ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN -II

CASE STUDY CHECKLIST

A) Site level
1) Site Details

a) Location

b) History

c) Climate

d) Nearest Landmark

e) Major access to site (Entry and Exit)

f) Topography

g) Utilities – Water supply, Electricity, Telephone, Sanitary, Fire, Storm water drainage,
Waste Disposal, etc.

h) Surrounding Context – Neighbourhood structures, Noise from streets or roads, etc

i) Parking Facilities

j) Landscape features

k) Any Sustainable aspects – Rain water harvesting, Solar panels, etc.

B. Building Planning Level

2) Planning Study-

a) Horizontal and Vertical zoning of spaces

b) Typology of spaces

c) Hierarchy of spaces

3) Parking Level Planning –

a) Entry and Exit ramps

b) Spaces and Numbers

 c) Signage

d) Safety and Security

e) Circulation routes

f) Any advance system of parking

4) Floor Plans Study-

a) Each level study

b) Vertical cores analysis

c) Theme or ideas or concepts in planning

d) Circulation ( Horizontal , Vertical and Visual )

e) Placing of service areas and other utilities.

5) Services –

a) Lighting ( Natural and Artificial )

b) Water supply and Sanitation

c) HVAC

d) Fire safety

e) Waste disposal

f) Telephone / Communication

6) Structural and Constructional technologies.

7) Material Study –

a) At site level – Pavements, Steps, Entrance flooring, etc.

b) Interior finishes

c) Façade treatments

d) Roof Details

e) Wall Claddings

f) Service spaces

g) Detailing of any special feature/ technique.

8) Activity Study

a) Use of different spaces

b) Activities in common spaces, passages, entrance, exit, outdoor, storage area, sheds,
verandas, etc.

c) Study and analysis based on Anthropometrics.

d) Any recreational area, play area, campfire, etc.

ANALYSIS OF ANY GIVEN CASESTUDY –

1. Environment and micro-climate

Analysing the surrounding environment and the micro-climate of that place will help
understand the reason of the orientation of the structure, the kind of roof chosen
and the materials used in its construction.

2. User behaviour and requirements -

Studying the functioning of a particular place, say a Hospital, is very important;

without which you will not be able to figure out the requirements and the area that
should be allotted for each of the requirements. Talking to people working at that
place (Hospital), will help you figure out if the requirements that are provided are
adequate and he area that is allotted is sufficient for its efficient working.

3. Utility and space enhancement -

Study of Utilitarian facilities of a particular case is also important. Various measures
taken to enhance a particular space should be analyzed.

4. Form and Function -

Analysing the reason behind the form of that particular building…and how it merges
with the surrounding environment. Form and Function go hand in hand. The form of
the building should be able to convey the function of the building. A lot of Architects
say “Form follows Function”. As an example, a House should not end up looking like a
museum or a disco. Some other Architects might disagree with that philosophy.
They’d say that the function of a structure keeps changing but changing the form of
the building every time its function changes is not possible. They say, Adopt a
“Universal Design Scheme”.
5. Horizontal and vertical circulation -
Horizontal circulation consists of elements such as the corridors and lobbies. Vertical
circulation includes elevators, staircases, ramps etc. The efficiency of the placement
of these services should be analysed.

 Site Planning and Landscape detailing-

Site planning involves arranging structures on the land and shaping spaces between
them. It is an art linked to architecture, and city planning. The site plan locates
objects and activities in space and time. It may be concerned with a small cluster of
houses, a single building and the surrounding space, or a small community built in a
single operation.

 Structural details such as Column and Beam Design, Steel and Composite
structures-
Understanding and analyzing the structural details is also important. For example,
large span structures such as Auditoriums use trusses or heavy I-section steel beams
and sometimes shell-roofing that involves construction of Ring beams whereas in
small span structures, RCC construction is used.

 Building Services such as Fire Alarm system, HVAC, Water supply systems-
The working of Fire Alarm system, HVAC and Water supply systems should be
examined and their space requirements are to be analyzed.

 Design detailing considering the Barrier-free environment-

Implementation of the Barrier-free architecture for comfortable access to disabled
people. Most public buildings have mandatory accessibility systems for the disabled.

 Socio-economic profile of user group-

It might also be important to find out the socio-economic profile of the people using
the services so as to determine their requirements and available resources.

 Parking details and standards-

Measure the allotted parking area on site, say for ten cars, then calculate the average
area for each car and compare it with the areas specified in TSS (Time Savers
Standards).