Healthy Home: A Window to the Soul
Are beautifully framed windows better than plain expanses of glass for improving our sense of well-being and connection to nature?
The Scandinavian countries, which consistently rank as the “happiest” in the world, have established building standards ensuring that office workers are always within 23 feet of a window. Since most of us in the industrialized world spend a sobering 90 percent of our lives indoors, it behooves us not only to incorporate windows in our buildings, but also to make sure those windows are as physiologically nourishing as they can be. We do that not by automatically installing the biggest, baddest hunks of glass on the market, writes architectural ornamentalist Kent Bloomer in the book Biophilic Design, but by giving careful thought to how to encase and embellish windows for maximum impact.
A new perspective on picture windows. We take for granted the idea that seeing nature through an inoperable picture window is the same as experiencing it, and that it’s best to install the large windows with minimum detailing. However, biophilic designers — who focus on building practices that improve human health, well-being and productivity — suggest that framing, mullions, muntins and smaller panes may be more conducive than picture windows to appreciating nature.
Breaking down walls. Some argue that there’s little artistry in a wall of solid glass windows. To them, a distinguishing feature of memorable architecture is that it is experienced with all the senses and that a tour through the home is a journey with special views framed purposefully along the way. By their account, being greeted by a wall of windows upon entry is a bit like your date showing up undressed: There’s no mystery, no seduction, no curiosity to be sparked, no discoveries to be made. Even a killer landscape can be enhanced by elements of surprise and a slow reveal. This large window wall that features thin black framing is a great example.
A mandate for mullions. Mullions are the wide vertical elements of the window frames that separate panes of glass. They break up the view just enough to impart a little mystery to the viewing. Bloomer thinks mullions add a tactile element to the viewing experience.
Preserving historical character. An important pillar of biophilic design involves preserving what’s already been built and connecting the design to local history, culture and geography.
This bathroom was part of the renovation of an 1845 home in the Philadelphia area. The windows’ diagonal muntins are historically appropriate for the era, when larger sheets of plate glass were on the technological horizon but would have been cost-prohibitive to the average homeowner at the time. The historical precedence of tiny diamond panes is itself a strong argument against oversize picture windows here. But though they’re a must in 19th-century restorations, they also add charm to less pedigreed builds too.
This bathroom was part of the renovation of an 1845 home in the Philadelphia area. The windows’ diagonal muntins are historically appropriate for the era, when larger sheets of plate glass were on the technological horizon but would have been cost-prohibitive to the average homeowner at the time. The historical precedence of tiny diamond panes is itself a strong argument against oversize picture windows here. But though they’re a must in 19th-century restorations, they also add charm to less pedigreed builds too.
A happy balance. Here are windows that frame the view and satisfy both our conscious desire for a completely transparent wall of windows and our subconscious craving for windows that offer a formal transition.
Aligning architecture with window design. This bathroom entry is the epitome of fractal geometry’s power. The entry arch and window details are a variation on the same petal shape. The arch calls people into the room, while the coordinating windows lead them to the light and the view beyond.
No pane, no gain. Panes in varying opacity are a curiosity and draw the viewer in closer to study and decipher the forms and shadows outside in a manner that can be more engaging than a naked view, which risks becoming wallpaper in the background after a while.
Don’t forget about those doors. Though it’s seen here on an interior door, thicker glass with texture incites our tactile urge and will draw attention to the transitional space between indoors and out if it’s installed in lieu of or in addition to the central pane of a picture window.
A pleasing interruption. Bloomer could have had this utterly divine living room by Frank Lloyd Wright in mind when he wrote, “Wright understood that attentive viewing does not have to be panoramic in scale.”
The panorama is sectioned off with timbers that, yes, interrupt the view, but also enhance the space’s majesty by mimicking the trees outside to make the room feel like a tree fort.
The panorama is sectioned off with timbers that, yes, interrupt the view, but also enhance the space’s majesty by mimicking the trees outside to make the room feel like a tree fort.
Enticing exteriors. Consider your curb appeal in the design of your windows too: Sometimes the smaller panes just plain look better or more interesting from the outside than wall-to-wall glass.
More Healthy Home: Courtyards | Mixing Wood and Stone | Sunrooms and Conservatories | Water
More Healthy Home: Courtyards | Mixing Wood and Stone | Sunrooms and Conservatories | Water