![]() Its all too common to simply slap a metal balcony sized to hold a medium scale George Foreman on to the side of a building and then replicate it all the way up and down, and side to side until it has lost all meaning other than to include with the realtor’s check list of unit amenities at the time of sale. One of my favorite examples integrated balconies are the playful grotto like outdoor spaces on Gaudi’s 1910 Casa Mila (affectionately known as “the quarry” or La Pederera. That’s not to say wonderful, sheltering balconies, integrated into the whole building design can’t, or haven’t, been done even, or perhaps especially, in groundbreaking buildings. And after a few years (see Mies’ Chicago work) they started enclosing their buildings in glass and stopped allowing for balconies – or any operable access to the outside – at all. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.ĭespite the good intentions of the building – to create affordable and hygienic living spaces for working families its approach to indoor outdoor space is vestigial at best. Check out the “balconies” on the Weissenhof Colony walk-up apartments designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1927. The buildings popularized by the school of International Modernism are far to focused on their materials base theory to bow to such human-comfort considerations as refuge and outlook. We hate to generalize, but the Modern Greats were generally terrible at balconies. As example, the wooden balconies on this Cairo street, image via Wikimedia Commons. ![]() Enclosed spaces that projected out from building walls over the street allowed for the collection of vital air movement. In fact the nearly universal nature of hot culture design history suggests that balconies were a common feature of urban buildings in the fertile crescent, in Egypt, in India and in China. However much fun it may be to drop water balloons on passers by from an overhanging balcony, they’ve been around much longer than Koolhaus’s 11th century defensive use.įun Fact: apparently the most famous association of the balcony – the “Balcony Scene” in Romeo and Juliet is an anachronistic fake out since the word balcony is not in the play and, in fact, didn’t exist in English until after Shakespeare died. While I have no doubt that the Huord – a wall mounted wooden scaffold to support and shelter archers during medieval battles – existed, Koolhaas’ origin story is extremely western culture centric. In a 2014 exhibition of architectural fundamental “elements”, the feature on balconies was curated by Rem Kookaas who crafted his narrative around its medieval antecedents. It comes from a sense of privacy – height above the street, protection from side to side views – and protection from the elements and from the view of neighboring eyes. Refuge is within the control of the building designer. However, nearly any view can hold interest, wether it be the skyline of a great city, a wind swept Lake Michigan or just the neighboring alley. Outlook – the view from the balcony – is hard to control for, as it falls outside the building footprint, by definition. This idea of Refuge and Outlook is familiar to anyone who has watched a child (or cat) delight in finding some tucked away space where they can cosy up and look out. So, What Makes for a Great Balcony?Īt its best, a balcony is a magical thing – an oasis, a window on the world, a liminal space between inside and out that is sheltered and private but with a view of the outside world. ![]() In today’s post, we’ll explain why the balconies of the Marina City towers, featured last week, are so great (Hint: its not just because they are half round in shape) and some of the other features of a great tall building balcony. The great weather continues, and everyone is looking for opportunities for indoor outdoor living. Finer Things Club Wine + Mixology Center.
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