Many Types Of Windows Used Nowadays

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28529, 7 March 1958, Page 22

Many Types Of Windows Used Nowadays

Windows have been important characteristics of many past architectural styles. Nowadays, with the use of many types of windows, it is the quantity of windows in buildings, not a particular type, which characterises contemporary architecture.

The double-hung window, which reigned almost supreme for many years in New Zealand, is still used, but much less frequently. As they may be opened top and bottom, double-hung windows give good ventilation.

The type of window most used nowadays is the casement window, which is hinged at the side. They give a full, unobstructed opening and good ventilation. Adjustable louvre windows are particularly useful in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry, where good ventilation and dispersal of steam are needed. They are also useful at the sides of fixed windows. Sliding windows, which run in tracks at the top and bottom, may be pushed along and leave a large opening free from obstruction. They are more suitable for porches as in wet weather the lower groove collects water. They may not be opened in wet weather. Folding windows also run in tracks and provide large open areas. Top-hung or awning-type win-

flows, once used almost exclusively for fanlights, are becoming popular and are frequently used to cover a whole wall. Those which form an opening at the top give better ventilation but they cannot be opened in wet weather, unlike those which are hinged at the top. The walls of glass in modern homes allow an abundance of light and sunshine into a room, but they also have a disadvantage. The sunshine they admit, although welcome in winter, can be too hot in summer. This problem can be solved, however, by having eaves wide enough to keep out the hot midday summer sunshine. Glare from the sun can be kept down by using various types of blinds or curtains. Venetian blinds, no longer noisy, cumbersome wooden affairs, offer complete control of light and they are becoming popular again. Bamboo and rattan blinds, while being of little use at night, are excellent sun blinds. They possess useful decorative qualities.