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A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor.


Types

The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a wall. By contrast, a Juliet balcony does not protrude out of the building. It is usually part of an upper floor, with a balustrade only at the front, like a small loggia. A modern Juliet balcony often involves a metal barrier placed in front of a high window that can be opened. In the UK, the technical name for one of these was officially changed in August 2020 to a ''Juliet guarding''. Juliet balconies are named after
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's Juliet, who, in traditional stagings of the play '' Romeo and Juliet'', is courted by Romeo while she is on her balcony—though the play itself, as written, makes no mention of a balcony, but only of a window at which Juliet appears. Various types of balcony have been used in depicting this famous scene; however the 'balcony of Juliet' at Villa Capuleti in Verona is not a 'Juliet balcony', as it does indeed protrude from the wall of the villa (see photograph below). The Julian Balcony is a slightly larger version of the well-known Juliet Balcony, protruding slightly from the wall, unlike the smaller Juliet balcony, and spanning at least two windows rather than one.


Functions

A unit with a regular balcony will have doors that open onto a small patio with railings, a small patio garden or skyrise greenery. A French balcony is a false balcony, with doors that open to a railing with a view of the courtyard or the surrounding scenery below. Sometimes balconies are adapted for ceremonial purposes, e.g. that of St. Peter's Basilica at
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, when the newly elected
pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
gives his blessing '' urbi et orbi'' after the conclave. Inside churches, balconies are sometimes provided for the singers, and in banqueting halls and the like for the musicians. In theatres, the ''balcony'' was formerly a stage-box, but the name is now usually confined to the part of the
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, communit ...
above the dress circle and below the gallery. Balconies are part of the sculptural shape of the building allowing for irregular facades without the cost of irregular internal structures. In addition to functioning as an outdoor space for a dwelling unit, balconies can also play a secondary role in building sustainability and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Balconies have been shown to provide an overhang effect that helps prevent interior overheating by reducing solar gain, and may also have benefits in terms of blocking noise and improving natural ventilation within units.


Materials

Balconies can be made out of various materials, however the most popular used to be stone. With the rise of technology and the modern age, balconies are now able to be built out of other materials, including glass and stainless steel to provide a durable and modern look to a building.


Notable balconies

One of the most famous uses of a balcony is in traditional stagings of the scene that has come to be known as the "balcony scene" in Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet'' (though the scene makes no mention of a balcony, only of a window at which Juliet appears). File:Edouard Manet - The Balcony - Google Art Project.jpg,
Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bor ...
: ''Le balcon'' File:Romeo and juliet brown.jpg, Ford Madox Brown, the balcony scene from '' Romeo and Juliet File:Júlia balkonja, Verona.jpg, The balcony of Juliet at Villa Capuleti in Verona File:2014 02 13 14 13 13 Milano ITALY Palazzo Cusani balcone balcon photo Paolo Villa FOTO3970.JPG, Palazzo Cusani in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
(
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
) File:The British royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.JPG, Members of the British Royal Family on the East Front Balcony at Buckingham Palace, 2013


Balcony names

Manufacturers' names for their balcony railing designs often refer to the origin of the design, e.g. Italian balcony, Spanish balcony, Mexican balcony, Ecuadorian balcony. They also refer to the shape and form of the pickets used for the balcony railings, e.g. knuckle balcony. Within the construction industry it is normal for balconies to be named descriptively. For example, slide-on cassette balconies referring to the modern method used to install aluminium balconies or cast-insitu balconies relating to concrete balconies poured on a construction site.


Gallery

Maheshwar Fort - Jharokha 02.jpg,
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
balcony of th
Maheshwar Fort
Maheshwar Maheshwar is a town, near Khargone city in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh state, in central India. It is located on State Highway-38 ( Khargone city-Barwaha- Bandheri Highway),13.5 km east of National Highway 3 (Agra-Mumbai highway ...
, India Palais ducal nancy.JPG,
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
balconies of the
Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine The Ducal Palace of Nancy (French: ''Palais ducal du Nancy'') is a former princely residence in Nancy, France, which was home to the Dukes of Lorraine. It houses the Musée Lorrain, one of Nancy's principal museums, dedicated to the art, histo ...
, Nancy, France Caen église Saint Pierre balcon daté 1518.JPG,
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
balcony of the Church of Saint-Pierre, Caen, France Paris détail d'un balcon de la place Vendôme 1718.jpg, Baroque balcony design of th
Hôtel de Boullongne
Paris File:Balcony Grille (France), ca. 1700 (CH 18159287).jpg,
Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
balcony in the
Cooper–Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile (New York City), Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the ...
, New York City 65 Rue de Rivoli, Paris (02).jpg, Neoclassical balcony of building no. 65 on Rue de Rivoli in Paris Доходный дом А.И. Нежинской-4.jpg, Egyptian Revival balcony in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
Strasbourg Gallia03.jpg, Renaissance Revival balcony in
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
, France Rue Fabert, 38bis balcony.jpg, Rococo Revival balcony of building no. 38 bis on Rue Fabert, Paris Balcony of The Gheorghe Petrașcu House.jpg, Romanian Revival balcony of th
Gheorghe Petrașcu House
in the Roman Square,
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
File:FinnishNationalTheatreDetail.jpg,
National romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
balcony of the Finnish National Theatre,
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland Colossal order 8 avenue Opera Paris.jpg, Beaux-Arts balcony of building no. 8 on Avenue de l'Opéra, Paris Villa Brion - Balcon (41733506711).jpg, Art Nouveau balcony with a
relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
under it, on the façade of the Hôtel Brion from
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
, France Annecy balcons art déco 2.jpg,
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
balcony in Haute-Savoie, France Coffee cup-shaped balconies, Niimi Tableware, Kappabashi Dougu Street, Tokyo, Japan (side view).jpg, Postmodern coffee cup-shaped balconies in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...


See also


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Architectural elements Garden features Floors Parts of a theatre ta:பலுக்கல்