Why we map the daylight before the floor plan.

We start with the sun.

Before we draw a single wall, we spend a day in the empty space with a notebook and a clock. We mark where the light lands at eight, at noon and at five, and which corners never see it at all.

That map becomes the first drawing of the project. It tells us where breakfast should happen, where a desk will glare and which room can stay dark without anyone minding.

Rooms follow their hours.

Once the hours are clear, the plan nearly draws itself. A room with morning light becomes the kitchen; the corner that glows at dusk becomes the place for a chair and a lamp.

This is the reverse of the usual order, where the plan is fixed first and the light is whatever is left over.

What the map cannot tell us.

The daylight map says nothing about noise, views or the neighbours. Those still need to be weighed, and sometimes they win.

The point is not that light decides everything. The point is that it gets a vote before the walls do.