There are many things that can happen to a building over time.
Paint fades.
Landscaping changes.
Maybe a new roof goes on.
But occasionally something happens that fundamentally alters the visual dignity of a structure.
In our case, that something is called the balcony enclosure.
Or, as they appear from the outside:
rows of glass boxes awkwardly glued to the side of the building.
š§± A Design Visionā¦ Apparently
Balconies are meant to be simple.
Air.
Space.
A railing.
Maybe a chair and a plant.
Instead, what we have is something that looks like a science experiment in human storage.
Each balcony now resembles a tiny glass extension, protruding from the building like an afterthought someone approved during a long lunch break.
From afar the effect is striking.
Not elegant.
Not modern.
More like: āurban greenhouse meets storage locker.ā
š·š“ A Blast from My Childhood
For me, the sight is strangely nostalgic.
Growing up in communist Romania, apartments were notoriously small. Families constantly looked for ways to squeeze out a little extra space.
And the number one trick?
Enclose the balcony.
Suddenly that balcony became:
ā¢ a pantry
ā¢ a storage room
ā¢ a place for jars of pickled cabbage
ā¢ occasionally a refrigerator in winter
Entire apartment blocks ended up covered in mismatched balcony enclosures.
Every unit slightly different.
Glass here. Plastic there. Wood panels somewhere else.
The official architectural style was something like:
āWhatever We Found at the Hardware Store.ā
Functional? Yes.
Beautiful? Not exactly.
š The Human Aquarium Effect
Now fast forward to today.
Stand outside our building and look up.
What you see is a long row of glass boxes where residents sit, store things, and occasionally appear behind the glass like exhibits in a very polite aquarium.
Plants here.
A chair there.
Maybe a drying rack.
Itās like a human terrarium installation.
All thatās missing is a small plaque underneath each balcony:
Residentus Condominimus ā observed in natural habitat.
š The Unavoidable Truth
Thereās no polite way to put it.
They are eyesores.
They interrupt the architecture.
They clutter the faƧade.
They turn a building that could look clean and uniform into something that resembles a stack of improvised sunrooms.
š A Modest Architectural Proposal
Instead of investing time and energy replacing windows on these glass boxes, perhaps we could explore a bold and radical idea:
Balconies.
You know.
Open air.
Sunlight.
Actual outdoor space.
A revolutionary concept that has somehow worked for buildings around the world for several centuries.
Disclaimer: This post is satire and opinion.Ā Read full disclaimer.
