Westcliff's steep, terraced gardens and view-driven architecture sit just over the rise from Forest Town — and the same hard west-facing glass that earns the view also earns some of the harshest afternoon heat gain on the ridge.
Free handbook — Under the Canopy: what the highveld sun does to a house on this ridge, elevation by elevation
Westcliff's terraced stands climb the ridge, and the houses are built to make the most of it — big glazed living rooms, decks stepped down the slope, walls of glass turned toward the city or the valley below. It's dramatic architecture, but it means direct, hard west and north exposure for hours at a stretch, exactly the kind of glass that turns a beautiful room into an oven by mid-afternoon.
A lot of that glazing is newer than the suburb's heritage homes — architect additions and full renovations sit alongside older character properties — so the shading brief here splits two ways: exterior heat control for the big new glass, and softer, character-appropriate treatments for the rooms that kept their original windows.
Not every room needs the full exterior treatment, though — plenty of Westcliff's simpler rooms are perfectly served by straightforward roller blinds, and the terraced decks that step down the slope are exactly where a folding-arm awning earns its keep.
Heat stopped at the glass, not managed after it's already inside — the most effective answer for hard west sun.
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For the dramatic gable and angled glass this kind of view architecture tends to feature.
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Sun sensors that drop shading automatically on the elevations that need it most, across a multi-level home.
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For the rooms that have kept their original heritage windows and proportions.
ExploreExternal venetians change what the facade looks like from outside — worth talking through before committing, and on some properties a design-stage conversation with your architect or builder gets the cleanest result. We'll always say so plainly on the measure.
Free in-home measure, a written quote per window, fitted by hand.