Moving through
Mezzanine
housing retail warehouse library office
An intermediate floor open to the space below, within a double-height room.
What it solves
It adds useful area without building another full floor and keeps the feeling of spaciousness. In the tropics it needs a high outlet for the hot air that builds up above.
Today
Leave a large enough part open to the main space for light to enter and air to rise, with a safe railing and a comfortable stair. Check the clear height above and below before deciding on it.
Common mistake
Squeezing a mezzanine into insufficient height, which leaves two low, uncomfortable levels.
Tomorrow
Light, demountable structures make it possible to add or remove a mezzanine when needs change. If older people live in the house, the essentials should stay on the main level.
Fact The United States International Building Code limits the mezzanine to one third of the floor area below.
Where it comes from
- 1Palace architecture Italy and France, of uncertain date
The mezzanino was a chamber gained by dividing in height a hall that did not reach the vault, as in the Quirinal Palace. - 2Industry and modern architecture Europe and the Americas, 20th century
It is used to add area in warehouses and to give light and space to housing.
Masters
- Le Corbusier Unité d’Habitation, Marseille, France, 1952
He designs apartments with a double-height living room and an upper level open to it that brings light to the back of the plan. He teaches how an intermediate floor saves area without losing spaciousness.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Moving through
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.