Ensemble and master plan
Orientation and siting
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It is the decision of where a building or complex is placed on the land and which way it faces. It is made by reading the sun, wind, views, slope and water of the place.
What it solves
A well-oriented building receives the breeze and avoids the low morning and afternoon sun before a single colón is spent on equipment. Well sited, it avoids flood-prone areas, large cuts into the hillside and trees worth keeping.
Today
In the humid tropics, elongate the building east to west, open the main facades to the north and south and turn it toward the prevailing breeze. Study the land with contour lines, watercourses and trees before placing the first volume.
Common mistake
Repeating the same plan on every lot without looking at the sun or wind, with glass facades facing west.
Tomorrow
With heavier downpours, siting decides who gets flooded. Reading where water runs, where the large trees are and where wildlife passes is the first and cheapest adaptation measure.
Fact In a hot, humid climate it is recommended to elongate the building on the east-west axis, reduce the east and west facades and open air inlets within 35 degrees of the wind direction.
Where it comes from
- 1Ancient Rome Rome, Italy, 1st century BC
Vitruvius called for founding cities on high, healthy sites far from swamps. He also called for laying out streets according to the winds. - 2Feng shui China, ancient tradition
The ideal site had mountains behind to the north, water in front and the house facing south. - 3Ordinances of settlement of 1573 Spanish America, 16th century
They called for sites of medium elevation with good winds and water nearby. Beside a river they preferred the east bank so the morning sun would reach the town first.
Masters
- Geoffrey Bawa Kandalama Hotel, Dambulla, Sri Lanka, 1994
He sets a building about a kilometer long against the rock face, facing an old reservoir and within an ancient forest. The green roofs and vegetation blend it with the place.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Ensemble and master plan
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.