Site Planning and Design Flashcards
6 cards from real Architecture practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Site Planning and Design flashcards as text
What is the purpose of a 'buffer zone' in site planning?
Answer: A transitional area using landscaping or distance to separate incompatible land uses
Buffer zones create spatial and visual separation between incompatible land uses (e.g., industrial and residential), reducing noise, light, and visual impacts.
What is 'cut and fill' in site grading?
Answer: Balancing excavated material from high areas (cut) with material needed to build up low areas (fill) on the same site
Cut-and-fill grading moves soil from high spots to low spots on the same site to achieve a balanced earthwork operation that minimizes import and export of material.
Which site design strategy best reduces urban heat island effect in a parking area?
Answer: Providing shade trees, high-albedo paving, and permeable surfaces
Combining shade trees (blocking solar gain), light-colored high-albedo paving (reflecting radiation), and permeable surfaces (enabling evaporative cooling) effectively reduces heat island effect.
What is an 'easement' in real property law as it relates to site design?
Answer: A legal right to use a portion of another's property for a specific purpose
An easement grants a non-owner the right to use a portion of another's property for a specific purpose, such as utility access, drainage, or pedestrian passage.
What does a 'landscape plan' typically show at the construction document phase?
Answer: Plant locations, species, sizes, quantities, soil amendments, and irrigation layout
A construction-phase landscape plan provides precise locations, species names, planting sizes, quantities, specifications for soil prep, and often irrigation system layout.
What is the primary purpose of 'riparian buffer' regulations in site development?
Answer: To preserve vegetation along waterways that filters runoff and stabilizes banks
Riparian buffers are vegetated strips along streams and water bodies that filter stormwater pollutants, reduce erosion, moderate water temperature, and provide wildlife habitat.