Editing Balcony

{{Short description|Platform projecting from the wall of a building}}
{{Other uses}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=450
| image1 = Overzicht van het bovenste deel van de voorgevel met dakkapel (kajuit) en balkon - Groningen - 20387674 - RCE.jpg|width1=300|height1=
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| image4 = Villa Brion - Balcon (41733506711).jpg
| footer = Various styles of balconies 
}}

A '''balcony''' (from {{langx|it|balcone}}, "scaffold"{{efn|cf. [[Old High German]] ''balcho'', beam, balketta; probably cognate with [[Persian language|Persian]] term ''بالكانه'' ''bālkāneh'' or its older variant ''پالكانه'' ''pālkāneh''.<ref>[[Dehkhoda Dictionary|Dehkhoda Persian Dictionary]]</ref>}}) is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by [[column]]s or [[Corbel|console]] brackets, and enclosed with a [[balustrade]], usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartments and cruise ships.

==Types==
The traditional [[Malta|Maltese]] balcony is a wooden, closed balcony projecting from a wall.

In contrast, 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. In the UK, the technical name for one of these was officially changed in August 2020 to a ''Juliet guarding''.

Juliet balconies are named after [[William Shakespeare]]'s Juliet who, in traditional staging of the play ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', is courted by Romeo while she is on her balcony—although the play itself, as written, makes no mention of a balcony, but only of a window at which Juliet appears. Various types of balcony have been used in this famous scene; the "balcony of Juliet" at Villa Capuleti in [[Verona]] is not a Juliet balcony, as it protrudes from the wall of the villa (see photograph below).

==Functions==
A unit with a regular balcony will have doors that open onto a small [[patio]] with railings, a small patio garden or [[skyrise greenery]]. 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.

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 [[Papal conclave|conclave]]. Inside churches, balconies are sometimes provided for the singers, and in banqueting halls and the like for the musicians.

In theatres, the ''balcony'' was formerly a stage box, but the name is now usually confined to the part of the [[auditorium]] above the dress circle and below the gallery.

Balconies are part of the sculptural shape of the building allowing for irregular facades without the cost of irregular internal structures.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lorinc|first1=John|title=The rise of the balcony|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/toronto/rising-demand-for-balconies-poses-riddle-for-developers-intoronto/article35997696/|access-date=19 August 2017|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=16 August 2017}}</ref>

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 (IEQ). 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 blocking noise and improving natural ventilation within units.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ribeiro |first1= Catarina |last2= Ramos|first2= Nuno M. M. |last3= Flores-Colen|first3= Inês|date= 2020-08-11 |title= A Review of Balcony Impacts on the Indoor Environmental Quality of Dwellings |journal= Sustainability |volume= 12 |issue= 16 |page= 6453 |doi= 10.3390/su12166453 |doi-access= free |bibcode= 2020Sust...12.6453R }}</ref>

== Materials ==
Balconies can be made out of various materials; [[historically]], [[stone]] was the most commonly used. With the rise of technology and the modern age, balconies are now able to be built out of other materials, including glass and stainless steel to provide a durable and modern look to a building.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

==Examples==
One of the most famous uses of a balcony is in traditional staging of the scene that has come to be known as the "balcony scene" in Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet'' (though the scene makes no mention of a balcony, only of a window at which Juliet appears).

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Edouard Manet - The Balcony - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Édouard Manet]]: ''Le balcon''
File:Romeo and juliet brown.jpg|[[Ford Madox Brown]], the balcony scene from ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]
File:Júlia balkonja, Verona.jpg|The balcony of Juliet at Villa Capuleti in [[Verona]]
File:2014 02 13 14 13 13 Milano ITALY Palazzo Cusani balcone balcon photo Paolo Villa FOTO3970.JPG|[[Palazzo Cusani]] in [[Milan]] ([[Italy]])
File:Coronation balcony (52877063504) (cropped).jpg|Members of the British royal family on the East Front Balcony at [[Buckingham Palace]], 2023
</gallery>

==Names==
Manufacturers' names for their balcony railing designs often refer to the origin of the design, e.g. Italian balcony, Spanish balcony, Mexican balcony, Ecuadorian balcony. They also refer to the shape and form of the pickets used for the balcony railings, e.g. knuckle balcony. Within the construction industry it is normal for balconies to be named descriptively. For example, slide-on cassette balconies referring to the modern method used to install aluminum balconies or cast-in-situ balconies relating to concrete balconies poured on a construction site.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">

Maheshwar Fort - Jharokha 02.jpg|[[Indian architecture|Indian]] balcony of the Maheshwar Fort, [[Maheshwar]], India

Palais ducal nancy.JPG|[[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] balconies of the [[Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine]], [[Nancy, France|Nancy]], France

Caen église Saint Pierre balcon daté 1518.JPG|[[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] balcony of the [[Church of Saint-Pierre, Caen|Church of Saint-Pierre]], [[Caen]], France

Paris détail d'un balcon de la place Vendôme 1718.jpg|[[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] balcony design of the Hôtel de Boullongne, Paris

File:Balcony Grille (France), ca. 1700 (CH 18159287).jpg|[[Rococo]] balcony in the [[Cooper–Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]], New York City

65 Rue de Rivoli, Paris (02).jpg|[[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] balcony of building no. 65 on Rue de Rivoli in Paris

Доходный дом А.И. Нежинской-4.jpg|[[Egyptian Revival architecture|Egyptian Revival]] balcony in [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russia]]

Strasbourg Gallia03.jpg|[[Renaissance Revival architecture|Renaissance Revival]] balcony in [[Strasbourg]], France

Rue Fabert, 38bis balcony.jpg|[[Rococo Revival]] balcony of building no. 38 bis on Rue Fabert, Paris

Balcony of The Gheorghe Petrașcu House.jpg|[[Romanian Revival architecture|Romanian Revival]] balcony of the Gheorghe Petrașcu House in the [[Piața Romană|Roman Square]], [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]]

File:FinnishNationalTheatreDetail.jpg|[[National romantic style|National romantic]] balcony of the [[Finnish National Theatre]], [[Helsinki]], Finland

Colossal order 8 avenue Opera Paris.jpg|[[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] balcony of building no. 8 on [[Avenue de l'Opéra]], Paris

Villa Brion - Balcon (41733506711).jpg|[[Art Nouveau]] balcony with a [[relief]] under it, on the façade of the [[Hôtel Brion]] from [[Strasbourg]], France

Balconies (52785380178).jpg|Balconies on the city (UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]) of [[Guimarães]], Portugal

Annecy balcons art déco 2.jpg|[[Art Deco#Architecture|Art Deco]] balcony in [[Haute-Savoie]], France

Coffee cup-shaped balconies, Niimi Tableware, Kappabashi Dougu Street, Tokyo, Japan (side view).jpg|[[Postmodern architecture|Postmodern]] coffee cup-shaped balconies in [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]

</gallery>

==See also==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*[[Balconing]]
*[[Deck (building)|Deck]]
*[[Jharokha]]
*[[Mashrabiya]]
*[[Mezzanine]]
*[[Minstrel's gallery]]
*[[Porch]]
*[[Verandah]]
}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{more citations needed|date=June 2016}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
*{{Commonscatinline|Balconies}}
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Balcony |short=x}}

{{Room}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Architectural elements]]
[[Category:Floors]]
[[Category:Garden features]]
[[Category:Parts of a theatre]]

[[ta:பலுக்கல்]]