Shade, cross-ventilation and the 3 p.m. room

Many plans for a 120 or 240 yard house are drawn as a box of rooms, then a front elevation is added. The family moves in and discovers the lounge faces the afternoon sun, the stair blocks the only breeze, and the generator runs because the bedrooms cannot be used without the AC.

We ask a simple question early: which room do you actually sit in at 3 p.m.? Then we look at the lane, the side setback, and which way the breeze comes on that street. A veranda, a deeper window reveal, or a stair moved one bay can do more than an extra split unit.

This is not decoration. It is how a house stays usable when load-shedding arrives in June.