Openness, Privacy and Cool, Modern Design
This house was designed by
Steven Ehrlich, one of the most capable architects practicing in a
neo-Corbusian manner. It includes many corner windows,
but also ribbon windows. One visible on the left side of this photo
doubles as a corner window. Note how the long window works in concert
with the awning below it.
by Ehrlich Architects
The first floor of this house
in Westlake, Texas features full-height glass walls, while upstairs the
exterior walls are white with ribbon windows snaking around the
perimeter. This approach gives more openness to the living spaces
downstairs and privacy to the bedrooms upstairs, but it also reverses
traditional notions of weight, by placing the apparently heavier walls
above the lighter ones. Le Corbusier would be pleased with this design.
by Specht Harpman
Here is another ribbon window that extends to the corner. A look inside gives us some more information...
by Amitzi Architects
The horizontal window is
actually composed with a vertical ribbon window. Together they make an
L-shape as they turn the corner. Note that the eye-level horizontal
window uses translucent glazing for privacy.
by Amitzi Architects
By the same architect is
another whitewash house with a ribbon window. The window of note is in
the center of the photo, extending to the left towards the pool. Next,
see another view.
by Amitzi Architects
This angle is not ideal for
looking at the ribbon window upstairs, but we can see how it extends
across most of the facade, in line with a trellis awning that provides
shade for the entrance walkway and pool deck. The integration of louvers
with the sliding glass windows in the horizontal opening is a nice
touch.
by Amitzi Architects
The ribbon window in this house
by Kanner Architects is on the first floor, next to a door to the
backyard. Unlike the Corbusian examples before that used whitewash
walls, this one is made from stone. Next, see what's on the other side.
by Kanner Architects
It's the kitchen. This
horizontal opening opens up the kitchen to the exterior and provides —
one of my favorite things, partly because I don't have one — something
to look at while doing the dishes.
by Kanner Architects
This last example shows that a
ribbon window need not follow the other Five Points, resulting in a
Corbusian-influenced house. This house, called Texas Hill House but
actually in upstate New York, features a dramatic shed roof in metal.
The low end is clad in wood, and the tall end is open, with lots of
glass. Note the ribbon windows on the side wall. The next photo takes us
inside.
by Incorporated
The louvered wall in the
previous photo slides away to provide access to one of the bedrooms.
(The plan is roughly symmetrical, so another bedroom with ribbon window
is found at the other end of the house, with living spaces in between.)
Here we see the start of the ribbon window, something that creates a
strong datum for placing objects along and on the wall. Another view of
the bedroom ...
by Incorporated
... shows the extent of the
ribbon windows. What looked small on the exterior has a strong presence
inside. The window seems appropriate for the bedroom, since the bed and
other effects sit below it. It also brings in that much more light and
serves to define the length of the room much better than a blank wall or
traditional punched windows would have done.