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IAN L. MCHARGSITE PLANNING

Site planninginlandscape architectureandarchitecturerefers to the organizational stage of the landscape design process. It involves the organization of land usezoning, access, circulation, privacy, security, shelter, land drainage, and other factors. This is done by arranging the compositional elements of landform, planting, water, buildings and paving and building insite plans.Site planning generally begins by assessing a potential site for development throughsite analysis. Information about slope, soils, hydrology, vegetation, parcel ownership, orientation, etc. are assessed and mapped. By determining areas that are poor for development (such as floodplain or steep slopes) and better for development, the planner or architect can assess optimal location and design a structure that works within this space.SITE PLANNING

Ian L. McHarg( November 20, 1920 - March 5, 2001 ) was born inClydebank,Scotlandand became alandscape architectand a renowned writer onregional planningusing natural systems. He was the founder of the department of landscape architecture at theUniversity of Pennsylvaniain the United States. His 1969 bookDesign with Naturepioneered the concept of ecological planning. Ian McHarg (1920--2001) is credited with being the father of map overlays, which had a major impact on Geographical Information Systems.McHarg saw industrial centers as urban plight, filled with pollution that ultimately damaged ones soul as well as health.IAN L. MCHARGIan L. McHarg, a landscape architect, planner and teacher whose passion for meshing communities and ecology inspired scores of successors, died on March 5 in Chester, Pa., near Philadelphia. He was 80.His most enduring contribution to the field, many colleagues say, is his 1969 book, "Design With Nature" (John Wiley & Sons), which urged landscape planners to conform to ecology, not compete with it. Mr. McHarg, an emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania, founded the university's department of landscape architecture and regional planning 46 years ago and ran it for three decades.The program attracted graduate students from around the world who were lured by his environmental approach to design, which he conveyed with a memorable mix of polished urbanity and missionary zeal.His essential message: that no human action, be it building a highway, city, condominium or park, should proceed without a study of its suitability for the topography, vegetation, waterways, wildlife and other natural features of a site.In refining a method of assessing all aspects of a plot of land by using a "layer cake" of stacked transparent Mylar maps, he foreshadowed procedures that are now a universal part of the environmental impact reviews required before a construction project proceeds.He was also an early advocate of restricting plantings to native species, both for philosophical reasons and because introducing a foreign species can sometimes disrupt the ecology of an area.Along the way he experienced the sharp clash between grimy industrial cityscapes and rolling, rural greenery, quickly developing a passion for the latter. Combining his love of the outdoors with a penchant for drawing, he gravitated toward a career in landscape architecture, which was then mainly a genteel pursuit involving formal estate gardens.He had a penchant for overreaching that was both a key to his genius and, occasionally, a curse, many colleagues said. He sometimes became involved in complicated, costly projects, including Pardisan Nature Park, an environmental theme park developed for the Shah of Iran in Tehran.His visionary zeal was generally not matched by business acumen, and he ran up debts through much of his life.

EXTRA INFORMATION ON IAN AND HIS IDEOLOGIESNot part of the ppt McHarg felt that mass grading by engineers created sterile man-made environments devoid of aesthetic buffers in their rush to mass produce the maximum number of units in a minimum space. He felt hat this was inevitably unhealthy for society at large.Before (1971) and after (1977) development views of Deep Canyon in Los Angeles

OVERLAY METHOD FOR SITE ANALYSISOVERLAY METHOD FOR SITE ANALYSIS

Mchargs starting point was usually a physiographic section, like that shown here. He argued that form must not follow function, but must also respect the natural environment in which it is placed . note the placement of structures in the forested slopes which made them almost unnoticeable. Placed.

McHarg took landscape principles of aesthetics and applied these to mapsMcHargs Basic Amenity Map portrayed slopes with wooded cover as a valuable asset, akin to a city park. Earth sheltered structures could be constructed on the slopes if they were embedded into the rock with a minimal loss of tree cover. Hence the term urban camouflage, or designing with nature.

McCarg usually began with a Physiographic Features Map. This example compared forest cover, aquifer recharge, 50-yr flood plain, streams, slopes >25% and impervious soils in a master overlay. In the early years these hybrid maps were constructed of acetate overlays on a cadastral base map.

McCargs Optimal Land Optimal Use Map combined combined physiographic features with existing infrastructure, development and zoning restrictions which were weighted to the taste of local residents and regulatory boards.

McHarg pioneered the use of map overlays to highlight intrinsic natural features, that commonly included flood zones, wetlands, woody vegetation stands, slopes, drainages, aquifer recharge zones, areas under cultivation and man-made features. Each asset could be assigned an arbitrary value, depending on societal input.

Physiographic features were catalogued as separate maps. McHarg would then overlay these to create a composite map illustrating physiographic obstructions. Areas containing multiple features would appear as the darkest might be valued more than lighter colored areas.