Problem
Balconies and porches which are less than six feet deep are hardly ever used.
Solution
Whenever you build a balcony, a porch, a gallery, or a terrace always make it at least six feet deep. If possible, recess at least a part of it into the building so that it is not cantilevered out and separated from the building by a simple line, and enclose it partially.
Related Patterns
… in various places Arcades (119) and Gallery Surround (166) have helped you to imagine some kind of a balcony, veranda, terrace, porch, arcade along the building edge or halfway into it. This pattern simply specifies the depth of this arcade or porch or balcony, to make sure that it really works.
Enclose the balcony with a low wall - Sitting Wall (243), heavy columns - Column Place (226), and half-open walls or screens - Half-Open Wall (193). Keep it open toward the south - Sunny Place (161). Treat it as an Outdoor Room (163), and get the details of its shape and its construction from The Shape of Indoor Space (191) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 781.