Without modern climate control systems.  Air conditioning is a rather recent invention, but the problem of how to remain comfortable in the summer is hardly new.  The obvious, major steps which the lucky few could manage all helped to create Esperanza: buy a summer house outside of the city, ideally on a hill.  (one has to wonder if the cooling benefits of being on a hill were of equal importance to the view when so many of these summer estates were selected, we assume it was  the view only…but we have the option of a/c)

Esperanza then takes the next step: add large porches, if possible all the way around, this creates shade for both those sitting outside and for the house itself.  Not only is the first story shaded, but so is the ground surrounding the basement.  The last step is the most extreme at Esperanza: orientation for sun and wind.  In a house designed for winter survival, as seen in your earliest farmhouses, the largest face faced south if at all possible.  This house disobeys that rule.  At 30 feet wide on its south/north faces and 100 feet on its east/west, the difference is unusually large.  But this configuration is ideal for the summer.  The long axis is located along the ridge of the hill, only a few degrees off true north.  What this means is the prevailing winds are almost always hitting the long west side.  It also means that with only four exceptions all the rooms on the first two floors have full cross ventilation, in some cases the rooms are the full width of the house, in others the arrangement of rooms permits the cross ventilation.

All of which is ideal for a pleasant summer time experience without the need for any sort of climate control.  It also means that on a damp, windy day such as this…I am acutely aware that we missed closing a storm window on the other side of the house.