# Home Balconies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Future Architect's Preferences in Lisbon and Warsaw
### Design Roles, Features, and Functions
In Europe, there is still a course of action regarding this subject which underlines the relevance of the present study. The authors could not find any relatable study conducted in Lisbon or Warsaw; nonetheless, two studies in the European context are worth mentioning. The first is the work by [PERSON] et al. in Germany and Slovakia concerning the requirements and preferences to create an adaptable quality living space with a survey of 120 respondents in three range groups (up to 35, 35-50, over 50 years old) processed by the ANOVA statistical method. The authors concluded that green urban areas were vital for the participants, with echo in other matters, such as the demand for a garden, terrace, or balcony. Moreover, 90% of the over 50 years old group respondents considered having a balcony with the same importance as having a bathroom. In comparison, the 35-50 years old group dismissed the balcony importance (9%) [45]. The previous study was performed before the official COVID-19 pandemic declaration by the WHO. The second, in Wroclaw, Poland, the study by [PERSON] and [PERSON] during the pandemic used non-participatory observation of 3000 balconies and 41 interviews of key respondents (real estate agents and developers, architects, and residents) concerning the use of balconies in apartments related to social norms and design. The authors observed that, on average, 24.7% of the balconies were empty, 35.6% had plants, 23.1% furniture, 19.5% privacy protection, 13.8% solar protection, 16.8% storage cabinets, and laundry equipment in the same proportion, and 5.2% cleaning devices (p. 141). The most observed activities were home ventilation purposes (2353) and drying laundry (652), followed by relaxing and reading (111) and short- and long-period observations (173) (p. 141). Despite the fact that there is no relation between balcony size and the nature of activities, mainly due to the underrepresentation of large balconies in the study, balconies facing north (4%), with a waterplane view (10%) and larger sizes (5%) were the ones holding most of the observed activities. The interviews showed that a suitable balcony size must have at least 3.5 m\({}^{2}\) and 1.2-1.5 m depth, be south-oriented or west-oriented, and connected to the living room. The preferred shape is the \"square\" as long and narrow balconies constrain activities,such as gathering and socialising. Furthermore, design issues focus mainly on meeting safety requirements and architectural facade aesthetics, while balcony size is proportional to the apartment size. Concerning the latter, once again, size is a key feature, as people remark that larger balconies are adaptable to various functions, despite their expectations due to the poor standard offered by the market [46]. As noted, while balcony size and shape are features widely referred to in almost all the mentioned studies, none of them extend their scope into aesthetics-related features, such as materials, finishes, or colours. In addition, only a few address greenery, orientation, and acoustic and thermal comfort subjects.