Round windows

Why are round windows so uncommon in North America? Not a rhetorical question. When you do see them here, either in house or garden, they seem magical and out of the ordinary. Round, eye-level windows are quite prevalent in many other places, including Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe. Here they mainly seem associated with East Asian design—the feature windows in Japan or China in ceremonial  rooms or in garden walls—or with futurism or science fiction, such as circular doorways on spaceships or 1970s utopian or alternative architecture. There are two exceptions: (1) the rose windows in North American churches, and (2) the small maritime-influenced decorative windows in Eastcoast colonial architecture. But these aren’t windows you look out from; they are windows to make you feel short. They are usually placed very high, they are either made from stained glass or are made too small for a view, and they’re usually mullioned rather than being open circles. I’m more interested here in the sort of round windows or passages that are placed at human height to frame a contemplative view and to provide some relief from the rectilinearity of rooms and architecture. Above, the round garden wall opening is in a Chinese garden in Sydney, Australia. Below, two round windows at Arcosanti, the eco-city built by Paolo Soleri in Arizona in the 1970s—the first is in the Crafts III building and the second is in a breakfast nook.

Round windows are a striking, dynamic design feature and they’re underused, which is odd because they are not impossible to build. Even when they are slightly more expensive than regular windows, they give a lot of design value compared to what you spend. Is it thanks to the stigma that is still attached, annoyingly, to 60s and 70s decor that we don’t see them much? They really need to make a comeback. It doesn’t have to look like the below, even though this sunken 70s dining area in the US is fantastic. Photo from The Practical Encyclopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement, Greystone Press. The photo above is from the Terence Conran House Book, and is of a loft in Berlin.

Above, Annette’s “shack” in N. E. England. Handmade hippie houses in England and N. America often featured round windows. Below, an open, circular window in an annex to Brazil’s Ministry of Exterior Relations is by internationally renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. It looks out into a garden of little yellow flowers and a geometric tiled wall.

Many more round windows below – click for more.

Round Window in Philip Johnson’s Brick House, which faces his Glass House.

This amazing round window with birdcage, Cuba, is from |\ |) |= on Flickr.

Circular opening in one of the themed gardens at Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton NZ. Below, round balcony openings in Miami by jenzlenz.

Round window in Altea, Spain, by peti.art.

Below, window in wall of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, England, opening onto view of Barbara Hepworth sculptures.

A 70s kitchen with double round windows from desire to inspire.

Lastly, Apartment Therapy loves this one.