Stories on Design // Window Seats.

I’m yet to meet a human being who doesn’t love a good window seat – it’s simply impossible not to (unless they are located up high and the person in question suffers from vertigo, but that’s another story). Window seats are magical spaces that can instantly make us feel peaceful and calm, whereby a window becomes like a painting one can get lost in. The experience itself can have an almost meditative quality. On the other hand, depending on the context and the design, it can feel exciting to sit on the edge of a building – the feelings can shift from calm to dynamic, active and exciting.

Window seats are a bridge between the interior and the exterior. They are the band that unites the two spaces and merges them into one seamless entity. Dependant on their size and scale, window seats can feel like separate little rooms, or little balconies, or – as some of these examples showcase – they can have an almost cubby-house feel… and we all know that cubby houses are like pom-poms, our favourite pair of trackies, or cupcakes. Everyone freaking loves them! Just like a good window seat. Window Seats for World Peace, I say.

See More ‘Stories on Design’ Curated by Yellowtrace.

Courtesy of Studio Mumbai.

Copper House II by Studio Mumbai // The severe flood of Mumbai in 2005 made its high-water mark on a pump-house that existed on the site. After using it to register the datum for the house, pile foundations were put in and a slab was cast half a meter above the high-water line. The central fill came from the excavation for the well, and around a court, the house grew. This simple and elegant window seat is one of the most charming aspects of the new house.

Photo © Alice Clancy.

Brick Addition by NOJI Architects // This North facing extension to a protected structure in Dublin is pivotal in connecting the existing house to the garden. The design recesses the upper bathroom block into the lower kitchen block to minimise the overall height while the pitched roofs maximise the internal volumes. The massing of the volumes responds to the scale of the existing house and simultaneously steps downwards towards the garden.

Photo by Trevor Mein.

House at Big Hill by Kerstin Thompson Architects in Victoria, Australia // The interior of the house has an intimate quality achieved through the careful modulation of natural light and shadow, and the use of timber accents which offset the concrete floors and block work walls. Views are captured by picture frame windows that become spaces to occupy through deep reveals and window seats.

Photo © Dieuwertje Komen.

Family House by GWM Architects // The ‘landscape-project’ by GWM Architects in Frasnes-lez-Anvaing in Belgium was about constructing a free standing house in the country side. The oversized window with a minimalist seat platform allow for the views of the local village and the fields beyond.

Photos © Paolo Roversi.

Norman Fisher House by Louis I. Kahn // The Fisher House, also known as the Norman Fisher House, was designed by the architect Louis I. Kahn and built for Dr. Norman Fisher and his wife, Doris, a landscape designer, in 1967 in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. Characterised by its dual cubic volumes, stone foundation and detailed cypress cladding, the Fisher house stands as a clear statement of how Kahn was working at the time, and how his work differed from that of his contemporaries. For my money, perhaps one of the most important details to note about this house is that the backrest of the window seat folds up and down to hide and reveal a television. Genius!

Image © Raum Architects. Photo by Audrey Cerdan.

Oyster Farm Hangar by Raum Architects in Bretagne, France // This temporary dwelling and work space for an oyster farmer in the countryside of Bretagne, France was conceived as a system with multiple configurations. The house is composed of two main areas – a hangar, and an office/lounge space which hosts a kitchen, dining room, and seating area. A large window to the east provides views of the surrounding scenery while providing flexible seating with a wide framing structure.

Photo by Alan Williams.

Mapledene Road by Platform 5 Architects // Located at the back of the house, a glass roof and wall project out from the side of a renovated kitchen and bridge across to a brick garden wall. On sunny days the glass wall can pivot open, connecting the kitchen and small dining area to a terrace with the same concrete floor. A glass structure also extends through the existing brick walls on the other side of the kitchen, creating an oriel window that houses a chunky timber daybed.

Ray Kappe House in Los Angeles // A controlled explosion of space, the house spills out over multiple levels, intersected by vertical planes of glass, timber and concrete. Natural light pours in through floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the lush hillsides from all directions.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photo courtesy of March Studio.

Hotel Hotel Lobby by March Studio // Concrete blocks were used throughout the Hotel Hotel Lobby in jenga-like configurations. The wall element forms a continuous bench seat, which aligns with oversized windows that open up the views towards the outdoor space.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photo © Adolf Bereuter.

