Figure 1
Observed balcony dimensions and shape schedule.
Table 1
Interviewees (residents) and the characteristics of their balconies.
| INTERVIEWEES | BALCONIES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDa | AGE (YEARS) | DESIGN | CONTEXT | ||
| AREA (m2)/APPROXIMATE DIMENSIONS (m) | BALUSTRADE | ORIENTATION | EXPOSURE | ||
| 1FD | 25–35 | 28 m2/depth: 1.5 | Transparent | S, W | Calm street, river, trees |
| 2FD | 25–30 | 10 m2/depth: 1.5 | Mixed | S, W | Parking between residential blocks, river, trees |
| 3FD | 45–55 | 1.5 × 2 | Transparent | E | Greenery and residential block |
| 4FDP | 25–35 | 2 × 4 | Openwork | S | Parking and residential blocks |
| 5FMD | 30–40 | 1.6 × 13 | Perforated | E | Parking and greenery |
| 6FD | 25–35 | 2 × 4 | Openwork | W | Parking, river |
| 7FD | 25–35 | 1.6 × 10 | Opaque | W | Parking, inner-estate street, residential blocks |
| 1.2 × 2 | Glazed | S | |||
| 8FD | 30–40 | 1.5 × 3 | Openwork | S | Courtyard, parking |
| 9FD | 25–35 | 1.5 × 3 | Openwork | E | Courtyard |
| 10FMD | 25–35 | 1.2 × 3 | Opaque | S | Parking, inner-estate street |
| 11FD | 35–45 | 1.2 × 2 | Openwork | N-W | Courtyard |
| 12MD | 35–45 | 80 m2 | Transparent | S, E | Calm street, river, greenery, block of flats |
| 35 m2 | N, E | Parking, block of flats | |||
| 13FT | 35–45 | 2 × 2 | Opaque | S | Courtyard |
| 14FT | 35–45 | 1 × 2.5 | Opaque | S | Calm street |
| 15FT | 30–40 | 1.2 × 3 | Openwork | N | Courtyard |
| 16MT | 35–45 | 1.2 × 3 | Opaque | S | Courtyard |
| 17FMT | 25–35 | 1.5 × 3 | Opaque | S | Courtyard |
| 18FT | 25–30 | 1.5 × 3 | Opaque | S | Courtyard |
| 1 × 2.5 | N | Calm street | |||
| 19MT | 30–40 | 1.5 × 3 | Opaque | S | Courtyard |
| 20FT | 50–60 | 2 × 3.5 | Openwork | E | Courtyard |
| 1 × 2 | W | Calm street | |||
| 21FT | 25–30 | 1.2 × 3 | Openwork | N-E | Courtyard |
| 22MT | 65–75 | 1.2 × 2 | Openwork | W | Calm street |
| 23FTb | 70–75 | 1.2 × 3.5 | Openwork | W | Courtyard |
| 24MB | 25–35 | 1.2 × 5 | Opaque | S | Parking, calm street, greenery, block of flats |
| 25MB | 40–45 | 1.5 × 3.5 | Mixed | S | Calm street, greenery |
| 26FMB | 45–55 | 1.2 × 6 | Mixed | S | Busy street, greenery |
| 27FB | 25–30 | 1.2 × 3.5 | Opaque | E | Allotments |
| 28FC | 30–35 | 1 × 3.5 | Opaque | S | Parking, busy street |
[i] Note: a F = female; M = male; FM = couple; D = newly built developer housing estate built after 2010; C = cooperative housing estate built between 1990 and 2000; B = post-war block of flats; T = tenements; and Tb = pre-war block of flats.
Figure 2
Balcony furnishing and activity per estate.
Table 2
Balcony usage categories.
| USAGE TYPE | USAGE CATEGORY | INSTANCES OBSERVED (n) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MORNING | AFTERNOON | EVENING | |||
| Passive | Leaving open doors for ventilation | 767 | 786 | 799 | |
| Drying laundry | 210 | 219 | 223 | ||
| Activity | Short/necessary | Hanging laundry | 11 | 29 | 12 |
| Watering plants | 14 | 10 | 8 | ||
| Smoking cigarettes | 17 | 10 | 13 | ||
| Cleaning/maintenance | 13 | 12 | 7 | ||
| Short observations | 27 | 27 | 30 | ||
| Long/optional | Sitting, relaxing, reading a book | 28 | 35 | 48 | |
| Eating/drinking | 4 | 3 | 3 | ||
| Conversation in a group | 12 | 8 | 18 | ||
| Conversation with a neighbour | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Children’s play | 3 | 10 | 14 | ||
| Long observations | 20 | 22 | 20 | ||
| Sunbathing | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Home office | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Repairing something | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Animals’ presence | 12 | 7 | 6 | ||
| Phone call | 10 | 4 | 16 | ||
Figure 3
Active balconies per size category and their context.
Figure 4
Activities observed (percentage of balconies per category) and total sample frequency for different balcony orientations, spatial contexts and sizes.
Figure 5
Summary of features fostering or impeding balcony use based on observations and interviews.