In some places that is a strategy to satisfy zoning requirements. The builder has to provide a minimum amount of outdoor area per dwelling unit. They could create a large ground-level courtyard, or they can create a bunch of tiny balconies that sum up to the same total area. The ladder strategy allows a larger building to exist on the same lot.
Why do residential skyscrapers always seem to include balconies that never get used?
Submitted 3 weeks ago by pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Comments
kersploosh@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
kamenlady@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I approve of the ladder strategy. Work those legs!
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
God damn, son! I’m only on the 63rd floor! How big is this ladder???
LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
Maybe a way to make use of all those unused balconies. I’m on board.
halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
A different design other than a basic box would allow them to make a large outdoor area at basically any level they want, not necessarily the ground, but that’s of course more expensive as well.
ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I think people value private outdoor space differently than public outdoor space. I don’t actually have a balcony but I think I would usually prefer a private space to a public one, even if the public one was much nicer.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
so like, even if it were a box…
They don’t really have to encase each floor. most buildings are concrete, and they could just as easily seal that floor off and leave the observation platform open. But the reality is that it gets pretty windy up that high, and most people won’t want to be out there for very long at all. And not at all if it’s at all inclement.
not to mention… jumpers.
visnae@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
97% of the time, the average car just sits in the parking space, taking up space not being used.
I guess you can say something similar applied to balconies. They are probably being used, but only a small portion of the day.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Counterexample. We love our little balcony. We have some plants, a bench, and a hummingbird feeder. We take our coffee out there for ‘cocktail hour’ at 7, and sit, talk, watch the world go by a few floors down, and enjoy each other’s company.
If you’re not using your balcony, you really should.
gwen@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
yess we have a similar situation!! i was under the impression EVERYONE used their balconies!
blackbirdbiryani@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
There are a tonne of apartment balconies that are just afterthoughts by the developer though. I see plenty that are narrow to the point of being useless, or 30 floors up with no enclosed overhang which just generally feels kinda terrifying.
trolololol@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Totally
Same with backyard. None of my neighbors are ever in their backyard. How do I know? If it’s not raining and it’s above 20c very likely I am in mine.
njordomir@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Agreed. I live on my back patio when it’s warm enough. I’ve gotten called out (not in a bad way) on meetings for my hammock background. ;-)
Greg@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
So pot plants have somewhere to die
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Mine love it out there.
The trick is to bring them inside before it gets cold.
daggermoon@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You couldn’t pay me to go out on a balcony if it’s higher than 1 story. Fuck heights.
WoahWoah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I had a friend that was drunk and was smoking and leaning back on the balcony and went over. Broke both his arms, his neck, fucked up his back, and had a major concussion. I think maybe he broke some ribs too. Really fucked him up. He didn’t die, but the head injury caused a dramatic personality change and the neck and back stuff created chronic pain.
Don’t… uh, accidentally drop from great heights, people.
daggermoon@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’m sorry to hear about your friend. I hope he’s doing well, all things considered. I will refrain from being drunk on a balcony. I don’t like being drunk anyways.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
We had a great balcony on 15 but wow, standing at the railing was only a sometimes-thing and only for a short while. Sorry of our guests wouldn’t go outside at all, and I completely understand why.
I used to be afraid of heights. Then, in basic training, we did some rappelling. Every second of the process was a trained and well-practiced task, orchestrated on the day by sergeants “speaking clearly” as is their talent. There were no mistakes, there was no fear while wrapped in the process, and there was no hesitation. The actual heights part was a few fleeting seconds.
This achievement stayed with me 20 years until I absolutely lost my shit while rock climbing a familiar route out in New Paltz, embarrassing myself, my family, my friends.
Smoogs@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
For smokers
NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Maybe in order to give each resident the same chance to jump?
/s
udon@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Depends on where you live. In Japan, most of the time it’s either way too hot to hang out on the balcony or way too cold. In Europe it’s fine in many places for most of the year.
Some of it also has to do with rent prices which can be higher if you have a balcony.
