San Francisco (demonstration)

The balcony nobody uses

When the one chair is open for morning coffee

Each month read on its 30th, or the last day of a shorter month · 2026

Works
Tight
No
Unanswered

Rings run from 4 am at the centre to noon at the edge. Schematic: A shape of the facts, not a picture of a particular date or a measured outline. Each month is its 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, not a promise about the other days.

The one chair is open for morning coffee 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM, June to October. Shut November to May.

November to May: shut for morning coffee. What it feels like is what stops it.
June to October: open 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM. Wind is what closes it.

The shut months are shut for one reason: what it feels like. That is the thing to change if you want the season longer, and it is a different job from making the open months better.

The same year as a table

Month	Open	Usable hours	What decides it
January 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
February 28	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
March 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
April 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
May 30	shut	—	Wind stops it
June 30	6:00 AM–7:00 AM	1 h	Wind closes it
July 30	6:00 AM–7:00 AM	1 h	Wetness closes it
August 30	6:00 AM–8:00 AM	2 h	Wind closes it
September 30	6:00 AM–9:00 AM	3 h	Wind closes it
October 30	6:00 AM–9:00 AM	3 h	Wind closes it
November 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
December 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it

The one chair for Morning coffee. October 30, 2026 at 1:00 AM, America/Los_Angeles. Now on this date. Confidence low. Cause: Wind is what stops it.

Reading

For

Twenty minutes, first light, nobody looking.

Morning coffee

The one chair works for morning coffee at this hour.

“Works” means the model's weighted checks support this use, and no reading is past its own limit. A reading listed as close still needs attention; it does not mean every reading passed.

Close to the limit Wind is about 10 mph — 2 mph over (at most 8 mph)Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.
Nothing upwind is doing much; this spot gets close to the open wind speed.
Cold air moving early is what sends people back inside.
Close to the limit What it feels like is about 53°F — 1°F under (at least 54°F)Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.
The air is 56.8°F. It feels about 3.8 degrees cooler than the air, near 53°F.
Early sun is usually the point, not the problem.

What would change this. This would change if wind were measured and came out differently. The figure is an estimate, not a tape.

Confidence low (41%). Treat this as a starting hypothesis, not an answer.

What this answer was built from

Use: Morning coffee
Place: The one chair
Weather: Coastal Mediterranean, dry summers, salt air (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
Method: Traced geometry and radiation at this hour, measured against what this use needs

Try a change Make a document

What next here

Testing a change

4 of 8 milestones. The place is described well enough to ask what a change would do, and to find out whether the forecast was right.

Getting an honest answer4 of 4 done
- Placed on the earth — done. The sun is in the right part of the sky for this address.
- A spot to read — done. 1 spot is being read.
- What stands in the way — done. 3 things are drawn, so the shade is worked out rather than assumed.
- Who can see in — done. Privacy and sightlines can be answered here.
Testing a changeyou are here0 of 2 done
- A change tested — not done. Testing a change before buying it is the cheapest part of the whole exercise.
- A forecast checked — not done. A forecast nobody goes back and checks is a guess with a date on it.
Proving it well enough to spend money0 of 2 done
- Corrected against reality — not done. After a couple of rechecks the model can be corrected against this specific garden.
- Photographed — not done. A photograph is what turns a drawing somebody sketched into a drawing somebody can check.

Get this place to Annotated
A photographic check on the mapped sightlines and geometry. That makes privacy estimates more credible, but does not replace measured dimensions. Right now: Sightlines drawn from mapped observers remain provisional until their positions and heights are checked. The drawn heights have not been verified against the actual place. What is missing: Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one. Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement.
2 things left
Test a change before you buy anything
The plan is good enough to ask what a screen, a tree or a canopy would actually do here — including the ones that turn out to be a waste of money.
a few minutes, nothing bought
Add a second spot and compare the two
One spot gives a verdict; two give a reason. Most of what is worth learning here is why one corner works at six and the other never does.
one tap, then read across

2 more things worth doing here

See how this spot changes through the year
A terrace that works in July can be unusable in September for reasons that have nothing to do with temperature. The same geometry read in four seasons is the cheapest insight here.
a read, nothing to enter
Photograph the spot and mark what is in shot
A photograph is what separates a drawing you sketched from a drawing somebody else can check. It is also how heights get corrected without a ladder.
one photograph

How well this place is described

Mapped

Quick
Mapped
Annotated
Measured

Shade, sky view and daily light are computed from the geometry on this plan. Unmeasured dimensions remain estimates, not verified measurements.

