Inset Balconies

In architectural terms, an inset balcony is a balcony which is recessed into the façade or roof of a building. Traditionally this would be a balcony which would have three sides enclosed with the building leaving one side of the balcony guarded with a balustrade. More commonly however, particularly in London inset balconies are used as architectural statements and often have two sides formed by the building and two sides with a balustrade forming a guarding.

One of the common uses of inset balconies is the corners of a building. This is often intended to break up the façade and add a feature to what may otherwise look quite a bland building. In London and the south east England particularly, the use of fins formed from cladding has seen growing popularity. On tall buildings these fins are often reasonably close together and the space in between are used as inset balconies.

These balconies are also known as recessed balconies or integrated balconies.