Windows to a nation's soul
Windows aren’t just a way of letting in light or viewing the outside world. Windows speak volumes about the way cultures articulate space. At the café, expressly meant for English tourists in Paris, the pattern on the drapes speaks to an idealized sense of the English countryside. When the native Parisian was asked about them, he couldn’t identify why, but he knew they would not work for a French café. “Too many pastels,” was the best he could do. The nature of windows in Paris and they treatments people apply to them are a constant reminder that even in a city packed with several million lives, you are part of the French social reality. Small communities stacked on eon top of the other — 6 stories up, but you can see and wave to the neighbor on the 3rd story across the street. They invite you onto the balcony, they invite communication. .
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