Mezzanine Building
A mezzanine is an intermediate floor (or floors) in a building which is open to the floor below.[2] It is placed halfway (mezzo means 'half' in Italian) up the wall on a floor which has a ceiling at least twice as high as a floor with minimum height.[3] A mezzanine does not count as one of the floors in a building, and generally does not count in determining maximum floorspace.[2] The International Building Code permits a mezzanine to have as much as one-third of the floor space of the floor below. Local building codes may vary somewhat from this standard.[2] A space may have more than one mezzanine, as long as the sum total of floor space of all the mezzanines is not greater than one-third the floor space of the complete floor below.[2] Mezzanines help to make a high-ceilinged space feel more personal and less vast, and can create additional floor space.[4] Mezzanines, however, may have lower-than-normal ceilings[1] due to their location. The term "mezzanine" does not imply any particular function; mezzanines can be used for a wide array of purposes.[5][6] Mezzanines are commonly used in modern architecture, which places a heavy emphasis on light and space.[