How often do you wish for a new view out of your window?
Developed as a quarantine project by Singaporean couple Vaishnav Balasubramaniam and Sonali Ranjit in order to create a sense of peace and human connection during the COVID-19 pandemic, WindowSwap is a website that lets users cycle through panoramic views from windows across the world.
Submitted by strangers, each new window is a little glimpse into life in another corner of the Earth. You might find yourself gazing over a flower field dotted with cottages in south of France, a cobbled street of shops in London, a windswept beach with a glacier in Greenland, or a skyscraper cityscape in Singapore.
Pets and wildlife often make an appearance. You can finally curl up with a purring cat and a mug of hot chocolate before frosted window panes. Or, look, there’s a fox trotting across your front lawn.
Occasionally, people are seen too. Jayaram from Sofia, Bulgaria sips coffee before a sunset. Anicia from Switzerland scribbles music notes in front of a garden. Pooja from Mumbai, India dances against a backdrop of fairy lights and buildings.
Each still frame video is a vignette of someone else’s day, so window gazing becomes a way of living vicariously. What would it be like to have a stream flow past your porch or clouds swirl past your bedroom window?
Born out of a pandemic, WindowSwap renews our human connection and in a sense, embodies the interconnectedness of our lives.
