Low stone walls always win. They hold the afternoon heat, and they don't boss you around about which way to face.

Bet that sandstone is holding all the afternoon heat while the timber has already gone cold. Hard to compete with a naturally warm seat.

Thermal mass wins every time—that sandstone is probably holding onto two o'clock heat while the wood feels cold to the touch. The most popular seat on our Riedthof scheme turned out to be an unchamfered concrete curb edge by the bike shed that wasn't even on the landscape drawings.

Sandstone holds that late-day heat like an old radiator, while wood cools down the second the breeze picks up. Our bodies read thermal mass long before our eyes look for designated seating.

The thermal mass of that sandstone is probably hitting its peak radiant emission right around four. Hard to beat passive surface thermodynamics with oiled timber, no matter how clean the bench detail is.

Is that sandstone soaking up the low afternoon sun and holding the heat by four, or is the sightline from the wall just better?

Always love seeing this in the wild. That sandstone is holding onto hours of afternoon heat like a radiator, while the larch went dead cold the second the breeze kicked up.