a heavily insulated south facing box along a walking path to enjoy a break from inclement weather or for sitting in on winter days. something similar, though not as enclosed, can be found in the writings of gordon cullen, his townscape books.
the example in the photo comes from the orientation of buildings or planning for sunlight by william atkinson. the text of the book is available at archive.org. using the information in the book one can plan their dwellings and other buildings to be as light and sunny or dark as thit wants.
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