The Indicator: A Brief History of Balconies

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Sears Tower Glass Balcony / Jared Newman, DesignCrave.com

Commencing. A Brief History of Balconies entails the examination of subjectivities above ground, on little bits of buildings in air, looking down, at pennies on the sidewalk, oddly visible from the 34th floor, which appears to be the same level as jumbo jets coming into Logan from wherever they were coming from and above the sea. I once stood parallel with the jets as they banked and tipped their wingtips a little.

It’s an odd sensation to be in the air at such heights, stationary. It feels more natural to be in motion, to be flying. Chin on the warm aluminum extrusion of railing, I could fit my knees through the verticals. Just a slight web of metal anchored into concrete. I was once fearless at such heights and would sometimes stand on a patio chair to have the sensation of being clear of the rail. Was back a safe distance, or so assumed, with palms pressed to the balcony above. Holding myself in the in-between space like a jack, wedged between two floors and looking out over the rail to the vanishing point.

The strange thing about being up there in the middle of the sky was that the sounds of the city rose up with clarity otherwise obscured on the ground. Some of the noise lifted itself free from the streets. When the wind was right the smell of jet fuel would slide over the harbor. The sound would follow.

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Cite: Guy Horton. "The Indicator: A Brief History of Balconies " 31 Aug 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/268924/the-indicator-a-brief-history-of-balconies> ISSN 0719-8884

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