Eighty percent of apartment buyers in Sweden seek an open air balcony in their prospective new homes. Even while Swedes overwhelmingly find balconies desirable, long winters render the space mostly unusable for much of the year. We wanted a design that would allow residents to create larger balconies in the summer and then reclaim this unused space in the winter.
What it is
The Dynamic Balcony System is a set of retractable walls that allow residents to expose and close off various parts of their apartment to the outdoors. With the push of a button, residents can resize their balconies in accordance with the seasons. Imagine opening up your entire apartment during a party in the summer. Then in the winter, this same space can be merged with your living room. Or you could take a non-traditional approach to urban living and create an outdoor space in your own apartment. Perhaps you would like plant an open garden in your home during the spring and summer, then drop down a greenhouse-styled glass wall in the winter to keep your garden growing. Or you could turn the space into an art studio, and open up the wall to let in a flood of fresh air and natural light into your workspace. The possibilities end with you.
How it works
By simply pressing a button, you can retract a wall into the ceiling or another wall in your apartment. The wall will fold up as it retracts, meaning it takes little space as it moves and will not disrupt your furniture. And as mentioned, retracted walls will hide into the ceiling (or existing walls), so your neighbors won’t be bothered.
