I'm no expert, but a whole lot of this depends on the actual topography of your block.

Our last house was in far south coast NSW (which I realize is a different animal from Qsld) - and it was on a ridge. The long axis was north/south, with windows on the east (sea views) and a deck and windows on the west (river views) with the cross breezes running between the two. The west was protected by a nice mix of spotted gums, as was the north, so neither got the full blast of the sun. We had no windows at all on the south. The afternoon sea breezes running from east to west did the job for us most of the year.

You probably need to get some expert advice on this, though. Every block is different, and elevation can make a lot of difference.

Thank you everyone. Your advice is very helpful to me.

....particularly to oklouise.....if there was an award on this site for support of others on this site by a person that is not classed as a "professional", I am sure you would get it............I see you respond to and help so many people and the advice is always so constructive........

thankyou for the appreciation but design dilemmas are so much more interesting than the chores i should be doing

The Louvre window is the best friend of the tropical climate, also works just about anywhere. Just posting a beautiful long room which has Kitchen/ Dining/living. you don't need to go outside with these windows. cheers

Follow the path of the sun over a day, & throughout the year. When the sun is to the E & the W it is low in the sky. This means eaves become less effective, & other shading techniques must also be used, such as vertical awnings, external shutters, low-e glazing or trees. Also the sunlight at this time is nearly perpendicular to the window area. This means the sunlight is more intense & also that more of it passes through the window, & less is reflected.

You're right in saying that generally W glazing is the worst, & should be minimized or eliminated. This is because the sun strikes W windows in the afternoon, at the hottest time of the day. Making it difficult to cool a home in the evening. E windows face the exact same problems, with regards to the sun being low in the sky, & perpendicular to the window surface. But this occurs in the morning, when it is generally cooler, & still gives the occupants some time to try to cool the house by cross ventilation. However, it's obviously better to minimize this heat build up through E windows in the first place.

Conversely, N glazing will be shaded by eaves in summer, when the sun is high in the sky, while admitting winter sunlight, when the sun is lower in the sky. Northern eave length can be adjusted to suit a particular climate. In Brisbane the eave length should be somewhat larger, so north windows are also shaded in the shoulder seasons of spring & autumn, admitting winter sunlight. Even without eaves, in summer N sunlight is from very high in the sky, striking windows far from perpendicular to the window surface. So much more of that sunlight is reflected off the window surface, with less being transmitted through the window into the home. Though of course, I wouldn't recommend having no eaves.

But as you say, limiting E glazing may come at the expense of limiting cross ventilation. So it's a balancing act, with different glazing solutions for different climate zones, local conditions, individual homes. But generally, the highest proportion of glazing should face N, as it can warm the house in winter, but not in summer. E glazing (which warms the house in summer) & S glazing (which cools the house in winter) should be incorporated for cross ventilation & daylighting purposes, but at a lower proportion than N glazing. W glazing should be minimized or eliminated, as it is very detrimental in summer. These optimum glazing proportions will differ, depending on your local conditions, & the building design.

Generally living areas should be positioned to the north. As this side of the house will be lighter (from northern sunlight) & warmer in winter. Yes, some E or even W aspect is OK. But you don't want to use E aspect for living areas if it pushes the bedrooms to the W, as this is the absolute worst location for bedrooms.

You do have a northern frontage, but it's quite wide, & the block is quite large. So luckily you should be able to design a house where northern light isn't too influenced by the garage out front. With that block size, as OKLouise had suggested, you may be able to come up with an interesting design that incorporates courtyards or even pavilions, to help with cross ventilation. Getting northern light inside your home, while also maintaining privacy.

Good luck with the design process, & the build.

The BOM website is a great place for determining your wind conditions, if your local conditions are similar to one of the BOM locations. This will help you determine the best window positions to maximize cross ventilation. You can investigate wind data using the supplied wind roses, at 9am & 3pm, either annually or monthly. Interestingly, the annual 9am wind rose is predominantly from the SW. As expected the 3pm wind rose is from the ENE.

Find this information here,

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/wind/selection_map.shtml

Thanks ddarroch.......Gosh, I learn a lot of stuff from this site and the great info that is shared!

Glass ceiling panels can be made up of opening and non opening skylights (non opening are cheaper). They can be fitted with different blinds. This is a great way to remove any interior heat along with louvers.