Between Outside and Inside: Comparison of Integrated and Attached Balconies in Private Housing Projects

by Serap Doglarlioglu

The balcony is an architectural element where the inside meets the outside. It is not often part of the leading architectural program, but it is the area that allows residents to be outside with the comfort of being in their own private space.

Curtain Wall House by Shigeru Ban Architects in Tokyo and House in Nidau by Jan Kinsbergen in Sweden has the same design approach: to eliminate the boundaries between interior and exterior of private housing as much as possible while creating triangular formed balconies.

Both housing examples are located in a neighbourhood where other housing blocks surround them. In regards to that, balconies allow users to live in a more social atmosphere with their neighbours and in interaction with the streets in front of the houses.

Despite having the same form of their balconies, Curtain Wall House is a balcony itself. It might appear as if the outside walls of the building have been replaced with drapes, turning every room into a balcony. Opposed to that, the balconies are attached to house’s exterior facade in Nidau. The first example gives a possibility that all the rooms become balconies themselves with the divisions of sliding doors.

“Interior conditions are controlled by opening and closing this Japanese style ‘curtain wall’. In winter, a set of glazed doors (in combination with the curtain) can completely enclose the house for insulation and privacy. This thin membrane takes the place of shoji and sudarescreens, and fusuma doors that appear in the traditional Japanese house.” ¹

The second housing example has two prominent balconies which are attached to the facade on different levels.

In terms of exterior borders, both of the houses are transparent to the outside, but they create this transparency through very different approaches. The first house uses traditional Japanese walls, which allow to block the visibility from outside if necessary, much like the drapes. But the second house creates that transparency with a glass exterior facade.

It is visible how the cultural design approach of housing created different architectural results with similar intentions. Curtain Wall House is united with the outside while House in Nidau is segmented with solid boundaries, but these boundaries can be moved aside to create an even stronger connection to the outside.