ill Introduction In the past 15 years working and living in lofts has become a way of life for an increasing number of people. Lofts used to be restricted to a specialized segment of the population-painters， sculptors， actors， and dancers in need of large work space. When artists first rented large commercial space to work in， their economic status generally precluded renting an apartment to live in and maintaining a studio as well. Thus they began to use their work space for living. Once these early loft dwellers got used to living in open space， they became spoiled and no longer wanted to live in apartments. And in the early 196os there was an increasing demand on the part of young people in general for alternative life styles. In addition， economic factors have made available large amounts of commercial space. Because of escalating taxes and rising trucking， labor， and utility costs， many industries that traditionally rented such space either have gone out of business or have moved out to suburban industrial zones， thereby leaving empty many factories， warehouses， and old brownstones. The flight of the middle class to the suburbs has slowed. Many people who might have thought about moving out of urban areas， but who now cannot or even don t want to， are thinking of alternative ways of living in cities. In addition to artists， a large part of the urban population has be- come dissatisfied with the space limitations of living in conventional- sized apartments. New constnaction costs are so high that landlords are finding it increasingly difficult to build large-sized apartments， except for the ultrarich. Most new construction is lighter and flimsier and therefore less soundproof than older， thicker-walled structures. People looking for refuge from the noise of city streets and concentration of people in residential \"neighborhoods\" are simply seeking a measure of elbow room， quiet， and isolation. Since few ff any new buildings meet these requirements of size and sturdiness， city dwellers are looking toward the reutilization of older structures to satisfy their needs. 13
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