When Architects decide the place to build

What come first- the building or the site? Modern architecture is based on the tenet that a building must be designed with due regard to its location- its physical context, the climate and culture of the place. It would seem therefore, that the building would follow the site. However, this tenet was virtually absent in the classical architecture, where the design of the building was based on the idea of a monument, and the site was adjusted according to the vision of the architect regarding the building and its setting. The greatest example of this is the design of the tomb of Sher Shah Suri in Sasaram, Bihar, which stands in an artificial lake which is part of the architectural design for the project. Instead of trying to create a building according to the site, the site itself was defined by the architectural design for the project.

In fact, all Mughal tombs in India follow the same pattern. The building and its setting would be defined first, demarcating the boundaries of the project. When all the land belonged to the client (The King in this case) the choice of marking the boundary of the site can definitely rest with the architect. 

An architect in the present day can exercise this kind of choice only when the site is sufficiently large to make alternate locations for the building possible, though the client may have his own preferences for placing the building in the given site. When Edger Kaufmann appointed F. L Wright to build a weekend retreat in the Allegheny Mountains, he pointed out to a waterfall on his property, and explained to Wright his vision of a house with a view of the falls. However, Wright decided otherwise, and made the waterfall a part of the house by placing it directly on the waterfall. The decision made the otherwise simple structure into a national monument now, a tribute to the genius of F. L. Wright.

Kauffman House (Falling Waters) by F. L. Wright.

(Photo by lachrimae72 - https://pixabay.com/photos/house-in-nature-house-falling-water-2110133/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88743190)

In case of Cidade de Goa, a hotel located on the Vainguinim beach in Goa, the problem was that the local planning regulations insisted on keeping the access to the beach open for the public. However, the hotel management wanted to create a sense of exclusivity for the hotel guests. The problem was solved by Charles Correa, in selecting the site in which the beach curves inwards and the hotel building encircles the beach. Though the sides are open, allowing public access to the beach, for the hotel guests, the space facing the sea feels like it is exclusive to them.

Google Photo: Site of Cidade De Goa Hotel with the beach curving inwards.

In case of the new Parliament Building for Shri Lanka, the site was already decided as the island where the palace of the King Vikramabahu III's powerful Minister Nissaka Alakesvara had been situated, but the Architect, Geoffrey Bawa, modified the site itself into a predetermined shape by selectively flooding the lake around the island. In this context, it follows the idea of classical setting like the tomb of Sher Shah Suri in Sasaram, Bihar which is placed in an artificial lake, as mentioned above.

Google Photo: Shri Lanka Parliament Building with modified edges of the original island.

All these examples demonstrate that even today, given a choice, Architectural design can include the selection and configuration of the design of the site itself, on the lines of the classical architecture.