What make a site a difficult site?
As many as I can think of, a difficult site can be with one
of more of the following issues (maybe some of them are not in this
list):
Natural problem areas: bushfire,
salt problem, quake, snow, storm
Soil problems:
(From BCA) Ground movement caused
by-
(A) swelling, shrinkage or
freezing of the subsoil; and
(8) landslide or subsidence; and
(C) siteworks associated with the
building or structure;
Difficult soil types
Termite problem
Slope of the site
Rainwater flowing into the site
from neighbours - the site is lower than the surroundings
Drainage/sewer/plumbing problem -
distance
Shape of the site and setbacks
A narrow lot
Narrow street and sharp turn
A remote place to get things
needed for construction
Requiring excavation too close to
neighbouring house's footing
Trees, roots, and branches
Rocks etc
Council's property, main water
pipe, phone line, etc. in the site
Budget is tight to have flexible
ideas to design
Strict regulations
Orientation that is disfavouring
certain requirements
Difficult access from the street
Difficult to get sunlight into
the living room, etc
Each issue above is quite broad. Solutions can be varied
site to site. Not all designer know all these solutions. I don’t! Some are for
designers to solve and some are for the engineers and specialists.
What I understand is: designing a building in a difficult
site is not a big problem if a designer understands how to build it and how the
builder can actually build it. In designing process, construction can be
considered and solutions can be given. in the design, overusing of resources to
get the building done can be an issue - this is a problem even in normal
building. Spending on necessary activities is owner's responsibility though. A
designer or builder might be able to minimise it.
