Photographer Highlights the Incredible Variety of Windows Around the World

Windows are a vital part of any building – they help activate a space and bring it to life. Portuguese photographer Andr Vicente Goncalves pays tribute to this architectural element in his ongoing series called Windows of the World. In it, he documents a variety of colorful exteriors, sills, shutters, and shapes, grouping individual images into large grids according to their location.

Through Goncalves' project, it's clear that there's no shortage of unique facades. Some window frames are fairly standard as white rectangular shapes, but they punctuate gorgeous, repeat-pattern tiles. This makes a bold statement against the busy backgrounds. Other frames don bright colors and visually pop from the neutral bricks and stone. Whatever their style may be, it's a fantastic way to marvel at the creativity of the everyday window.

“I always had a curiosity about windows,” Goncalves writes, “like the structure of houses, they change region to region.” The photographer later compiled the thousands of pictures he had taken and Windows of the World was born. “[It's] a big evolution from the earliest windows that were only a hole in the wall.”

Above: Burano, Italy

Porto, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Ericeira, Portugal

Albufeira, Portugal

Sesimbra, Portugal

The Alps

vora, Portugal

Trento, Italy

Venice, Italy

Andre Vicente Goncalves website
via [Arch Atlas]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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