The Revitalist

One of my favorite thinkers on issues related to culture, economics and design is Virginia Postrel. Her latest column in The Atlantic Monthly looks at why lofts are spreading like wildfire across the nation, even where there isn't an old warehouse anywhere in sight: Lofty Ambitions: Once upon a time, lofts were cheap spaces for struggling artists. Today they are phony and pricey, and that's just fine.

She suggests that even though brand new loft-style condos don't have the patina of an old warehouse and the authenticity of space carved out by squatting artists, that doesn't mean that they aren't real or valuable. Developers and buyers alike are latching onto the features that those original lofts had that fit today's lifestyles and aesthetic tastes.

"Today's lofts represent not only the adaptive reuse of old buildings but also the adaptive reuse of the very idea of loft living. The style is less about architecture than about a particular ideal of urban life.

"What makes a loft authentic isn't its layout or its history but its ability to give people a true home—a dwelling that reflects their personalities and aspirations, including their dreams of urbanity."