Gate 1 — Site Grounding
Gate 1 grounds the design in real site data. It fetches, analyses, and synthesises all available geospatial information about the site — so the design that follows is rooted in the actual physical and planning context, not generic assumptions.
What Gate 1 does
- Locates the site — from the address or postcode in the Gate 0 Brief Summary
- Fetches site boundary — from UPRN / land registry data, or uses a boundary you previously drew in Site & GIS
- Runs all GIS analyses — solar, wind, flood, space syntax, landscape, and urban context (the same analyses available in the Site & GIS module)
- Synthesises a Site Context Card — a structured summary of the site's key constraints and opportunities
- Identifies design implications — translates raw data into architectural guidance: "north-facing slope → prioritise south-facing living spaces; flood zone 2 → raise ground floor 300mm minimum"
The Site Context Card
The Gate 1 output is a Site Context Card containing:
| Section | Key information |
|---|---|
| Physical | Area, shape, slopes, orientation |
| Solar | Best orientation, shading sources, overshadowing risk |
| Wind | Prevailing direction, exposure level, pedestrian comfort risk zones |
| Flood | Flood zone classification, surface water risk, mitigation implications |
| Planning | Designations, listed buildings nearby, TPOs, conservation area |
| Access | Street frontages, pedestrian desire lines, vehicular access points |
| Context | Surrounding heights, typologies, active frontages |
| Design implications | Bullet list of site-driven design constraints and opportunities |
How it influences later gates
The Site Context Card is read by every subsequent gate:
- Gate 2 (Programme) — site area confirms density and GIA feasibility
- Gate 3 (Options) — orientation constraints drive building form and layout options
- Gate 4 (QCRT) — flood zone and planning constraints flag regulatory risks
- Gate 5 (Coherence) — the committed design is checked for consistency with the site context
Approving Gate 1
Review the Site Context Card and:
- Click Approve — design implications are accepted and Gate 2 starts
- Click Edit on any field — e.g. if the site boundary is wrong, you can redraw it and the gate re-runs
- Add a note: "The client has already agreed a ground floor level +600mm with the EA — override the flood mitigation recommendation"
When site data is unavailable
For some locations (overseas sites, rural sites, unusual boundaries), certain GIS datasets may not be available. In these cases:
- The Site Context Card shows which analyses have data and which do not
- Where data is missing, the gate flags it as a manual input required
- You can enter site information manually — paste in a survey report or planning document and DocIntel will extract the relevant data