Also, and again in Japan: There is an emergency balcony exit in some apartment buildings in case a natural disaster hits. It’s probably easier to climb your way down a bunch of balconies with holes in the ground than a blank wall
forgotaboutlaye@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I live in Berlin, and while I don’t have a balcony myself, I spend a lot of time enviously starring at my neighbours that do, as they use them quite a bit.
someguy3@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
People want the option to use their balcony. Then they realize it’s usually not so pleasant being exposed like that to the sun, wind, temp.
adarza@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
… or just ‘exposed’. to neighbors, passers-by, and the pervert in the corner office across the street.
ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Heh, I walk around naked with the blinds open because where I live, people would need binoculars to see me and if they choose to, their resulting suffering is their own fault. One advantage of being unattractive…
200ok@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
There’s definitely a guy in the building across from me that stares. I don’t think he’s a creep – he’s probably just bored and looking around – but his face is pressed up against the window so he stands out. I’ve made eye contact a few times, ugh.
Empricorn@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
Joke’s on them! I’ll stare into their telescope and out-perv them any day of the week…
200ok@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Agreed! They’re always filthy/dusty and annoying to clean.
And even though no one gives a shit enough to stare, it’s hard not to feel… watched.
betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Just put walls on there, problem solved.
MissJinx@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I use mine! Actually I made sure to.look for an apartment with a balcony since I have pets
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I don’t sit on my balcony despite the table and chairs I have out there, but I have lots of plants that soften the view and spark joy.
ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I wanted a balcony but the real estate agent politely implied that I couldn’t afford one in the area where I was looking for housing. With that said, I can see myself using it for just an hour or two a week while the weather is nice. I like the idea of sitting out on the balcony but in practice it’s noisy out there and boring to do on my own.
some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 3 weeks ago
Me too. I have an outstanding rocking chair out there for reading. We also have a tiny table between two chairs, perfect for drinks.
Anticorp@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
There aren’t many smokers anymore, and small apartment balconies were usually used for smoking.
Stalinwolf@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
As someone who can barely approach the edge of a 3-story parking structure, I would come unraveled on one of those balconies.
toynbee@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Three stories? You’re a brave soul.
HelixDab2@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
As a counterexample, look at the Marina City towers in Chicago (aka the corncobs); all of the units have balconies, and the balconies are definitely a selling point. They’re quite large; in the case of the studios, the balcony can be nearly as large as the living space. (I think that I recently saw a nearly all original condo in Marina City go up for sale in the mid $400s? It was an interesting time capsule.)
wabafee@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s for emergency exit.
ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
That’s funny. I see all the skyscrapers around here with balconies and I get jealous, but I never thought about the fact that I almost never seen people on those balconies until I read your question.
philpo@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
…smokers…
forgotaboutlaye@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
A friend of mine in Toronto is forbidden to smoke on his balcony now.
Zacpod@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
300sqft for $3500/month and they’re not even allowed to smoke?
thonofpy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
They are not human friendly.
vin@lemmynsfw.com 3 weeks ago
The bigger ones are great for parties but that’s not an everyday event
punkwalrus@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I find them too windy and noisy half the time. They are also wet half the time, either from condensation or recent rain.
AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
I use mine to play Civ
Fleur_@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Mines handy for being able to clean the outside of the windows
Crumbgrabber@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Rapunzel.
Boomkop3@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
Part of it might just be that is increases the value of the apartment
sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
You add tiny, mini, useless balconies so that you can check off another tick box on a zillow or trulia search, justify an increased rental cost.
Then you make the balconies as small as possible, as featureless as possible, and throw a whole bunch of rules into your rental agreement that prevent you from actually using them for basically any reason: Can’t smoke on the balcony, can’t dry clothes on it, can’t cook on it, can’t display any thing like a flag or banner on the balcony because of some made up aesthetic code, etc.
