Description
In this module, you will complete a research analysis of site context, typology, and building orientation. How does your building relate to its site? In your work, be sure to address the following:

Location

Is your site in a city, a small village settlement, or an isolated rural area?
Is the building at the center of the settlement, near an entrance, or on the edge?
Is it on a main axis or pathway? Is it distinguished by walls, a piazza, etc.?
Hierarchy

Does your building appear more monumental than others?
Is it distinguished by placement, scale (height or width), shape, material, or details?
How does the building relate to its surrounding? Does its size, material, or detail blend in or contrast?
Does it have a grand facade marking the entrance? Is the facade hidden away?
Orientation

Is the building oriented horizontally or laterally along streets or the landscape?
How does it align with cardinal directions, landscape features, or monuments?
Are the entrances aligned with streets, or are they indirect in their access?
How does the building address the public spaces of its context?
Definition of Building Type

What building type or category does the building fit into (e.g., palazzo, cathedral, library, chapel, etc.)?
Identify several examples of buildings of the same building type.
What are the main characteristics of the building type, including its location, uses, form, scale, materials, structure, and ornamentation?
What architectural features are prevalent in this building type?
How is this building type’s use related to its form?
How does your site follow or differ from the standard building type?
What innovations were made at your site? What purpose did they serve?
Comparative Analysis of Building Type

Choose two other Renaissance examples of the building type to compare to your building.
All three buildings should be roughly contemporary to each other.
Include the essential information for all three: name, date, location, architect(s), and patron.
How do the three buildings differ from one another?
How did the architectural forms or type evolve over time?
How did the type vary by region, local culture, or environment?
Why did variation occur between these three sites?
What differences appear in plan, section, or elevation?
– Your written analyses of the site context, typology, and orientation of your building. Use all of both pages but no more. The challenge is to write clearly and succinctly enough to fit your analyses into only two pages.
– Works Cited. A list of the sources used for this assignment in MLA style (i.e., the sources accessed for both your writing and the images used in your diagrams).