The Glacier by Gus Wüstemann

Inspired by the surrounding Alpine scenery, architect Gus Wüstemann creates a snowscape of a loft in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The way Swiss architect Gus Wüstemann sees it, most apartments forfeit valuable square footage when kitchens, stairways, entrance halls, and other utilitarian areas are restricted to their specified functions.

"Why waste 40 percent of your space on activities you do only once a day?" asks the principal of his namesake firm.

So it's no surprise that his plans for a loft conversion in the attic of a historic house in Lucerne, Switzerland, involved integrating many normally discrete functional elements into a seamless whole.

Wüstemann's penchant for multipurpose spaces fit perfectly with the project's biggest design challenge: how to take advantage of its idiosyncratic layout.

The glory of the property was a 200-square-foot rooftop terrace with spectacular Alpine and downtown vistas.

However, the living quarters on the floor below had tiny windows, no views, and received most of their natural light through a single, small skylight.

Inspired by the glaciers in the mountains that ring Lucerne, Wüstemann connected the terrace to the apartment with a staircase of cascading white-lacquered particleboard blocks wide enough to lounge on.

This abstract river of ice reflects light into the ope