Interaction and seclusion: The meaning of the domestic landscape of loft-style apartments

Abstract

This paper explores the way in which the domestic space of ‘loft-style’ apartments, in conversion projects, is used by residents and what it represents in terms of their psychosocial values. Loft-style apartments have recently gained popularity in the UK, firstly in London but also in other cities and towns. They characteristically have an open-plan layout with no boundary between the front and back regions, as is traditionally found in UK houses. The housing literature claims that the form of the house, i.e. design and layout, expresses social relations and underlying values. If this is so, this new domestic layout is an indication of changing values and lifestyles. The empirical study was conducted in two areas of London. The results demonstrate that residents value interaction within the household and enjoy open plan, but not at the cost of privacy, and the paper argues that there is a gap between the image of lofts, and real lived experiences.