Windows: Essential Design Elements

“Anything simple always interests me.” -David Hockney

Trends are an unavoidable phenomenon of contemporary life…always departing soon without warm and fuzzy goodbyes. When I was an architect graduate student, I remember subconsciously transporting every trend into my school projects. I soon realized my purpose of being in school: definitely not learning to copy trends. Many mentors subtly hinted at me to focus on learning about architect tonics and essential elements in design details. A couple of decades came and went, and I still continue to patiently learn about the “essential elements in design details.” I believe it’s an everlasting pursuit.

This past summer in Warren, Connecticut, at my dear friends’ country cottage, I met some essential design details: windows. The windows at the cottage are not only functional but also expressed many inspirations poetically. The cottage was built around the early 20th century as an A-frame farmhouse. Here, I sensed that many happy stories had occurred in the house, sheltered with over grown old trees and seasonal bush vegetation. With that said, one can guess that I was surrounded with silence, a kind of silence where one can relax without feeling haunted.

Through the cottage windows, I enjoyed pacing around the interiors with their framed multiple views, each giving a different perspective that synchronized with my feelings throughout the stay: bright, green, tranquil, blue, buzzing, lazy, warm, breezy, and protected.

Windows are one of those unavoidable details we require while easily bidding our farewells to trends. Windows connect us, inside and out, with the essential experiences. This simple old farmhouse represented an essential timeless architectural detail poetically and timelessly. At times, this is all we need: a simple connector to the outside world.