What is a loft?

One definition for a loft found on the Web is -- An appeal against convention- convention in thinking, convention in building and convention in living. They are a celebration of open concept living and unconventional spaces brought about by the considered application of imagination and a rejection of mass-market housing.

The origin of the word Loft comes from the Old Norse lopt which means-- upper room or air. In 19th Century English usage the word came to mean-- the upper stories of a warehouse or factory. The modern boom in the conversion of such spaces into living areas came in the 1940s in the SoHo District of New York City. By the 1970s so many of these conversions had been done that the city was forced to re-zone the area to make such conversions legal.

By the 1980s the concept was spreading first across the United States and then to Europe and Asia. As the trend grew it caught the attention of developers identifying a new market. Developers being developers did not let a lack of owning an existing warehouse or factory building to convert stop them from moving into the new market. Thus the new word Loft began to be applied to units in ground up new construction. Needless to say the term grew fuzzy.

By 2005 the term Loft has matured. Lofts created from spaces in existing buildings are called -- Hard Lofts or True Lofts. Lofts built new from the ground up are typically referred to as Soft Lofts or New Lofts or Loft- Inspired or Mezzanine Suites. Whether created out of an existing building or built ground up new, all Lofts have certain common elements or they are not Lofts.

Lofts are part of the Postmodernism movement in architecture. Postmodernism is a counter- reaction to the strict and almost universal modernism of the mid-20th Century. It embraces elements from historical building styles incorporating them without a rigid adherence to one style. It also does not as policy try to hide the structural or mechanical elements of a building but often uses these in the design.

All Lofts should have certain basic common elements:

Open, flowing floor plans

Minimal uses of interior walls to define space and doors to close off areas

High Ceilings- some definitions set minimum ceiling heights at twelve feet or it is not a Loft just a condo with high ceilings

Exposed piping, ductwork, structural elements

Large windows

Access to the sky often with roof top gardens or decks

Easily merges living and work space, blurring the lines between workplace and residence

Mixes traditional mediums with modern finishes- concrete, metal, stone, brick, wood used freely alongside of drywall, ceramic tile and vinyl

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