The balcony nobody uses

Do not let one good July afternoon approve a permanent object.

This is the annual vote. The same proposed screen, awning, pergola, move or planting change is held fixed while the engine re-runs the property in winter, spring, summer and autumn.

Reading point

Use

Clock hour: 5:00 PM

The hour is intentionally held constant. This isolates seasonal geometry instead of letting a different clock time flatter the proposal.

The year, in one line

Everything below is about a change. Before that, it is worth knowing what the place already does — the hours it is open, month by month, on one page you can put on a fridge.

Operating hours card

Before a permanent change gets to win

Make January, April, July and October vote on it.

These are the exact same proposed objects re-run through the engine in four seasons. A summer fix that steals winter sun cannot hide inside one July afternoon.

Same geometry · four seasons

Change	Jan	Apr	Jul	Oct	Seasons it helps	Year verdict
A second seat 19 ft 8 in south-east The status does not move in any sampled season.	Tight Tight → Tight	No No → No	No No → No	No No → No	0 of 4	weak
Two 8 ft 2 in parasols instead of one The status does not move in any sampled season.	Tight Tight → Tight	No No → No	No No → No	No No → No	0 of 4	weak
A 9 ft 10 in umbrella The status does not move in any sampled season.	Tight Tight → Tight	No No → No	No No → No	No No → No	0 of 4	weak
Two low shielded lights instead of one high one The status does not move in any sampled season.	Tight Tight → Tight	No No → No	No No → No	No No → No	0 of 4	weak
A short return panel on the north-west corner The status does not move in any sampled season.	Tight Tight → Tight	No No → No	No No → No	No No → No	0 of 4	weak
Move the table 8 ft 2 in east The status does not move in any sampled season.	Tight Tight → Tight	No No → No	No No → No	No No → No	0 of 4	weak

What changes by season

A second seat 19 ft 8 in south-east

January: Tight → Tight; after the change the controlling issue is privacy exposure; direct-sun reading +0.

April: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is privacy exposure; direct-sun reading +0.

July: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is privacy exposure; direct-sun reading -100.

October: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is privacy exposure; direct-sun reading +0.

Two 8 ft 2 in parasols instead of one

January: Tight → Tight; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

April: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

July: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

October: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

A 9 ft 10 in umbrella

January: Tight → Tight; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

April: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

July: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

October: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

Two low shielded lights instead of one high one

January: Tight → Tight; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

April: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

July: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

October: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

A short return panel on the north-west corner

January: Tight → Tight; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

April: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

July: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

October: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

Move the table 8 ft 2 in east

January: Tight → Tight; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

April: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

July: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

October: No → No; after the change the controlling issue is wind; direct-sun reading +0.

Draw this change

The same change, four times a year

A second seat 19 ft 8 in south-east, drawn at 5:00 PM on the four days the vote reads. The top row is the place as it is; the bottom row has the change in it.

To scale · to the measurements given

The drawings, in a table

A second seat 19 ft 8 in south-east, as the place is and with the change, at 5:00 PM on four days.
Day	Sun	As it is	With the change	Hours
15 January	2° up, SW	Tight	Tight	Not claimed
15 April	32° up, W	No	No	Not claimed
15 July	39° up, W	No	No	Not claimed
15 October	16° up, SW	No	No	Not claimed

The year as it is

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 15th, 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 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
February 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
March 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
April 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
May 15	shut	—	Wind stops it
June 15	6:00 AM–7:00 AM	1 h	Wind closes it
July 15	6:00 AM–7:00 AM	1 h	Wind closes it
August 15	6:00 AM–8:00 AM	2 h	Wind closes it
September 15	6:00 AM–9:00 AM	3 h	Wind closes it
October 15	6:00 AM–9:00 AM	3 h	Wind closes it
November 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
December 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it

The year with a second seat 19 ft 8 in south-east

Works
Tight
No
Unanswered

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 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
February 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
March 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
April 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
May 15	shut	—	Wind stops it
June 15	6:00 AM–7:00 AM	1 h	Wind closes it
July 15	6:00 AM–7:00 AM	1 h	Wind closes it
August 15	6:00 AM–8:00 AM	2 h	Wind closes it
September 15	6:00 AM–9:00 AM	3 h	Wind closes it
October 15	6:00 AM–9:00 AM	3 h	Wind closes it
November 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
December 15	shut	—	What it feels like stops it

Annual shortlist

6 exact proposals re-tested