are a few hills to the west, but nothing that would change designs. The ponds and creeks are not visible from the site. The building will be outside the floor plane. The site also is void of any major veg- etation that would need to be saved but there is a cotton wood grove not far to the west that will be visible. To the east of the building is Foothills Parkway, a major road with lots of traffic. Since this building is meant to be a show stopper, a grand entrace will face that di- rection. If a parking garage is to be built there, it will face the south. PRIMARY CIRCULATION High foot traffic TRANSPORTATION from Engineering Center to Site 35-40 minutes NOON 10 minutes 20-25 minutes 9-12 minutes AM PM 3/6/23 5