Architect’s Toolbox: Locating the Space Between

There’s a scene in the film Titanic: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are in the forehead of this wonderful ship, high over the water with the sea stretched out before them. DiCaprio and Winslet locate themselves at a space that does not belong to the ship or into the ocean, a space that isn’t in the foreground or in the background. It’s a place in the middle ground where they hold each other as they find themselves between the ship and the sea at that space that only goes to them.

Architects and designers relish creating these in-between spaces. 1 such place is a little balcony perched over the landscape and gently, possibly even precariously, connected to the home. Like the brow of the Titanic, these balconies produce middle-ground places that are solely our own.

Eck | MacNeely Architects inc..

Like the brow of the Titanic cutting through the ocean, this space finds the middle ground between what’s behind and what lies ahead, involving the safety and security of the house and the vastness of the landscape outside.

Frank Shirley Architects

Two chairs and a little dining table: the ideal place to sit down and read a book or have a nap as we drift along.

2fORM Architecture

A complete glass wall with large doors and a ceiling that points into the skies create an entire room that’s an interior space.

Battle Associates, Architects

Providing a roof over the balcony helps keep it dry while folding it back into the home to give us just a little more safety as we survey the untamed landscape from our perch.

Metcalfe Architecture & Design

Utilize a railing that disappears so the view when lying in bed is unobstructed.

Su Casa Designs

Or use a railing that offers some definition and boundary to the space so the edges are clear.

V & Company

Utilize a railing that repeats the window layout to the exterior edge.

Birdseye Design

Or use a pipe railing that just barely touches the home to keep an open and nautical feel.

sherry hart

Is this balcony part of the bedroom or the treetops outside?

AIA, bud Dietrich

The primary, linear and airy area extends into the outside while the mattress is tucked safely off to the side.

Asher Elbaz

Interior balconies are okay, too. For people who wish to only watch the party going on below.

More:
Happy Birthday, Fallingwater!
Architect’s Toolbox: Beautifully Layered Spaces
Sliding Walls Bring the Outdoors In
Ceilings That Function: Designs to the Space Above

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