A Guide to Site Planning and Landscape Construction

Ideal for both working professionals and students, this classic work serves as a truly comprehensive resource for site design and planning. Now in a new and fully updated Fourth Edition, A Guide to Site Planning and Landscape Construction presents both design elements and technical site planning information in a clear, concise, and highly visual format. As a teaching tool, it guides the reader through the actual development of a site plan, and demonstrates how to carry out the necessary calculations and specifications. By combining a design approach with technical background data, it enables creative talent to be used to the utmost advantage. Its broad range of coverage makes it an excellent study guide for the registration examinations in both architecture and landscape architecture.

The first of its three sections introduces the reader to the critical thinking process, and fully explains design guidelines, resource analysis and site selection, visual design factors, natural elements, land use, and circulation. The second section, on site engineering and landscape construction, covers contour lines, grading and earthwork calculations, site drainage, alignment of horizontal and vertical curves, site and landscape construction details, plant material, and specifications. The final section offers a broad array of illustrative project types, including detailed material on sports facilities and playgrounds, rooftop gardens, and residential development concepts.

A Guide to Site Planning and Landscape Construction is lavishly illustrated with hundreds of photos, site plans, and line drawings, as well as an abundance of figures, tables, charts, and sample problems. New material in the Fourth Edition includes resource analysis with wetlands and steep slope districts, the latest accessibility guidelines, updated coverage of bikeway design, road alignment and circulation patterns, and safety guidelines for playgrounds.

For practitioners and students in architecture, landscape architecture, planning, and civil engineering, A Guide to Site Planning and Landscape Construction offers an indispensable and authoritative reference.

A Guide to Site Planning and Landscape Construction

Now, in a new edition, this classic reference integrates the principles and processes of site design with detailed technical information.

Featuring a design approach to site planning fully supported by detailed technical data, A Guide to Site Planning and Landscape Construction has become widely recognized as the best single-source reference work available in the field. Its clarity, comprehensiveness, and attractive visual format make it an indispensable reference tool for both practitioners and students, as well as an excellent study guide for the registration exams in architecture and landscape architecture. Organized to follow the actual development of a site plan, this book guides the reader through the planning process and covers all the key elements, including:
* Basic design principles
* Site selection and resource analysis
* Land use and circulation
* Development design guidelines
* Contour lines, grading design, and earthwork calculations
* Drainage and erosion control
* Roadway alignment
* Site and landscape construction details
* Plant material in site planning
* Specifications
* Illustrative project types, including sports facilities, playgrounds, rooftop gardens, and residential development concepts


With over 560 illustrations, including photos, site plans, and drawings, A Guide to Site Planning and Landscape Construction is a rich resource for architects, landscape architects, planners, and civil engineers.

Cover Design: Robin Lee Malik

HARVEY M. RUBENSTEIN, FASLA, is Manager of the Landscape Architecture and Planning Department at the TetraTech, Inc. regional office in Delaware and is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He is also the author of Central City Malls and Pedestrian Malls, Streetscapes, and Urban Spaces (Wiley). He received his MLA degree in landscape architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and his BSLA from the Pennsylvania State University. He was also an Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Kansas, and has been associated with several other national multidisciplinary architecture and engineering firms.