French Balconies Pose Safety Risk

Experts emphasizes that safety risk is posed by French balconies which are usually not in the standard size and not suitable for chairs and tables, are used for ventilation and experts said safety conditions on French balcony usage must be formed and it is required to increase inspection.  Emphasizing the importance of height and the distance between metal rails, and assembling in the balconies Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan said “Height must be minimum 90 cm and horizontal joints must be minimum 15 cm. Preferably vertical joints should be used and the distance must be minimum 15 cm.”.

President of Üsküdar University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Occupational Health and Safety Department Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan mad evaluations on French balcony architecture that is used often in buildings today.

It contains many safety risks

Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan states that safety conditions must be created and inspections must be increased on the French balconies that have become popular recently and says “French balconies that are used often in today’s architecture, are usually not in the standard size, that is, not suitable for chairs and tables. French balconies are balconies that structurally windows can be opened completely and there are rails in front of the French balconies. These balconies are often used for ventilation. The reason it is called French because it is used very often in Paris. However, it is applied often in new projects in Türkiye.”.

Please do not let the esthetic concern prevent safety!

Rüstü Uçan states that French balconies are used often in new buildings recently, however, the safety on technical requirements and durability is being put in the second place in some projects and expressed “Today’s esthetic concern gets ahead of safety. Municipalities must do necessary inspections and take measurements on this matter.”.

Railing should not be assembled onto the jacketing

Emphasizing the importance of height and the distance between metal rails, and assembling in the balconies Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan said “Height must be minimum 90 cm and horizontal joints must be minimum 15 cm. Preferably vertical joints should be used and the distance must be minimum 15 cm. When a contractor builds a building, they assemble railing onto the jacketing. The safety of this application is not possible in this way. However, banning French balconies is not a solution. Safety conditions must be created and improved.  Inspections must be increased and the criteria on the height of railing must be reconsidered. Anchors must be fixated to the concrete instead of marble and firstly it must be drilled with Hilti and then it must be glued with a very strong glue and then it must be screwed.”.

Safety of children must be considered

Emphasizing that between railing and window there must be 10 cm distance Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan advised “Especially this issue is brought up often by the families with toddlers that began to walk recently. In this case, there must be no enough space for the toddler between window and railing. During the architecture stage, safety must be considered. In addition, families should not pick up their child when they are in front of the balcony and they should let their child alone in the balcony. Putting safety net between balcony railings and ceiling can be considered as a solution.”

Society faces the consequences of the lack of inspection

Konuyu İmar Yönetmeliği açısından değerlendirmenin doğru olmadığını ifade eden Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Rüştü Uçan, “Ancak mimari aşamada tasarımlar yapılırken riskler düşünülmeli ve binalar inşa edilirken bu güvenlik önlemleri göz önünde bulundurulmalı. Mimarlar Odası’nın denetimlerini içeren bir belge olma özelliği taşıyan Sicil Durum Belgesi 2012 yılında kaldırıldı. Bu uygulama ile mimarların, projelerin ve tasarımların denetlenme zorunluluğu da kaldırılmış oldu. Denetimsiz bir ortam yaratıldı ve denetimsizliğin sonuçlarını millet olarak hepimiz çekiyoruz.” dedi.  

Asst. Porf. Rüştü Uçan states that evaluating this matter with regards to building bylaws is not right and adds “Risks must be considered on the stage of architecture and when building are being constructed these safety measurements must be taken into consideration. Registration Certificate that contains inspections by the Chamber of Architects was abolished in 2021. With this abolishment, the obligation of inspecting projects and design of the architect. It created an environment that lack inspections and as citizens we all suffer from the consequences of lack of inspections.”.



Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)