Sights and sounds

The four respondents, situated at different heights, could mainly see buildings, streets, cars and pedestrians, indicative of the urban landscape. From their sixteenth floor with south orientation, Clément and François had a panoramic view towards a high school stadium and the cityscape with its huddled buildings. Aube, from her nineteenth floor with west orientation, had a front view on a building, but she could also see inner pathways of the residence by turning her head to the right. As for Youssef, he could see close enough the main pathway of the residence with its trees, cars and residents from his seventh floor with south orientation.

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Beyond this objective description of what interviewees observed, their emotions soon appeared when asked about their preferences and dislikes regarding their current view. For Clément and François, the high school stadium and adjacent kindergarten gave vitality to the area when students were around, but François highlighted that otherwise ‘there isn’t much to see as the view is a bit sad with these buildings all around’. Both agreed that the view was rather static, lacking in variety, dynamism, greenery and colours that could arise their curiosity. While Clément said that ‘in ten years the view will still be the same’, he was rather happy with this large window as it gave ‘the feeling of having western style verandas’, offering abundant brightness and a wide perspective which, based on his experience, was quite unusual in China.

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Aube appreciated the variety of her window’s view, which blended urban and natural elements, including the scenery and hum of the city, but also the moon, sunrises and sunsets, the movement of Venus and, most importantly to her, the presence of the mountains in the morning when the sky was clear. In Aube’s words, ‘at every moment, something will be missing as it’s the time of the day that reveals or hides what we see’. These variations are part of a routine that calms us all unconsciously by confirming that the Earth is still moving around the Sun and that life goes on outside despite one’s good or bad day. Aube compared her monitoring of these daily cycles to that of a concierge who would ensure that everything remains in order. In contrast, Youssef, deprived of these views and what happened beyond the residence, found enjoyment in a nocturnal habit of counting the windows that, ‘like his’, were still lightened at one or two in the morning, when everyone was sleeping. He certainly appeared more neutral compared to Aube and Clément’s evident enthusiasm or François’s discontentment with their respective views.

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A window’s view could evoke both positive and negative experiences. When asked about urban sounds, Aube expressed being ‘relatively deprived from noises’ due to her apartment’s height. While she did perceive the city hum, it did not disrupt her calmness as it made her feel ‘with other humans’. However, when asked about disliked sounds, Aube explained how she investigated for days to identify the source of recurrent shouting. She recounted being scared as she ‘couldn’t understand why these men were shouting that loud and that early’ and thought they were fighting, only to discover it was military exercise nearby. Aube acknowledged her difficulty in filtering out noises, recalling an afflicted dog bark for weeks as other example that she interpreted as signs of distress.

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As these sounds were repeatedly heard every day, they became familiar and she got used to them, even detecting the times of the day they had to be heard; late afternoon for the dog and early morning for the military salute. Aube also noted the sound of cats in heat resonating between buildings, concluding that she ‘would like to hear birds’ but she could only hear ‘cats, dogs and people shouting’. When listening to her, I felt that she generally perceived a sense of calm from her windows, although a series of sudden and distinct sounds were often felt unpleasant. Similarly, as François and Clément lived in the same building, they could also hear these cats in heat. François lamented that ‘we rarely hear nice things like music’ while Clément complained about the view of the residence’s landfill and the disruptive noise of dump trucks every week for three or four hours, breaking the ‘monotonous atmosphere’ that they usually had at home, ‘as if suddenly we were moving from one environment to another’.

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Functionality

Apart from the view it offers, a window can hold significant value for its inherent qualities. Youssef highlighted several attributes from his double-glazed window as they formed a closed balcony that was ‘like a heater’, comfortable but also practical to dry clothes. He also emphasised on natural lighting as the window helped him waking up earlier, and then, noise isolation, probably due to the double-glazing and for being located inside the residence rather than near the road. Ventilation was another essential aspect for Youssef, as he mentioned the importance of a well-ventilated room and, lastly, he noted the overarching benefit of a window in reducing energy consumption. Natural light reduced the need for artificial lighting, and its heating or ventilation functions could alleviate the necessity of using air conditioners or heaters. Youssef had truly become an expert of his own window through these observations, especially, when mentioning the occasional noises produced by the glass as it cooled down at night after being all day warm, which turned out to be true as I could hear a ‘toc’ every two minutes while interviewing him.

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A window can also have the function to change our perceptions of life indoors and outdoors. Initially, the window that Aube discussed with me was not her favourite one as it proved to be too small for her liking during the first months in the apartment, but she found it every time more interesting due to the variety of its view, which started to impact her mood positively. In contrast, Aube thought that the window’s emplacement could allow neighbours to see her and her daughter from the facing building, which incited them to draw the curtain when watching films in the living room. Aube reflected on this need for privacy, remarking ‘I do not want to be seen and I know it’s a way for people to see me’, contrasting this with the earlier sensation of the window as a portal to fly away to the outside world. In a final anecdote, Aube revealed that she had overcome her fear for heights with this nineteenth-floor window, whereas it was her daughter who had to remind her to be cautious when leaning out.

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As Youssef earlier, François saw his window as a source of light and ventilation for the living room, allowing him to wake up more easily in the morning. Interestingly, the window served the function of distracting his cat, Robin, when opened, while the mosquito net could protect him from falling. Clément even added that Robin had his ‘own little corner to rest and enjoy the sun’ as they installed a cat window perch. Despite these practicalities, François ironically despised his window once more, claiming it had little effect on his own mood. In contrast, Clément insisted on the virtues of his large windows, which flooded the room with light, and were aesthetically pleasing, seamlessly blending with the apartment’s interior décor. He also noted the skyline’s utility as an indicator of pollution if buildings were covered, and wind intensity if trees were swaying. Further, there was a major divergence between Clément and François regarding the window bars, given that the former appreciated the sense of security they provided while the latter felt they deprived him of his sense of freedom. It was quite amusing to see how the same window could be perceived differently by two individuals living in the same apartment.

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The feeling of being in China

Participants brought contrasting perspectives when asked if they felt like being in China when looking through the window. Aube said that, at least, she felt not being in Paris as ‘it doesn’t smell like Paris’, and Clément confirmed that he didn't feel being in France or Europe. Interestingly, Aube was the only respondent who did not strongly associate her window view with China. She described it as ‘a somewhat ugly suburb of Dijon or Brest’ while François suggested it could be mistaken for a Parisian suburb if not for certain details such as the façades, Chinese flags or red stickers on the windows, all characteristic of the Chinese urban landscape. While reflecting on these cultural identifiers, I saw that François, Clément, and Youssef had the Fu character adorning their windows, symbol of good fortune, which Youssef noted as emblematic of Chinese windows.

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During the Chinese New Year, Youssef definitely felt like being in China amidst the display of red lanterns, knots and door couplets, all decorative elements integral to the culture and visible from his window, while Clément and François had that same feeling by seeing fireworks from theirs. Further, Clément identified huddled buildings and the absence of shutters as key indicators of being in China, wondering how his neighbours manage to sleep without complete darkness. Aube also acknowledged that when looking into others' apartments, she found ‘people without curtains, who are not hiding, with sad and poorly lit interiors’. At the end, despite being curious to know more about how their Chinese neighbours live, all four participants concurred on the importance of privacy, acknowledging the need to disconnect from the outside world, especially at the end of the day. In a way, it almost feels that ‘home’ is a timeless, spaceless cocoon, which doesn’t necessarily need to be situated in any specific country, unless the outside world calls for our attention and pulls us back to ‘reality’.