My downtown loft has floor-to-ceiling windows but zero operable panes — I can't even crack one for fresh air on a mild spring day. Modern architecture's obsession with sealed glass towers might look sleek in renderings, but it makes residents dependent on energy-hungry HVAC systems. Should building codes require that every new apartment have at least one window that actually opens? I think the trade-off between airtight energy efficiency and basic human connection to the outdoors is worth reconsidering, especially after living through a pandemic where balconies and windowsills became our lifelines.