Boundary and skin
Window
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An opening in a wall or roof that lets in light, air and views, usually with a closure that opens.
What it solves
It brings natural light and cross ventilation, the cheapest way to keep cool in the humid tropics. Well protected, it lets in the breeze without direct sun or rain.
Today
Place windows on opposite walls to achieve cross ventilation and protect them with an eave or sunshade. High windows help release the hot air that builds up under the roof.
Common mistake
Installing fixed or small windows that do not ventilate and then relying on air conditioning.
Tomorrow
A window that can be left open safely at night, protected from rain and with an insect screen, cools the house at no cost. Designing for night air is one of the simplest answers to hotter nights.
Where it comes from
- 1Medieval Norse peoples Scandinavia and England, first recorded in the early 13th century
The English word window comes from the Old Norse vindauga, wind eye, which named an unglazed opening in the roof. - 2China, Korea and Japan East Asia, Antiquity
Paper windows on a timber lattice, inexpensive and with soft light. - 3Ghana Empire West Africa, 1154
The geographer al-Idrisi described glass windows in the king’s palace.
Masters
- Le Corbusier Villa Savoye, Poissy, France, 1931
He runs the window as a continuous horizontal strip along the facade. It teaches that a long window spreads light evenly and frames the landscape like a panorama.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Boundary and skin
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.