House Feurstein by Innauer‐Matt Architekten // Simple plywood has been used to line the walls and ceilings, while knotty lengths of spruce provide flooring, contrasting with the raw blockwork of the existing party wall in this house in Vorarlberg, Austria. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow both spaces to be opened out to the surrounding garden and offers views towards the forest beyond.

Photo © Luc Roymans.

House G-S by GRAUX & BAEYENS Architecten in Gent, Belgium // This 19th century corner house is located at the Muide waterfront area with a unique view on the old city harbor docks of Ghent, Belgium. Several strategically located cutouts offer a variety of well-defined views.

Photo © Quintin Lake.

Livsrum Cancer Counseling Center by EFFEKT in Copenhagen, Denmark // A cluster of seven house-shaped buildings makes up this cancer care centre in Næstved, Denmark. The houses offer a wide range of rooms for informal advice, therapy and interaction with a focus on comfort and wellbeing. Bookshelves cover entire walls, integrating small window seats.

Photo © Yoshihiro Asada.

Scape House by Kouichi Kimura Architects // A collection of differently sized cuboids make up the volume of this family house in Shiga, Japan. Rather than adding too much glazing, Kimura used both small and large windows to create a hierarchy of views, providing spaces with different lighting conditions. Windows on both floors of the two-storey residence are framed by a variety of built-in furniture elements that create seating areas, shelving and tables.

Photo © Shannon McGrath.

St Kilda East House by Clare Cousins Architects // A series of insertions into this period home injects light deep into the plan. The design extends the two wings established in the original plan into living and sleeping zones. The in-between space creates a dining room and courtyard that invites the outdoors into the centre of the house. The courtyard allows northern light into the living and kitchen zones and visibility through the house to the sleeping wing.

Photos by Tom Ross.

Turnaround House by Architecture Architecture in Melbourne // Architecture Architecture has altered the orientation of this Melbourne house so the main living areas get the best of the northern sunlight. As the clients like to entertain regularly, the architects designed the living and kitchen space as a social area with benches in the windows providing seats where guests can sit facing inside or out.

Photo by Brendan Finn.

Three Storey Urban Residence by Pleysier Perkins // This three storey residence in Melbourne utilises the existing shell of it’s former incarnation as a medical centre. On the first floor, the study commands an internal view over the entry space, as well as the street below via a deep bay window seat.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photos by Nicholas Worley.

Plywood House London by Simon Astridge // This project involved a full house refurbishment with three new extensions, creating a contemporary home woven into the existing Victorian fabric. The kitchen features a window with deep reveals lined in plywood, forming a cosy window seat that looks out onto the small yard.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Photo by Stijn Bollaert.

Kessel Lo House by NU Architectuuratelier // This two-storey house in the suburbs of Leuven in Belgium features a knock-out stair that cascades down in front of a double height window, with a cosy seat nestled underneath. That’s my idea of heaven right there.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Tower House by Andrew Maynard Architects  // Andrew Maynard doubled the size of an existing Melbourne house by adding a row of skinny gabled buildings, intended to make the building look like a small village rather than a monolithic block. One of the structures features a series of stepped platforms that double up as a multi-level window seat.

Read the full article about this project & see more images here.

Andrews House by Carter Williamson // Revolving around an amazing window seat placing any activity almost outside, the home known as Andrew’s House offers a glimpse into the world of a serene, comfy and modern lifestyle.

Photo © Patrick Bingham-Hall.

Bishan Public Library by LOOK Architects // This colourful Public Library in Singapore was inspired by a tree canopy with a vibrant and engaging atmosphere inside. Pods cantilevered off the building’s street facade provide private reading and study nooks for library patrons.

Photos by Adam Mørk.

Youth Centre in Roskilde by Cornelius + Vöge // This bright red youth centre in Denmark is coloured to match the fishing cabins of the surrounding village. The walls of the two-storey building turn inward at the junction between the original structure and the extension, lining the edge of an outdoor play area. An external staircase climbs down from the first floor to meet this play area, creating a space that the architects describe as a “small stage”.

Photo © Lincoln Barbour.

Mount Hood Community College Early Childhood Center by Mahlum // The Early Childhood Centre allows seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor learning and play. Drawing inspiration from patterns of daylight, weather and the seasons, play-learn spaces have varying degrees invite poetic reflection, joyful play, and relaxation. In the play spaces, deep walls offer window niches and benches that children can claim for themselves, and provide abundant, accessible storage in each room.