Balconies for the Country House: A Classification

The balcony — there is nothing more familiar in the look of urban and suburban architecture. Few facades do without one, and there is no need to dwell again on how practical and functional these structures are. To understand the purpose and possibilities of balconies and to grasp their various types and features, let us look back into history.

HISTORY

The word "balcony," according to some sources, comes from the German balkon and, according to others, from the French balcon or the Italian balcone; it contains the medieval Latin root balcus, meaning "scaffolding, timber." The first to use the word were the Italians, who applied it to the beam-supported ledges on a facade.

Excavations of the ancient Greek cities of the Hellenistic period (323–146 B.C.) attest to the presence of balconies on the buildings of Rome, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. In ancient China and Japan, balconies were built into pagodas (to shield them from the hot sun), and from there they spread throughout Central Asia, India, Persia, and the Caucasus.

Balconies on a pagoda — An Eastern pagoda: long balconies running all the way around, shaded from the sun by the roofs.

In Scandinavia, balconies were used hardly at all because of the harsh climate, and in Britain, Belgium, and the Netherlands bay windows were preferred for the same reasons.

Balconies, however, were not always a feature of dwellings. The defensive structures of the 13th century — fortress walls and town gates — required special protection and strong reinforcement. Medieval balconies served exactly these functions: heavy, solid stone slabs with blind railings were carried forward from the planes of the walls. They were placed at the main city gates, which made them part of the original composition and a hallmark of the city.

Fortress balconies — A medieval balcony (a "machicolation") on a fortress wall.

Gradually balconies changed, becoming light and graceful. Each style that came with its era brought its own distinctive features to them, shaping the balconies we know today.

TYPES OF BALCONIES

A balcony is nothing more than a way of connecting interior space with the space of the street, and it is not always a feature planned from the start. If your house is already built or bought but you want to add this detail, a balcony can be installed on the finished facade. Based on their structural features, such balconies fall into three types.

Hanging balconies — attached to the facade with special fasteners and ties; they require no additional free space beneath them.

Hinged balconies — The forged balcony braces also serve as a decoration for the structure.

Freestanding balconies — built only where there is free space, usually on the lower floors of buildings. They are carried on a spot footing and side supports.

Attached balconies — The supports for a freestanding balcony are the side posts.

Attached balconies — balconies whose load is distributed evenly between a spot footing and the supporting cantilevers fixed to the facade.

Veranda — An attached veranda is essentially the same as a balcony, only larger and with access to the outside.

Balconies that are part of a home's original design use different bracing techniques.

The structure rests on cantilevered beams and brackets that support the balcony floor. The beams are embedded up to half a meter into the wall.

Balcony on cantilevered beams — Brackets can be metal, wood, or in the form of a stone basket.

A balcony with a base in the form of a cantilever slab. This is the type that is "sewn into" the wall. It is found mainly in brick buildings; because of its great weight it is not suitable for lightweight block structures.

The base of the balcony cantilever slab — Anchoring the cantilever slab by clamping it in place is reliable and looks appropriate.

A balcony on external supports — columns — is an option only for the lower floors of a building.

Supporting a balcony on columns — Here the balcony slab on columns also serves as a canopy over the entrance porch.

Balconies differ from loggias in that they project beyond the walls of a structure, whereas a loggia is "recessed" into them.

By their degree of openness, balconies are divided into open and closed; this most often refers to glazing, although the space can also be enclosed with, for example, ironwork. Glazing is one of the most convenient ways to keep out noise, dust, and temperature swings.

Green house — An enclosed balcony-terrace serving as a winter garden.

Modern private construction is full of techniques for making a building expressive with the help of balconies. On facades, for instance, you can see asymmetrical balconies — either with unusual shapes or placed in an unusual, asymmetrical way. In some cases this is the mark of a particular style (most often Art Nouveau); in others it is a concession to necessity (freeing up space for sunlight or a way to lighten the overall impression).

National characteristics

A wide balcony is a fine bonus for the owner. Balconies differ in their width depending on the architecture of different countries. In Russia, standard balconies are fairly narrow. Swedish balconies are similar: narrow projections with metal railings.

In the U.S., balconies are long and wide, wrapping around houses like ribbons, with low railings about waist-high.

Balcony in the United States — A typical balcony in the United States.

In Italy, balconies are ornaments for a building, and each one is unique. Their merit lies not in width but in their unusual shapes: recessed, rounded, curved, or asymmetrical, framed with openwork wrought iron, stucco, columns, or balustrades — and always buried in greenery.

A small rounded Italian balcony decorated with carving and flowers.

The Spanish balcony is the very embodiment of restraint. It is small in size, often square or rectangular in shape, and austere. The grille railing is used only in the center, with solid concrete frames along the sides.

Balcony in Milan — An antique balcony in Milan. The heavy black wrought iron grille in the center sets off the delicate colors of the floral ornament on the walls.

The narrowest of all the national balconies is the French one. It can also be seen in Russia, especially in buildings from the Soviet era, though no one suspects that it is a French type of balcony. Originally, a French balcony was a narrow ledge with a wrought iron railing where only one person could fit.

Today they are, in effect, panoramic windows with a tiny curved platform resembling a basket. The usefulness of French balconies is limited by their size, but they serve as decorative features of facades.

In architecture, the classification of balconies is vast: continuous balconies, horizontal or vertical segmentation, balconies that emphasize the vertical or form part of portals and bay windows, and so on. Architects draw their inspiration from many sources, from natural lines and shapes to futuristic images.

Continuous balconies, which wrap around the house, divide the facade with horizontal lines and visually lower the building. Such balconies can be finished with carved or wrought iron railings, or have none at all — open balcony decks without railings are characteristic, for example, of the Wright style.

Wright style house — Continuous balconies outline the building horizontally, creating a panoramic effect.

Horizontal segmentation can also be achieved with single balconies, which was particularly characteristic of Italian Renaissance architecture. The balconies are placed on a first-floor ledge or on a cornice.

House in Florence — An old facade in Florence. Small single balconies are lined up horizontally.

Bay windows are the most common way to give a building a textured, expressive appearance. They are often combined with balconies. And while a bay window is a way to increase interior space and let more light into the rooms, the balcony is an added opportunity for a close connection to the outside world, a place to rest.

The house in Florence — A building often combines bay windows and balconies.

Modern balconies — See examples of balconies in our facade database, draw inspiration from the ideas, and use these techniques in your own home.