Bow window

Decorative bow window facade, U.K.

A bow window or compass window ^[1] is a curved bay window. ^[2] Like bay windows, bow windows add space to a room by projecting beyond the exterior wall of a building and provide a wider view of the garden or street outside than flush windows, but combine four or more facets, differentiating them from the more common three-sided bay window. ^[3] Casement windows are often used for ventilation.

Bow windows first appeared in the eighteenth century in the United Kingdom (and in the Federal period in the United States).

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  Many-sided bow window at the Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration
• 
  Four-sash Art Nouveau style bow window on the Boulevard De Smet de Nayer in Brussels
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  Five-sided chörlein at the parsonage of St. Sebaldus Church, Nuremberg, before 1361
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  Five-pane oriel-style bow window
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  Five-sided bow window at Balidon House, North Coker, Yeovil, Somerset
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  Interior view of bow window at Trerice

See also

• Bay window
• Oriel window

References

1. Sturgis, Russell. "Bow window, Compass window" Sturgis' illustrated dictionary of architecture and building: an unabridged reprint of the 1901-2 edition. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, 1989. Print.
2. "Bow window" at The Illustrated Architecture Dictionary
3. Bay Windows vs. Bow Windows: What's the Difference?, Pella Windos, pella.com

External links

• Oriel Bow Window from Brighton & Hove Museums collection
• The Difference Between Bay & Bow Windows