A new indicator of social status has risen to the top. It’s a huge, stunning window made of high-quality materials but completely devoid of curtains, showing the private life of the owner of a renovated apartment in an upscale residential area of one of the world’s largest cities. new york times It reports on the obligatory curtainless windows in Brooklyn Heights and describes it as an “ethnographic diorama” of white and millennial residents of the West Village and Park Slope. guardian discovered them in a stately West London apartment, and TikTok turned them into viral content. The hashtags #NakedWindows and #staresinrichpeoplewindowsnyc are among the most popular in Manhattan, and people have come to the city with a genuine anthropological interest in peering into the lives of their wealthy neighbors through windows like these. We’re collecting his TikTokers. Copy their decorating acumen. In some videos, the owners appear smiling proudly behind vast expanses of bare glass.
Curtainless windows allow passersby to see into the open-plan space, which is dotted with expensive pieces. Neighbors say they’re definitely proud of the extravagant grand piano, Jeff Koons dog, two Togo sofas, Technogym elliptical trainer, giant marble kitchen island, and silver chandelier. right. All is going well. Perhaps a pet such as a Persian cat or an Afghan greyhound might complete the scene.
The fourth season is inheritance (HBO) The series explores the social norms of today’s upper class, epitomized by Loro Piana baseball caps and Brunello Cucinelli vicuña sweaters, as well as ultra-wealthy and fearsome characters who live curtainless lifestyles. It has appeared. Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) was in a grand loft with 35 windows, but only the bedroom and bathroom were apparently opaque. Her brother Kendall (Jeremy Strong) lives on the Upper West Side in a luxurious penthouse with a single window and an unobstructed view of Manhattan.
Several doctrines have been invoked to theorize this tendency. The most classic and oldest explanation is that of Calvinism, which explains why Calvinism is not new in a city like Amsterdam. According to that lesson, a good family has nothing to hide. And from this point of view, the curtains may even seem suspicious. Another explanation for the curtain purge is minimalism and the pursuit of bright, clean spaces that promote tranquility and harmony.
Exhibitionism and stealth marking of wealth is a third explanation. According to those who observe this phenomenon, quiet luxury rules the world, and like fashion, it operates through a coded language. It’s not obvious, and only a few people hold the key to deciphering it. Obviously, we’re not referring to Jeff Koons’ dog sitting on a slab of marble, but rather an interior design made of bronze, nickel, and brass, “the finest jewels,” according to the interior designer. Refers to the elegant 1930 device Forbes & Lomax toggle that turns off the lights in a room. ” Recognizing these ridiculously expensive switches is out of reach for beginners. The same goes for uncovered structures and enclosures.
A 2013 study by the U.S. Department of Energy had already linked family wealth to the decision to live with bare windows. According to the report, U.S. residents who earn more than $150,000 a year are twice as likely to live without curtains as those who earn between $20,000 and $29,000 a year. Ten years later, these numbers created a generation of young people living in the country’s upscale urban areas.
Daniel Utter is a professor in the New York University Department of History and the author of this book. Transparency: A critical history of ideasIn it, he seeks to demonstrate that humanity’s history of transparency is closely linked to one of the key elements of Western architecture: the glass window. “I don’t know if bare windows are a global trend, but they’re trending in New York, where I live,” he said in an email, continuing. This relates to his 20th century phenomenon, which is thought to be due to his Protestant heritage. Personally, I’m skeptical of that theory, since in most modern metropolises windows without curtains form part of the logic of status visualization above all else. ”
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Professor Utter points to “a sort of global craze” for transparent facades and giant glass windows. “I think our modern beliefs about the social concept of transparency are supported by the massive and large-scale experience of transparency as a material and architectural reality,” he wrote in an email. There is.
Still, designer Nicholas Collodi said, Decorative usesThis book of four essays suggests an alternative reading. “Today, generally speaking, the super-rich hide their wealth, and the bourgeoisie, or people who want to be bourgeois, engage in ostentatious consumption through social media. If there is a side, the reading of its function should be reversed, because windows have become anachronistic as a device to separate the private and the public, and the omnipresent presence of cameras has shattered that idea.” says in an email:
Francesca Sapey of studio Teresa Sapey + Partners is starting to see more projects featuring bare windows. “There are more and more houses where the curtains disappear,” she said in a conversation with EL PAÍS. “We attribute it to the digitalization of life: so much is exposed on social media, the barrier between public and private has faded, space is no longer so clearly defined, They start looking for transparent, open living spaces.”
The Spanish interior designers and architects consulted for this article did not have this experience. They think it will take more time for this trend to reach their home countries. Some believe it will never happen. “If it’s fashionable to take down the curtains, we weren’t aware of it, but I don’t think it’s very popular here. We’re stingy with our privacy and our private spaces are They don’t understand that it’s an extension of their moral qualities,” says Pablo López of Casa Josephine Studio, adding, “This is common in Protestant cultures. “Our clients still need curtains to provide privacy and add variety in color, richness and texture. If our client asks us to take down the curtains, we will ask them why, but we probably won’t be able to see eye to eye.
Maria Villalón, founder of Villalón Studio, considers this a “strange trend,” but says that “more and more architectural projects are removing curtains to make the most of mock-ups and external structures.” is recognized. “Generally, I continue to use them to dress up a space and ensure privacy. My clients don’t want a view from the outside,” she says. Interior designer Belén Domecq agrees.
Ricard Trenchis of Trenchis Studio says, “In the end, it is true that the curtains function as almost individual installations, like architectural elements themselves,” adding, “Not installing curtains is… “This is a decision that brings out the beauty of modern architecture to the fullest,” he added. Trench believes that the desire to show off your interior only occurs if you want your interior to serve as a showcase for your life. “I don’t think that’s common in Spain today,” he says.
The desire to live in a kind of showroom barely concealing not-so-obvious sneaky riches that excites the imagination and the indiscreet glances of passers-by is another that seems modern but is actually not. It applies to customs. Life, work, blessings and misfortunes of the upper class. It’s called wealth porn. Nicholas Bloom, an economist and professor at Stanford University, sums up the situation in one sentence: “Overall, we spend more time finding out how the rich and famous live than we do finding out what our friends did last weekend.” Once the elites pull back the curtain, the process becomes even easier.
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