Six reasons to build a beautiful balcony

Balconies provide residents with great views while literally and figuratively looking down on the neighbours, but they also offer numerous other advantages.

By Renson, Tegnestuen Lokal, and James Wormald

February 21, 2022 | 11:00 pm CUT

Balconies don't always stay close to the building. The interconnected walkways of Bond House help keep the residents' feet dry with a raised route around the exterior. Photo: KIE

From queens to presidents, whether they choose to rule with open arms or an iron fist, those in power love a good balcony.

It’s not just the high and mighty, however. Anyone who’s ever visited the theatre will appreciate the advantage a few extra inches give to your viewing position. So more often than not, wherever a house is built overlooking an area of outstanding beauty, residents are mindful of letting it go to waste, and a balcony is one of the first items on their must-have list.

With adjacent views across Malibu beach (top) and the Balinese jungle (bottom) respectively, it would be criminal if they didn't have a balcony. Photos: Matthew Momberger (top), KIE (bottom)

Enjoy the view

One of the main misconceptions of balconies is that they must point to the sun, as a pleasing view can be worth more than the rise in temperature, at any time of day.

The Taylor Beach House, on south-facing Malibu Beach, USA, for example, extends its sunlight hours with an open-ended bay balcony giving a full 180-degree panoramic view of lapping waves and golden sands from sunrise to sunset.

One of the main misconceptions of balconies is that they must point to the sun

Meanwhile, it doesn’t matter where the sun is at the Bond House in Bali, Indonesia, with multiple interconnecting walkways keeping constant sight of the sun, nearby tropical vegetation and the crocodile approaching captured British spies.

Infinity pools like this at the AEON spa are a relaxing way to take in the view (top), while this Waterfront Terrace (bottom) flips the concept with a view of the infinity lake from dry sunken seating. Photo: Alex Filz (top)

Float above

Balconies are more than just a vantage point. It’s what you do with them that counts. What better place to enjoy the view from, than a relaxing sofa or private pool. Part of this AEON spa in Soprabolzano, Italy, extends out to form an expansive balcony infinity pool, in which to take in the rolling hills. While this Waterfront Terrace property in Bierbeek, Belgium, inverts the outdoor pool concept by digging a living space cavity into the centre of what becomes an infinity lake overlooking it, making the sunken seating feel like an isolated island.

The raised balcony at Hubertus Hotel (top) supports a better view both across and below, while supports at the Floris (middle) and Treehouse (bottom) homes protect space underneath. Photos: Alex Filz (top, middle) Arley Mardo (bottom)

Support nature

From keeping them low, to raising them up: the Hotel Hubertus takes the infinity pool to new heights. Up to 12 metres high to be exact. Supported by large larch logs, the 12-metre drop can be seen from inside the pool itself, with a portion of the 17-metre-long stone base replaced with toughened glass to give swimmers the feeling of floating amongst the clouds.

As well as giving death-defying views from balconies, supporting joists are strong enough to hold the weight of entire buildings

As well as giving death-defying views from balconies, supporting joists are strong enough to hold the weight of entire buildings. Projects like the Floris hotel suites in Siusi, Italy, or Wooden Treehouse C in Bali, Indonesia, crouch down carefully like visiting spaceships, without destroying the delicate ecosystems underneath.

Cantilevered buildings like Autohaus create natural canopies and extra living space without adding to the footprint. Photos: Charles David Smith

Balancing act

Anyone who’s ever tried to build a house of cards understands the innate intrigue in balanced forms. Cantilevered projects present their architects’ victory over gravity, while the baffling magical construction plays with the negative space created beneath. Take the Autohaus in Austin, USA, for example. By twisting the first storey 90 degrees, Matt Fajkus Architecture was able to both protect and present the client’s classic car collection, and form a natural balcony space atop the ground floor structure.

The Pole Pass Retreat balcony replaces deck-covered grass (top) while Ørsted Gardens Apartments residents get a little extra green (middle, bottom). Photos: Benjamin Benschneider (top), Hampus Berndtson (middle, bottom)

Green space

Not all balconies need to provide extra living space, however, this one is used to replace it. The family at Pole Pass Retreat on Orcas Island, USA, wanted a large portion of the site’s footprint to be dedicated to a ground-level terrace, making the surrounding grass and lake instantly accessible.

Avoiding the guilt of destroying the incumbent grass, architects Olson Kundig instead replaced it above the canopy. Far away from lakeside and woodland views, meanwhile, the Ørsted Gardens Apartments in Frederiksberg, Denmark, dissects its balcony’s greenery to give residents a little bit of the natural world, right outside their door.

Mezzanine floors, both small and large like this one at the Zuidplein Theatre allow visual communication between floors. Photo: Scagliola Brakkee

Don’t overlook the interior

While balconies add extra floorspace when outside, interior balconies – mezzanines – only take it away. By deleting part of the floor above to create the mezzanine level, an epic space can be formed at the now double-height lower level, while visual contact is maintained between floors.

Theatre auditoriums use this split-level architecture to great effect, but the Zuidplein Theatre in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, borrows the feature for its lobby. With more space to catch their breath and avoid the intermission scrum, patrons of the arts are treated by the lobby’s vast and visible patterns on both window and floor axes.

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