Loggia, whose pedigree can be traced back to the Italian Renaissance period, developed richly in the palace architecture, and to a lesser extent they adorned average residential buildings. In the few tenement houses of rich 19th and 20th century burghers. the loggia has retained its modest dimension.
The loggia was considered a typical southern architectural form. However, it turned out, that it has advantages that allow it to be used also in construction in countries with colder climates. The period of post-war construction can be called the renaissance of the loggia.
Balconies and loggias – these are probably the only relics of the past, decorating the facades of houses in new housing estates. Loggia – situated on the south or south-west side – has superiority over the balcony. Protecting against rain, allows you to stay outdoors in the warm season, regardless of the weather; it also allows for its development with certain permanent elements. The superiority of the loggia over the balcony is also to limit drafts, which are so strong on the balconies, that they exclude decorating balconies with plants sensitive to gusts of wind.
On the loggia slab – stretched on three wall supports and covered with three walls – can be set larger, and therefore heavier containers, in which you can set up mini-gardens, to grow climbing plants, and even early vegetables. On the side walls, on the attached handles, you can hang pots and box-type containers, fasten supports for climbing plants, install lamps. Protection from the wind and regulation of sunlight allows plants transferred from the apartment to stay there for summer holidays.
Loggia can connect not only with the living room. In the immediate vicinity of the kitchen, it increases the economic space, which can accept an additional pantry cabinet, and when used externally, transparent shutters will replace a clothes dryer or a bicycle shed; it can also be a place for children to play under the watchful eye of their mother working in the kitchen. The composition of the façade is enriched by the deep chiaroscuro of the loggia, color solution of the side walls. The use of a loggia illuminated with warm light by a lamp or candles in the evening creates an interesting accent on the dark surface of the building.
The loggia is perfect for joining with the balcony created by sliding the slab outwards.
Considering the functional and aesthetic importance of windows, balconies and loggias and their impact on shaping the architecture of the building, street and housing estate, the importance of architectural rhythms cannot be overlooked, the most common in facade solutions:
• the rhythm of geometric motifs (vertical and horizontal divisions),
• the rhythm of colors (facade colors, plaster invoices, natural stone coverings, painting the surface),
• the rhythm of shadows (external shadows cast by balconies, bay windows on the facade surface, internal shadows that occur in the recesses of the loggia),
• rhythm of functional elements,
• the rhythm of decoration (color and light and shade solution of the plane, arrangement of flower containers, green).
