3 Elements That Make a Great Balcony - (5 Key Ideas for Balcony Design)
a good balcony can improve a building and increase the quality of life. three qualities that make great balconies: 1) recess the balcony into the building, 2) make sure the balcony is the proper depth, and 3) provide for privacy.
This article discusses 3 elements that make a great balcony, particularly when you are going to build a balcony on 2nd floor or higher. Additionally, we have created a 5-point score system to evaluate balconies.
Definition of Balcony.
According to Merriam Webster, a balcony is a platform that projects from the wall of a building and is enclosed by a parapet or railing.
What makes for a great balcony?
Outdoor balcony ideas that improve balcony design.
A balcony is a gift. A balcony acts to extend the inside beyond the building walls and allows apartments and flats on upper floors to have direct access to the outside world. Without a balcony people would have to completely leave their apartments or houses and find an exterior access point to go outside. Accordingly, a good balcony can improve a building and increase the quality of life.
Evaluating The Image Above.
[Score = 2 points - see the 5-point scorecard at the end.]
Are these good balconies?
Examining the photograph above, it is apparent that each of the living units has been provided with a balcony. However, it appears for the most part, that these balconies are not used. What is the reason behind this?
What makes the most sense for a balcony railing?
Note that all of these balconies have open and minimal railings. Open railings are installed in many buildings today, but do they make sense?
Are these balconies purely for decoration? or do they actually work?
On a large scale projects, like this one, railings can be mass-produced in a factory, delivered to the site and easily installed with a few bolts and screws. So the cost benefit can be understood, but the question is whether these balconies truly add value to the building and the individual living units.
What are the 3 elements that make a great balcony?
What are the 3 elements that make a great balcony?
Architects and designers have many information sources to employ when making design decisions. For design guidance, one of the architect’s go to books is A Pattern Language, by Christopher Alexander et al.
Section 167 in this book identifies three qualities that make great balconies: 1) recess the balcony into the building, 2) make sure the balcony is the proper depth, and 3) provide for privacy.
1. Recess the balcony into the building.
These balconies above do one thing correctly and that is to be partly recessed into the building. This makes the balcony feel more secure. However, according to the book, there are two additional ingredients that make for a successful balcony.
2. Make sure the balcony is a usable depth.
The second ingredient of successful balcony design is the making sure it has proper depth.
"...the difference between deep balconies and those which are not deep enough is astonishing. " (A Pattern Language, p.783)
The book suggests that balconies should be a minimum of 6 feet deep in order to be usable and comfortable. In this case the balconies appear to be too short and act more like building decoration than usable space. If the balcony is going to be built, doesn't it make sense that it be useful?
3. Be sure that the balcony provides ample privacy.
The third aspect of a good balcony design is the element of privacy.
"as far as enclosure goes...it is those with half-open enclosures around them...which are used the most...the partial privacy given by a half open screen makes people more comfortable." (p.783)
These balconies have light and very open railings and offer effectively no privacy at all. Anyone sitting or standing on one of these balconies will be on full view of the world and the frequent passersby. This will likely discourage people from using them and also presents a privacy concern.
The balconies in the following images show examples of well planned and executed balcony design.
The balcony above has a half open railing and is amply deep. It is covered by a roof element making it feel more secure, and it is easily accessible. Score = 4 points [see below].
The balconies above are a key design element of the building. The balconies curve and change providing lots of outdoor space with privacy. They have a half-open railings and are amply deep. They are covered by a roof elements making them feel more secure, and are easily accessible. Score = 5 points [see below].
Beyond the book.
If a balcony is the only exterior space offered to an apartment, then it might be used in many ways. It could serve any of the following purposes: a place to sit, a place to eat, a place to cook, a place to get some sun, a place to plant, and a place to store things.
Likely it would be used for a number of these purposes, but for it function as a usable space, then the 3 if not all 4 elements of a successful balcony should be employed. The fourth element is discussed below.
A 4th aspect of good balcony design is to allow for humanity.
Taking cues from the above concepts and going a step further, a fully enclosed balcony railing could make people even more comfortable.
Given the way that people actually use balconies, the drawbacks of open railing on the balcony becomes apparent. Anything that is placed on the balcony will be on display. This can certainly detract from the appearance of the building.
I'm sure that most of you have encountered a balcony that is used as a storage space and is covered with all kinds of junk. Keeping the balcony railing open it forces people to either keep it pristine or make the building look messy.
Human beings are engaged in living life and may not always keep things pristine. There are times when we need to be dirty and use balconies for other proposes even if only temporarily.
5-Point Score System for Balconies.
5-Point Score System for Balconies.
If we were to create a 5- point balcony score card, we could assign 1 point for each of the following items:
- Balcony is provided
- Balcony has easy access
- Balcony is recessed
- Balcony is proper depth (6 feet min.)
- Balcony railing provides ample privacy
Going back to the first balcony photo we can learn a lot. Providing people with an exterior outlet is a good thing to do, and taking care of people makes them happier. But we wonder why these balconies don't get used?
Using the 5 point system, these balconies do perhaps two out of the five things correctly; they provide easy access with sliding glass doors and they are slightly recessed. So we would give the the balconies a maximum of 2 out of 5 points.
The planners, designers and builders of this project deserve credit for trying, but there is plenty of room for improvement.
Summary
Balconies break up the mass of a building and can make it more beautiful on the outside for those of us who are passing by and also on the inside for the people who use them. The hope is that you will now know how to create better balconies and have a framework to evaluate the balconies you encounter.
A Pattern Language, is a valuable resource for anyone, especially homeowners and those wishing to build and remodel. It’s a wealth of knowledge outlining good building practices and is broken down into small easy to read and understand sections.
There is art and science to good building and hopefully this helps you understand better how to build.
Other articles: How to Appreciate the Trees in a City
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