My kitchen's so bright, I gotta wear shades...

or another title for this post is:
My House is Backwards

When an architect begins to design a new building, one of the first stages of the process is to look at the site and see how the location and the the program could mesh. The site has it's own characteristics like the path of the sun, prevailing winds, good views to take advantage of, not-so-good views or noises to block, legal setbacks, existing vegetation, and neighboring buildings.

Program is the word architects use for the spaces/functions to be housed by the building. The program for a house can include living, dining, cooking, bathing, sleeping, and storage spaces. There can also be studying, changing, reading, workshop, etc. spaces depending on the client's needs.

Here's a good explanation of how an architect starts the design process:  How an architect thinks - YouTube

I live next door to this new house... so the solar orientation of the site was well understood by me. My house was built in 1890, with a typical layout of covered porch, foyer, and living room near the street, and the kitchen in the back of the house. The problem is that the front faces East. So my kitchen is dark in the morning while we groggily make our tea and coffee and the living room (which like most people, we tend to use in the evening) is getting that morning sun with no one there to enjoy it! And then in the late afternoon or evening, when the sun starts getting low on the western horizon, it glares into my kitchen while I cook dinner and the living room is now dark enough to need lamps turned on. You see how my house is backwards? I really do sometimes wear sunglasses while preparing dinner.

When I started some bubble diagrams laying out the design for the new house next door, I placed the kitchen on the east to receive morning light. I placed the living areas toward the back of the house so from there you have privacy from the street and can enjoy the afternoon sun and the views of the mountains. In addition, the bathrooms and stairs with their small windows, are on the north side, leaving the south side open for larger windows that let the sun into the living spaces.

I hope this sheds some light (ha!) on how an architect positions built spaces in nature to the best affect.