Warehouse/Loft reno

After: Wood beams and concrete walls emerge from cutaways in the drywall, revealing the building’s industrial skeleton. The custom steel-and-oak dining table is by Ohio Design.

After: "This garden buffer area serves as a way to get light inside and also act as an acoustic and privacy barrier from the street," says the firm.

This warehouse conversion by Ian Moore Architects also features an equine genetics laboratory and an enormous garage filled with classic cars.

The Iron Moss tables in the bunker are 12mm (1/2 inch)

Oversized windows look out onto up-close views of the neighborhood's most iconic sights, including Brooklyn Bridge park and the Brooklyn Bridge itself.

The living room includes a vintage George Nelson sling sofa and concrete stools by CB2.

Furniture is now placed within the confines of the platform to create a defined seating area.

The firm relocated the bedroom and removed the wall in order to cluster all the living areas together. Black-framed windows emphasize the stunning views.

Newly restored hardwood floors and wooden trim run throughout the space, adding a warmth to the traditional industrial loft style. Bright upholstered chairs add a colorful touch, complementing the lush greenery throughout the space.

After: The firm used the steel to demarcate different areas in the new home. Glass-and-steel-framed walls now enclose the master bedroom, and an office nook with built-in storage is tucked off the primary circulation paths. The firm designed the custom bed platform; it’s white oak with a smoked finish.

Another 20 loft homes are available in the concrete building starting on the second floor. These spacious residences will feature wide white oak flooring, along with restored concrete beams and columns.

The living room’s showpiece is a Zircon stove by Malm; its flue snakes 25 feet to the ceiling. “We really wanted the fireplace to be the anchor within this large space,” says Raj. A rust velvet Lenyx sofa from CB2 provides a punch of color within the minimalist palette. Nearby is a custom maple credenza by Croft House. The white-trimmed windows are from Loewen and the white paint throughout is Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore.

Renowned architecture firm Olson Kundig occupies three floors of a 19th-century loft building in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood. A crucial concern was opening the office up to more natural light; a staircase that cuts through the office’s three levels was added underneath the central skylight, which opens via a hydraulic lift system.

Hsu developed a natural material palette for the project that's composed of steel, wood, plants, and ceramics. “We didn't want too much visual noise,” he says.

When OSSO Architecture first began renovating this loft in a Brooklyn paper factory, it hadn’t been touched since the 1980s. Owner Malik Ashiru says the project achieved his goal of “a big, open space where people could come in and not feel cramped.” The formerly constrained spaces in the 1,400-square-foot, two-story apartment have been reconfigured into an open-plan living space with an office on the first floor and a loft guest bedroom above. On the second floor, the primary bedroom and bath open up to a rooftop terrace. Level changes delineate different spaces in the open-plan first floor, which is stylishly furnished with Ashiru’s midcentury furniture and artwork collected from his travels around the world.

A skillful configuration of restrained materials and natural light lets a gallery, studio, and residence merge inside one compelling shell. Kouichi Kimura, the founder of FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects based in the Japanese prefecture of Shiga, wrapped the upper floor of this building in sheets of galvanized steel in order to reflect light and intensify its street presence.

A multi-use podium runs the length of the wall under the windows and facilitates impromptu performances for the creative family that lives here.

The metal structures inserted into the loft are as thin as possible and painted white so as to preserve the loft's open and airy feel.

White built-in cabinetry delightfully contrasts with the home's original wood beams and pillars, which the architects have left exposed (along with the aluminum ductwork and perforated metal) to pay homage to the building's industrial past.