The balcony is located at Seilergraben 17, in the heart of Zurich. Seilergraben is a road along the eastern side of the Niederdorf connecting the prominent public squares and traffic junctions Neumarkt and Central.
The balcony is on the second floor of an apartment building, facing the valley-side area along the former city wall, which was used by rope workers as a work place after the old moat was levelled in 1780. Today this small balcony still faces the former city wall from the 13th century but also a busy traffic road.
The balcony is part of a building complex with a commercial store space on the ground floor and housing on four upper stories. This particular balcony is heavily decorated with various pots and plants, creating a small spot of greenery on a grey and less organically decorated facade. Apart from it being a space for growing various plants, the balcony doesn’t show any traces of further usage, for there is no seating or table.
The balcony is decorated with wrought iron gratings that not only serve as a safety factor but also as an ornamental element. The decorative grillwork is curvaceous and goes hand in hand with the organic feel of the balcony. The collection of regularly spaced identical, elongated elements stand on a massive monolithic stone cantile. Two identical volutes decorate the bottom of the balcony. Also the tracery of the volutes show decorative flowers.
In general this particular balcony stands out as an embellishing element of the facade.
