I Dream of Window

While living in our White Center craftsman home, there was a span of years when I left a sketchpad in my nightstand, available to record my visual dreams. It was an ongoing phenomenon; I didn’t have reasoning for why these architectural window and nature dreams were filling my head, but they were intriguing and inspirational. I still don’t have an answer to the ongoing visual treats my mind was creating, unless it was revealing something that was missing in my life. I had assumed it was due to my underlying need to be more in touch with nature, but even with our more recent move into a home with expansive windows overlooking natural surroundings, the dreams have recently resurfaced.

A large angled pane of glass cantilevering over water

Glass cut intricately around trees in a glass box bathroom

Glass cut intricately around decorative columns

Decorative bubble skylights

Houses melding into the woods – multiple versions

Convertible living – outdoor workspace, living room in outdoor setting with stretched fabric awning above.

I don’t believe the dreams were based upon previously seen images, but post-dream, I would find myself, in everyday conversation, after flipping through a magazine or in a office design discussions, exclaiming “I’ve dreamt about something very similar!!” The creative dream outlet became a source of inspiration I prided myself on.

I want to believe my hidden psyche was/is revealing inspirations for spaces which encourage creativity, healing, openness, spirituality and gratitude by playing solely with the presence of glass and nature.

The right window can have a magical presence. Not only can it transform or ‘make’ a space, but depending on size, shape, configuration, detail, material, divisions, and the view, it can enliven the senses. It is an ever-changing piece of artwork, inspiring more wonderment than any artist to date.

Windows can be purely functional. There are plenty of homes filled with functional windows, meeting the required U-value, keeping the bugs out, helping keep a consistent temperature inside, providing the view. They do the job. But what is the difference between this:

And this:

or this:

or this:

It’s the difference between typical hum-drum or a surprise ‘ahhhhh’. A glimpse that can bring wonder or relief to your being. Windows don’t have to be big, just well thought out, positioned thoughtfully with other elements, not taking away but enhancing the view to the outdoors; and authentic, beautiful, or artistic. Not the antithesis of nature.

I’m of the mindset that beautiful historic windows are worth keeping, even withstanding the fact they’re single pane and drafty. I’m a big proponent for energy efficiency but I’m a bigger proponent for genuine materials (steel, wood) that would be exorbitant to replicate today. My hope is that industrial designers, as well as our energy codes will explore and create viable options making historical windows functional and efficient at an affordable level.

From the National Parks Service Preservation Briefs -

Windows are among the most vulnerable features of historic buildings undergoing rehabilitation. This is especially the case with rolled steel windows, which are often mistakenly not deemed worthy of preservation in the conversion of old buildings to new uses. The ease with which they can be replaced and the mistaken assumption that they cannot be made energy efficient except at great expense are factors that typically lead to the decision to remove them.

I recently had a dream in which city officials were requiring all existing older windows to be replaced with high efficiency windows. They were going door to door, and I have since dubbed it the Nazi window dream. I was filled with such a devastating, sinking, maddening feeling, being forced to remove our expansive stopped-in glass double pane windows with inappropriately framed windows!! This is an architect’s form of a nightmare!

Windows are the eyes to a houses’ soul.