Page 51 - GRIHA Manual Volume II - Introduction to National Rating System
P. 51
Sustainable site planning 43
CRIteRIon 4
deSIGn to InClude exIStInG
SIte feAtuReS
Introduction
Similar to the first criterion, site features can also be approximated into natural, macro, planning,
and micro related. In this specific case, planning and design may be used interchangeably.
context: Context is the existing settings in which a building operates. Settings would include all
natural and man-made features/elements that exist in and around the site, and the features/elements
that are likely to impact the buildings and vice-versa. Context would include the environmental
context, which would cover climatic and weather-based phenomena.
Environmentally, several construction projects give little or no consideration to existing site features.
An attempt is generally made to isolate the building from the site features and little effort is made
to incorporate the site features into the planning and design of the built environment. Natural site
features would include site features such as
# Existing landscape
# Wind and solar paths
# Hydro-geological conditions
# Rainfall patterns
# Existing biodiversity
# Buffer zones and green belts
These are ignored and the built form fails to take into account any of these aspects.
Additionally, adjacent developments, urban design elements, future developments in and around
the site, access to existing/proposed facilities and infrastructure, and so on, are ignored and many
a time the building is designed to only provide saleable space as a commercial commodity. There
is little or no interaction with the areas around the building. The new building often encroaches on
the ‘right to light and ventilation’ access of adjacent sites.
In terms of planning, the building does not acknowledge key site criteria and constraints such as
# factors that cannot be changed, for example, access road to the site, soil characteristics, and
natural vegetation, and climatic zone;
# set of variables or the factors that might give efficient results when mingled in different patterns
like circulation patterns, site materials, and so on; and
Note Our buildings do not stand isolated. They interact with several other natural elements, built spaces and open areas that surround
them. We should design to include these.
CRIteRIon 4
deSIGn to InClude exIStInG
SIte feAtuReS
Introduction
Similar to the first criterion, site features can also be approximated into natural, macro, planning,
and micro related. In this specific case, planning and design may be used interchangeably.
context: Context is the existing settings in which a building operates. Settings would include all
natural and man-made features/elements that exist in and around the site, and the features/elements
that are likely to impact the buildings and vice-versa. Context would include the environmental
context, which would cover climatic and weather-based phenomena.
Environmentally, several construction projects give little or no consideration to existing site features.
An attempt is generally made to isolate the building from the site features and little effort is made
to incorporate the site features into the planning and design of the built environment. Natural site
features would include site features such as
# Existing landscape
# Wind and solar paths
# Hydro-geological conditions
# Rainfall patterns
# Existing biodiversity
# Buffer zones and green belts
These are ignored and the built form fails to take into account any of these aspects.
Additionally, adjacent developments, urban design elements, future developments in and around
the site, access to existing/proposed facilities and infrastructure, and so on, are ignored and many
a time the building is designed to only provide saleable space as a commercial commodity. There
is little or no interaction with the areas around the building. The new building often encroaches on
the ‘right to light and ventilation’ access of adjacent sites.
In terms of planning, the building does not acknowledge key site criteria and constraints such as
# factors that cannot be changed, for example, access road to the site, soil characteristics, and
natural vegetation, and climatic zone;
# set of variables or the factors that might give efficient results when mingled in different patterns
like circulation patterns, site materials, and so on; and
Note Our buildings do not stand isolated. They interact with several other natural elements, built spaces and open areas that surround
them. We should design to include these.
