This Site Lets You Look Out Other People’s Windows And It’s Strangely Calming
You look out your own windows every single day and since lock down, are likely sick of seeing the same old. Maybe your view is a bit shitty and you’ve never been a fan. Whatever your situation, Window Swap is bringing you a virtual travel solution that hits different.
Window Swap is a brilliant new platform where people around the world voluntarily record the views out of their own windows and submit it for others to experience.
It’s extremely personal and a little voyeuristic; these are the insides of real people’s homes and this is what they see every day. But this is precisely what makes this platform so good (and addictive — prepare to lose 30 minutes of your life without even noticing). It’s a place where strangers meet and don’t feel strange at all.
A quarantine project started by Singapore creatives Sonali Ranjit and Vaishnav Balasubramaniam, a single click will see you enjoying the view of a new stranger’s window somewhere else in the world.
You have no idea where you’re going to land – the window swap is totally random, with every continent in the world an option. In 15 minutes, I peeped out of windows in Germany, Hawaii, England, Japan, India, Turkey, Canada and more.
It’s not just about the view, either – the recordings include sound. One person in Twickenham, UK was playing an excellent disco track, while in Montreal I was serenaded by birdsong. In India, someone was making tea, with the perfect sound of a spoon tapping the edge of their mug. In Munich, I listened to the eternally comforting sounds of rain pitter-pattering on a rooftop.
Yes, we also have birds and rain and music and tea, but there’s something both thrilling and meaningful about being invited into a stranger’s home to experience it in their personal domain.
The result is a kind of ASMR experience meets virtual travel simulator.
“Window Swap is here to fill that deep void in our wanderlust hearts by allowing us to look through someone else’s window, somewhere in the world, for a while,” the site explains.
“A place on the internet where all we travel hungry fools share our ‘window views’ to help each other feel a little bit better till we can (responsibly) explore our beautiful planet again”.
Window Swap operates by people voluntarily submitting their recordings, and they want all the volunteers they can get. If you’re keen, you can submit a 10-minute, horizontal HD video of your window and frame, including your name and location for credits. All types of windows are warmly welcomed.
(Lead Image: Pexels / Alessio Cesario)
