ABSTRACT
So far we have been concentrating on individual buildings, but we also need to stand back and consider their location, site and physical context. If we are visiting a building in person then we know where it is located, but if we are faced with a photograph or drawing, then we need to know about the building's geographical location and whether it is in a city, a small town, a village or in the countryside. We are used to seeing photographs of single buildings in books and magazines. These are often taken from the 'best' angle, in the most advantageous conditions, with the sun shining and when the building has been newly painted or just constructed. It is often quite a shock to see how different a building looks in reality, when it is not isolated artificially, but is seen together with its neighbours in perhaps less than perfect conditions many years later. A photograph often cannot tell us how a building relates to the road, to other open spaces such as squares, parking lots and gardens and to the neighbouring buildings, or what sort of access there is to it. A street map of the town or village, or an Ordnance Survey map of the district, may help us to build up a picture of the location.
