Balcony

A balcony (from Italian: balcone, "scaffold"^[1]) is a platform that typically projects from the wall of a building,^[2] supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade,^[3] usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartments and buildings.

Cantilever balconies are a type of balcony where there is no visible support structure underneath, so it appears to float.^[4] Recessed balconies sit within the boundary of a buildings facade, so are the least exposed type of balcony.^[5] Stacked balconies are attached to a buildings facade, whilst being supported by pillars beneath.^[6] The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden, closed balcony projecting from a wall.^[7]

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, resembling a small loggia. A modern Juliet balcony often involves a metal barrier placed in front of a high window that can be opened.^[8] Juliet balconies are named after William Shakespeare's Juliet, from Romeo and Juliet. Various types of balcony have been used in this famous scene, including the "balcony of Juliet" at Villa Capuleti in Verona^[9] which is not a Juliet balcony.

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.^[10]

Balconies provide an area of outside space. They can help to provide a building with light and ventilation.^[6] 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. 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 reducing noise.^[11] Balconies are part of the sculptural shape of the building allowing for irregular facades without the cost of irregular internal structures.^[12]

Sometimes balconies are adapted for ceremonial purposes, e.g. that of St. Peter's Basilica at Rome, when the newly elected pope gives his blessing urbi et orbi after the conclave.^[13] Balconies have been an important aspect of theatre architecture for centuries, inspired by ancient Roman and Greek civilisations, who included raised seating designs. Balconies gained prominence in the European renaissance, becoming synonymous with aristocratic and royal spectators.^[14]

• Édouard Manet: Le balcon
• Ford Madox Brown, the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet
• The balcony of Juliet at Villa Capuleti in Verona
• Palazzo Cusani in Milan (Italy)
• Members of the British royal family on the East Front Balcony at Buckingham Palace, 2023

• Indian balcony of the Maheshwar Fort, Maheshwar, India
• Gothic balconies of the Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy, France
• Renaissance balcony of the Church of Saint-Pierre, Caen, France
• Baroque balcony design of the Hôtel de Boullongne, Paris
• Rococo balcony in the Cooper–Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York City
• Neoclassical balcony of building no. 65 on Rue de Rivoli in Paris
• Egyptian Revival balcony in Saint Petersburg, Russia
• Renaissance Revival balcony in Strasbourg, France
• Rococo Revival balcony of building no. 38 bis on Rue Fabert, Paris
• Romanian Revival balcony of the Gheorghe Petrașcu House in the Roman Square, Bucharest, Romania
• National romantic balcony of the Finnish National Theatre, Helsinki, Finland
• Beaux-Arts balcony of building no. 8 on Avenue de l'Opéra, Paris
• Art Nouveau balcony with a relief under it, on the façade of the Hôtel Brion from Strasbourg, France
• Balconies on the city (UNESCO World Heritage Site) of Guimarães, Portugal
• Art Deco balcony in Haute-Savoie, France
• Postmodern coffee cup-shaped balconies in Tokyo, Japan

• Media related to Balconies at Wikimedia Commons
• "Balcony" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.