Sightlines drawn from mapped observers remain provisional until their positions and heights are checked. The drawn heights have not been verified against the actual place.

To reach Annotated

Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one.
Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement.

What that buys: A photographic check on the mapped sightlines and geometry. That makes privacy estimates more credible, but does not replace measured dimensions.

Everything that was checked

Quick A place on the earth: San Francisco (demonstration), with a time zone, which is what makes an hour an hour.
Quick Somewhere to read: 1 spot marked. A reading is a height at a place, and moving it moves the answer.
Mapped The things in the way: 3 objects drawn. The house counts, and so does the neighbour's.
Mapped What is underfoot: 1 of 1 readings sit on a mapped surface.
Mapped Where the property ends: Drawn, so the product can tell you when the cheapest fix stands on someone else's land.
Annotated Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one.
Annotated Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement.
Annotated Who can see in: 1 observer marked.
Measured Heights off a tape: 0 of 3 objects are measured. The remaining 3 are this product's own inference, so no figure here is a survey figure yet.
Measured Something checked against the day: Nothing has been checked against a real afternoon. The model is unopposed, which is not the same as being right.

What to measure next

None of the measurements tested here changes the recommendation enough to rank next. This checks only the listed assumptions and ranges; other inputs can still be uncertain.

BuildingNot yours (dashed edge)CanopySun’s path today (schematic)Can see inWhat a window can see, cut short where something is in the wayProposed

To scale · to the measurements given: Drawn to scale from the measurements given. Not a survey. It is not a survey.

Reading at

1:00 AM·October

The sun is down.

October 30 · The one chair Schematic

7:34 AM2:46 PM

Works (solid)
Tight (lined)
No (pale, edged)

The sun reaches the one chair at 7:34 AM. The one chair loses the sun at 2:46 PM because of the tower opposite.

The evidence behind this whole day is thin, so nothing on the strip is marked out as worse than the rest. The shape of the day is still the model’s best reading; the confidence in it is low, and it stays low until something it needs is measured.

The one chair is open for morning coffee 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM.

About 3 hours in October, and wind is what closes it.

The same day as a table

The same day hour by hour, in text.
Hour	Sun	Verdict	Confidence	Sun position
12:00 AM	dark	Works	a starting hypothesis
3:00 AM	dark	Works	a starting hypothesis
6:00 AM	dark	Works	a starting hypothesis
8:00 AM	in sun	Tight	a starting hypothesis	4° up, bearing 111°
9:00 AM	in sun	No	a starting hypothesis	15° up, bearing 121°
10:00 AM	in sun	No	a starting hypothesis	24° up, bearing 133°
11:00 AM	in sun	No	a starting hypothesis	32° up, bearing 147°
12:00 PM	in sun	No	a starting hypothesis	37° up, bearing 164°
1:00 PM	in sun	No	a starting hypothesis	38° up, bearing 182°
2:00 PM	in sun	No	a starting hypothesis	36° up, bearing 200°
3:00 PM	shaded by The tower opposite	No	a starting hypothesis	30° up, bearing 216°
4:00 PM	shaded by The tower opposite	No	a starting hypothesis	22° up, bearing 230°
5:00 PM	shaded by The tower opposite	No	a starting hypothesis	12° up, bearing 241°
6:00 PM	shaded by The tower opposite	Tight	a starting hypothesis	2° up, bearing 251°
9:00 PM	dark	Works	a starting hypothesis

When the sun arrives and leaves, to the minute.
When	What happens
7:34 AM	The sun reaches the one chair at 7:34 AM.
2:46 PM	The one chair loses the sun at 2:46 PM because of the tower opposite.

Direct sun at the one chair, month by month

Schematic · computed

The one chair gets the most direct sun in March, about 10 hours on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and the least in January, about 7 hours.

