Architectural Greenfield Sites Planning Technology | Architect Site Analysis

 

Greenfield Site Planning:

Greenfield sites are vacant areas of land that are typically located along the urban fringe or in rural areas, as opposed to Brownfield sites which are sites that have existing buildings or structures on them.

Greenfield sites have no structures and might be functioning as agriculture or open space. Now, why develop Greenfield sites? Some environmentalists feel that all agricultural land should be preserved.

Others who are interested in economic development feel that Greenfield sites are opportunities for urban expansion. Planning a Greenfield site usually means you have to reconcile these competing notions.

Greenfield Site

Analysis of Greenfield site

In this module, we will be understanding an approach to analyzing existing conditions of a greenfield site, learning how to utilize existing site characteristics as part of a design strategy, and showing ways to envision integrated systems within a development concept.

Case Study 

In this session, we will discuss one case study example of a Greenfield site development, PetronasUniversity of Technology's research and development cluster.

In 2004, Petronas University of Technology completed a new campus at Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia. Designed by Foster and partners, this campus serves as a home for the leading institute for petrochemical engineering.

With partnerships in mind, the university decided to plan for future research and development expansion. This expansion takes place on an adjacent Greenfield site. Now analyzing the existing site conditions is critical to the design of the Greenfield site.

The environmental systems and any adjacent development should be examined to understand how future development is integrated into the existing context. For the Petronas University of Technology, a combination of understanding landform with hilly topography and water bodies, access, and connectivity in existing and planned campus structures shows existing conditions that should be considered for future development.

Another important aspect to your site planning analysis is documenting existing uses adjacent to your site and knowing any current planning initiatives within your study area.

In this illustration, the designated site for the research cluster is to the southwest of the academic core of the university, which shows the Greenfield site surrounded by hills and adjacent to the academic cores future infill buildings the designated area for the research and development cluster can be seen in this diagram showing approximately 62 hectares that is bounded by existing roads and hills.

As an expansion of the existing campus, the development is measured by a walking radius of 5 and 10 minutes to showcase the proximity of uses from the academic core to the new development. With the Greenfield site gaining a sense of the appropriate scale of development is important.

Appropriate Scale for a Research and Development

Since the site is mostly covered by tropical rainforests, what is the appropriate scale for a research and development cluster for the university? Here are a couple of things to consider when doing scale comparisons.

First, select comparative sites that are familiar to you so that you can gain a better understanding of the Greenfield sites' size and proportions. Second, select similar types of developments-- in this case, a university's research park-- to compare to your Greenfield site.

This will give you a sense of the block structure, parcels, building modules, and uses on the site as they relate to circulation, service, and open space. In this case, the academic core and the site boundary in blue show the 62-hectare research cluster overlaid on Norwich Research Park, a similar Greenfield site condition in England.

The second comparison shows MIT and Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, illustrating an urban condition for a research district and campus. These scale comparisons provide us with better awareness of the potential capacity and size of the site.

Topography and Slope Conditions

Site planning analysis should consider topography and slope conditions to understand where development areas should be. Moderate slopes-- slopes that are less than 10% or one foot rise over 10 feet of the run--is the easiest to build on whereas steep slopes--slopes that are 20% or more--become more challenging, as they may be inaccessible and costly for construction.

Climate considerations are another type of analysis that should be investigated to understand prevailing wind patterns, average temperatures, and precipitation.This analysis provides opportunities for harnessing wind within the tropical climate, wet and dry seasons of Malaysia, and for understanding stormwater runoff of the site.

In addition to studying topography and the climate. Hydrology should be examined to see how the existing stormwater system functions within the watershed, tracing where water is flowing through the site and within the larger region.

Flora and Fauna

The site analysis will also include investigating the flora and fauna on site. For the Petronas University of Technology, endangered tree species were documented and mapped. Site analysis of a Greenfield site offers many design opportunities.

With the study of endangered tree species for the Petronas University of Technology, the master plan proposed conservation areas that protect these tree Groves and help

organize the physical structure of the site. The proposed open space framework utilizes the existing topography and conservation areas while a network of swell corridors, plazas, recreational fields, and pocket parks accommodate people and a stormwater strategy.

Mobility is Integrated 

Mobility is integrated within this open space framework, as streets and pedestrian links provide connections to the existing campus and road network. The proposed urban design framework organizes the building used in development sites, in this case, showing the significance of an area called the Nexus Hub that stitches the existing campus to the new research cluster.

This framework also shows parcels for future development, the public realm, building frontage, landscape corridors, mobility connections, and gateways to the research park. As seen in the following sequence of diagrams, we can visualize the site planning logic.

Greenfield Protecting

The Greenfield development has two conservation areas protecting endangered tree species and habitats. Development areas are located around protected natural systems.

While the entry to the research cluster is designed to align with the Nexus Hub, a major destination that connects the research cluster to the campus.

The front door to the research cluster is designed with a series of streets and addresses in mind. Programmatic uses are strategically located and distributed across the site to accommodate the university's future research partners.

Specific Research Greenfield

These specific research uses are designated throughout the site. Each zone, as seen in the different colors in this diagram, is a combination of different business centers, lab buildings, small to medium enterprises, and anchor facilities that are based on appropriate building modules.

The research cluster is a compact development that is within a 10-minute walk from the academic core. Shifting to site sections, we can see that the main entrance to the research cluster is designed around the conservation area of endangered trees with a constructed wetland and research buildings on each side.

Nexus Hub

Aligned along this entry green is the Nexus Hub, a destination that bridges the campus and the research cluster together with a mix of uses--hotel, conference center, retail, and cultural programming.

The higher density and this Nexus Hub area punctuate the site as a landmark area and helps orient the Petronas community and visitors on campus.

As an open space framework for the Greenfield site, the Petronas University of Technology's research cluster is a network of conservation areas, recreational fields, green streets, plazas, parks, and a retention landscape that provides social and environmental functions.

 

Stormwater management accommodates 100-year rainfall-runoff with a system of floodplain forest and retention ponds.

Stormwater management strategies include planting forests, a plan to reduce runoff, constructing bio swells, harvesting rainwater from new buildings to reuse potable water, using landscape terraces and level spreaders to disperse water flow, and creating retention basins to accommodate 100-year rainfall runoff.

These strategies function within a larger set of sustainability goals that respond to climate, geography, and energy performance.

In sum, the overall approach for the Petronas University of Technology's research cluster reimagines Greenfield sites with a vision that integrates environmental systems into compact development.

This also reflects the university's mission for building partnerships to a sustainable approach to development.

What are some lessons learned?

First, the existing conditions analysis of a Greenfield site should include topography, soil conditions, hydrology, circulation and access, flora and fauna, and climate analysis.

These are instrumental in how we approach development. Second, as we have discussed, scale comparisons provide a means to understanding the size and capacity of the site and contribute to a greater understanding of what the appropriate density, character, and scale the future development should be.

And last, environmental systems not only serve as significant performative systems that accommodate stormwater runoff, vegetation, and habitats, they also contribute to the identity of a site and serve as social amenities for future development.