I’ve lived in a lot of different apartments of differing quality and location, and while I’m not saying that modern apartment residential balconies are entirely a scam, they very often are.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Because that smoke goes into other people’s apartments. People who may not also be smokers or may have asthma or other medical conditions in which 2nd hand smoke is bad. not actually a building choice… most states now bar smoking inside or near a multi-unit residential building.
19 states have some form of “right to dry” legislation, most of which would protect drying on patio space.
usually a matter of firecode. where I am, it’s illegal to have wood burning fire pits or charcoal grills, but gas grills are fine. Also, turkey friers.
These rules are because people are stupid and have caused apartment fires numerous times with these things. can you use charcoal safely? sure. Also, another reason smoking is generally illegal. there’s always that one smoker that forgets to clear out the ashtray every so often and that catches fire. (or they put a tissue in it or something, and that’s not at all fire retardant.)
not actually legal. if there’s a residential building code that bans political speech (banners, flags, etc) then that’s a first amendment violation. The apartment can (maybe) ban things in their contract agreement, but that’s not a building code. that’s a contract agreement, and as long as it’s not exactly graphic, it probably falls into the “unenforceable” category.
EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Two points which I would like to interject here:
OP (of either the post or comment above) may not be in the United States, and
Even if they are, there are 50 states and 1 capital district. That’s only roughly a third of the United States. Odds are they are not in those states.
jerkface@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
It is a first amendment violation when THE STATE and ONLY THE STATE restricts your expression.
sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
So, a bit of discussion about a hypothetical me has spawned from this and I’ll say some things here:
I am from the US, have mostly rented in the PNW.
I am aware that smoking is bad and can affect other people, and that idiots running grills can be very dangerous, but I’m old enough to remember when these used to be a major use case for residential balconies.
AFAIK, generally, you can still do these things if you own (or even rent) a house in a lower density area with a balcony or patio.
Hell, I’ve lived in places and with roommates who are entirely capable of nearly burning down an apartment complex by not knowing how to cook on the oven/range in their apartment, or by just smoking inside and woops that cigarette butt or spliff or joint missed the tray.
I’m not saying it should be the case that we ignore safety concerns in more dense housing, I’m more just pointing out that things which many people are used to be able to do on some kind of residential balcony are not actually doable as more and more people live in rentals.
As for clothes lines, decorations, hell in some places even public drinking of alcohol on a balcony all being technically legal to some extent but still being against a rental contract:
Surely you are aware that the landlord and property managers hold basically all the power in these situations unless you have the time and depth of pockets to legally challenge their usually illegal frivolous stipulations.
They can just fine you and threaten eviction or withhold your security deposit, and it will almost always be 5x to 10x less expensive to just accept this than to attempt to challenge it.
Hell, I have literally never received my security deposit back, anywhere I have ever rented, despite doing no actual ‘damage’ to the unit. They will always just invent some reason to withhold it.
… Anyway, my main drive here isn’t that you should just be allowed to do whatever you want on an apartment balcony, its that these balconies are functionally useless to the renter due to them being designed as an afterthought to drive up rental costs, as well as having all kinds of functionally real restrictions unless you want to get into a legal fight with your landlord.
datelmd5sum@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
interesting that charcoal is banned but gas is fine. I’ve never had the grease accumulated on the bottom of the grill catch fire on a charcoal grill, but with a gas grill…
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You can blame Jeff Bezos, George Clooney, and Nestle for that.
TachyonTele@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
You’re going to have to walk us through that one, please.
Peruvian_Skies@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Nipple Batman made balconies useless?
Anticorp@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
My friend had a balcony so small that one person had to crab walk out sideways and then a second person could stand in front of the door. We still stood out there and smoked though. The view was nice.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Legally you cannot smoke here within 100ft of a door or window that ventilates another’s workspace or living space as it represents carcinogenic pollution you’re willfully emitting despite knowing the risks.
In allowing it, the landlord would be subject to a number of complaints, some of them like human rights violations carrying no upper limit to the compensation – they could actually be sued for millions in the right extreme circumstances.