Design patterns · Pattern 1 · v0.1.1

Start with the landscape and the neighbourhood

Draft, not reviewed Drafted with AI help from the owner's brief (22 Oct 2026); examples sourced 22 Oct 2026. Not yet reviewed.

The problem

Large facilities are usually designed from the inside out: halls, power and cooling first, then whatever land is left over becomes setback and car park. The creek, the slope, the trees and the street the building faces are treated as constraints, not as the brief.

The pattern

Before the building is drawn, map what is already there and what the place needs: waterways and their flood and riparian zones, remnant and planted vegetation, cultural landscape as Traditional Owners describe it, the streets and paths people use, and where homes are. Put the building where it does least harm to those, and design the edges that touch them first.

What it changes on the ground

Building placed back from the waterway, with the riparian zone left unbuilt
Existing trees and soil kept, not cleared and replanted
Service yards and generators turned away from homes and paths
Site levels designed with the catchment, not against it

What makes it credible

One , traced step by step. Each step needs its own evidence.

1
Existing condition
A dated site survey: vegetation, waterway, cultural values (with the Traditional Owners' consent), levels
2
Proposed change
Site plan with setbacks and retained features, dimensioned
3
Delivered work
As-built plan and photos
4
Maintained condition
Landscape management plan and its reports
5
Measured result
Repeat survey with the same method

Examples elsewhere

Officeparken · Høje-Taastrup, Denmark
What the source establishes
The landscape architect says the park grew out of the landscape the data centre needed anyway: rainwater management and noise protection.
“The park has emerged as an extension of the necessary landscape infrastructure around the datacentre, such as rainwater management and noise protection.”
Gottlieb Paludan Architects (on gottliebpaludan.com), 2025-09-16 · stored as s/WS4F-A3
The question it raises here
Could the landscape a facility must build anyway (stormwater, noise, setbacks) be designed as public open space from the start?
Not checked
The company's or designer's own account, stored by PLOT on 22 Oct 2026 and not yet reviewed by a person; nothing here is independently checked.
GAK Chuncheon (NAVER) · Chuncheon, South Korea
What the source establishes
NAVER says the data centre sits on the Gubongsan mountainside, looking over the city.
“GAK Chuncheon is located on the Gubongsan mountainside, offering a panoramic view of the entire city of Chuncheon, Gangwon-do.”
NAVER Corp. (on navercorp.com), 2023 · stored as s/9SCC-4T
The question it raises here
How was the site's slope and setting used in the design, and what did that change on the ground?
Not checked
The company's or designer's own account, stored by PLOT on 22 Oct 2026 and not yet reviewed by a person; nothing here is independently checked. Claims elsewhere that the buildings use mountain air for cooling were not found in this source.

Questions to take to a design discussion

What does a dated survey show was on the site before?
Which features were kept, and which removed?
How far is the building from the waterway, and who set that distance?
Were Traditional Owners asked, and what did they say they want shared?

Reading

A Pattern Language (Alexander, Ishikawa, Silverstein, 1977). The structural inspiration for PLOT's patterns.

Applies to: data centre · Where: anywhere · Version 0.1.1