Valetta, Malta

Bay windows add floorspace and maximize the potential for natural lighting (and heating) in flats like these. They also increase the possibilities for invigilating the street, even if it is the pets who are keeping watch. Jane Jacobs would approve. [2009]

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Urban textures: Here's the feel of order and organization, the feel of the city known to "the organization man." Everything in a box of its own. For the suits of the 1950s, every aspect of work and personal life was compartmentalized. Then, our cities got the message: Think outside the box. [2008]

Helena, Montana, USA

In the background: Helena's history. In the foreground: Helena's future. The former: motionless and without life. The latter: high energy and on the move. Yet, the past as portrayed on the wall seems to offer many windows and platforms from which to watch the future take form. [2020]

Clancy, Montana, USA

 

You might think of Country Coffee as a private business, but it is also a public service: a filling station of sorts, a place where you can fill up on caffeine before the daily commute to Helena begins. [2020]

Trstená, Slovakia

Bands of sunshine alternating with bands of clouds: This town house will soon be back in its prime just trying to mimic the sky overhead. [2004]

Bath, England, UK

Read the window. Then, render it mathematically. Fc = ƒ(region, variety, processing, roast, age, brew method), where F-sub-c stands for Flavor of coffee. Of course the most important independent variable is listed first: region. In a regression equation, it would explain the highest proportion of variance. [2015]

Valetta, Malta

Gallarija Falza / شرفة زائفة / falso balcon: Do you recognize the languages? They would be the ones spoken in the countries bordering the central Mediterranean. In fact, the first language is a mélange of the second two (and more). What does she find her gallarija falza good for? Drying clothes. [2009]

Rancho Mirage, California, USA

Rancho Mirage devotes an entire acre to cancer survivors. The centerpiece of the park is a series of four windows symbolizing treatment. People of all ages are shown approaching, passing through and emerging from the gauntlet. Today, my birthday, I estimate I am passing through the second window. [2016]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Vieux Québec has been called the most European city in America, and here is a very European scene: street-side dining inside. That includes natural air conditioning to go with your farm-to-table appetite. But, what's it like in winter? The answer is in the name of the restaurant, which is . . . , meaning . . .  [2018]

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

How do you make a flood wall look like a living part of the city instead of a deadening barrier? Add one or more murals, fountains, and sculptures. With the in-progress wall replacement, we'll see how much of this public art survives. [2018]

Tbilisi, Georgia

She's speaking a language that fewer than 4 million people in the world can understand. She's flanking an alphabet that fewer than 4 million people in the world can read. The Georgian language has shaped its nation-state for over a thousand years. And, even as linguistic extinction events have overtaken other tongues, Georgian remains a survivor. [2015]

Lancaster, Ohio, USA

Every time you see a window, take a gander. It's an opportunity to re-frame the world. Waterfalls look completely different from afar. In this case, 'afar' is from the highest casements of Lancaster County's old Rock Mill. If you find a falls like this anywhere in America, look around. You will probably also find a mill (or the remains of one). [2017] 

Mancos, Colorado, USA

What's blocking your view of the world? What do you see when you look out any window? In this case, someone sees prancing steeds. We all have pre-occupying passions that unwittingly prevent us from accurately assessing our own realities. What's your prancing steed? [2013]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Ready to step across the threshold into the month of October? Wipe clean the slate, forget whatever brought you down last month, and aim to let everyone see your true colors. "Threshold" has been anchoring Underground Atlanta since 1996. What sets it apart are its bold colors, all the more important in a city with the least colorful public art anywhere! [2013]

Bran, Romania

Out the window: Look! It's Transylvania, Dracula's home digs. Romanians today owe a debt of gratitude to British novelist Bram Stoker, who created a fictional milieu for Vlad the Impaler. The country's post-Communist leaders have superimposed that milieu on a real landscape to create a tourist magnet imbued with a powerful sense of place. [2014]

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

The window is on his lap, under his control, right in front of his face. It probably goes everywhere with him. He uses it, often unknowingly, to frame the world. Do you have a window you take with you? An invisible window that allows you to be an observer of life even as you participate? Is there glass in your window or is it just a frame? [2014]

Zagreb, Croatia

The window is open, but she is immersed in her own thoughts. The jay is chatting up a storm, but she is oblivious. The world is at her fingertips, but her arms are folded. The window might as well be shut. [2008]

Madrid, Spain

Succulents: sucking up the sun.

Blinds: color of slime.

Felipe: looking down upon the street. 

Number five: with a Roman vibe. 

[2009]

Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA

They're fire escapes, not balconies; necessities, not amenities; settings for calamities, not festivities. Yet, a little green and a matrix of morning shadow give everyone a reason to lift their eyes and restore their spirits. [2013]

Ankara, Turkey

Here in Ankara is a window box with four layers of culture: (1) white lace on the inside and (2) garlands of red peppers on the outside. In between: (3) window panes framed in peeling white paint, and (4) a soldered-metal mesh that looks as strong as the peppers. What story do they tell about the old citadel? [1998]