Loft

In US usage, a loft is an upper room or storey in a building, mainly in a barn, directly under the roof, used for storage (as in most private houses).

In modern Norwegian and in English, "loft" is used for the upper room or the space just under the roof in larger buildings.

Originally popular with artists, they are now highly sought-after by other bohemians and hipsters, and the gentrification of the former manufacturing sectors of medium to large cities is now a familiar pattern.

The adoption of the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (2001) in the City of Los Angeles (primarily the Arts District) is another example of such legislation to encourage the conversion of no longer economically viable industrial and commercial buildings to residential loft communities.

Such is the demand for these spaces that real estate developers have taken to creating ready-made "lofts" in urban areas that are gentrifying or that seem primed to do so.

[citation needed] Historically, loft residents consisted of artists and other artisans taking advantage of cheap rents, large spaces and load-bearing floors.

A long building at a shipyard with a considerable floor area on which the lines produced by a naval architect can be laid off in their full dimensions.

It is fairly common to convert all or part of a home into a loft to create an extra room in order to prevent needing to move to a new house.

The attic area of a building tends to be unused, but when converted can add a large amount of floor space.

They were a traditional amenity, now usually abandoned or repurposed, in the palaces of nobility and commercial buildings that predate telegraphy.