There are lofts, and then there are Lofts… sprawling ones with soaring heights and majestic staircases such as Loft Panzerhalle in Salzburg by architecture studio Smartvoll. Spanning 350 square meters (3229 square feet) and an impressive ceiling height of 8 meters, the architects decided to build a staircase that can be considered as a sculpture, an architecture within the architecture itself. It spans across the different rooms and spaces — a bedroom, a guest room and bathroom — in such a way that the stairs cease being a functional means of getting from floor to floor, and become instead an electric spatial experience.

Brick and smoothed and waxed concrete were decisive materials for shaping the loft’s interior. At the centre of the room is the kitchen, a seven-meter-long block. Balconies feature a zen-garden, a grassy knoll, a jasmine tree and a terrace complete this amazing space.

Photography © Tobias Colz