Sun reaches the spot (solid)
Sun up, something in the way (lined)
Sun down (empty)

The grid, in a table

Hours of direct sun at The one chair on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and when.
Month	Direct sun	When
January	7 h	8:00 AM–3:00 PM
February	8 h	7:00 AM–3:00 PM
March	10 h	7:00 AM–4:00 PM, 7:00 PM–8:00 PM
April	9 h	8:00 AM–4:00 PM, 6:00 PM–7:00 PM
May	9 h	9:00 AM–6:00 PM
June	9 h	9:00 AM–6:00 PM
July	10 h	9:00 AM–7:00 PM
August	10 h	8:00 AM–4:00 PM, 6:00 PM–8:00 PM
September	8 h	8:00 AM–4:00 PM
October	7 h	8:00 AM–3:00 PM
November	7 h	8:00 AM–3:00 PM
December	7 h	8:00 AM–3:00 PM

The sun’s path on the plan, October 30, in a table

Where the sun is at each hour it is up.
Hour	Comes from	Height
8:00 AM	E (111°)	4° up
9:00 AM	SE (121°)	15° up
10:00 AM	SE (133°)	24° up
11:00 AM	SE (147°)	32° up
12:00 PM	S (164°)	37° up
1:00 PM	S (182°)	38° up
2:00 PM	S (200°)	36° up
3:00 PM	SW (216°)	30° up
4:00 PM	SW (230°)	22° up
5:00 PM	SW (241°)	12° up
6:00 PM	W (251°)	2° up

What the place is doing at 1am in October

Coastal Mediterranean, dry summers, salt air (scenario shape).

What it feels like

Estimatecool

53°F

Felt temperature

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The air is 56.8°F. It feels about 3.8 degrees cooler than the air, near 53°F.

What is doing it

Take every named influence away and this reads 48°F. Air movement adds 6°F, How much sky is overhead takes off 2°F. That lands at 53°F.

How this was worked out

Air: 56.8°F from Coastal Mediterranean, dry summers, salt air (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
Radiant: 32.2°F mean radiant temperature
Method: Six-directional radiation integration, then ASHRAE operative temperature (from a published source)

Direct sun

Worked outafter dark

0 W/m²

Beam reaching this point

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The sun is down.

How this was worked out

Sun: below the horizon
Traced: 0% of the beam reaches this point

Glare

Worked outnone

On the 0–100 reporting scale: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale. Not a measurement.

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above; the tick is where this use stops working.

Nothing bright is in the line of sight at this hour.

How this was worked out

Facing: 200deg

Privacy exposure

Worked outscreened

On the 0–100 reporting scale: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale. Not a measurement.

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above; the tick is where this use stops working.

Nothing marked here has a usable line to this seat.

What is doing it

The flat opposite
+0.0

How this was worked out

Observers: 1 marked
Method: Eye-to-eye rays, then scaled by how much brighter the seat is than the observer's own surroundings

Wind

Estimategusty

10 mph

Wind at the seat

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

Nothing upwind is doing much; this spot gets close to the open wind speed.

How this was worked out

Reference: 8.4 mph at 10 m from Coastal Mediterranean, dry summers, salt air (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
At seat height: 10.1 mph before shelter
Shelter: 0% removed by what stands upwind

View

Worked outmostly lost

On the 0–100 reporting scale: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale. Not a measurement.

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

About 54% of the view worth keeping is already gone from this seat.

What is doing it

The bay
+46

How this was worked out

Corridors: The bay
Method: Rays sampled across each corridor's angular window

Surface heat

Estimatecomfortable

57°F

Surface temperature

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The surface is running about 57°F.

How this was worked out

Surface: Balcony tiles
Method: Absorbed shortwave against air temperature, flattened by air movement (from a published source)

Wetness

Estimatedries-fast

1 × the open

Drying time against the open

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above; the tick is where this use stops working.

Sun and air movement here are enough to dry the surface at an ordinary rate.

How this was worked out

Drying rate: 0.000 in/hour here
Method: Penman combination equation on the radiation and air actually reaching this spot (from a published source)

Light after dark

Unanswered

No exterior or window light has been placed yet, so what changes after dark is unanswered.

Ask something else about this place

Everything on the plan, in text

Thing	Reading	Standing	Note
The building	85 ft	You said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.	100 per cent solid.
Glass balustrade	63 ft	You said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.	95 per cent solid.
The tower opposite	112 ft	You said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.	100 per cent solid.
The flat opposite	blocked	Placed by the model: We put this in so the first answer could exist. It is not a measurement.	75 ft away, eye height 57 ft, -4 degrees above the seat.