Though the place's assets (tall ceilings, several windows, some nice old materials, good views...) were many, the floor plan of the former one-bedroom apartment here divided these qualities and their spaces from each other, and the whole did not cohere; Its privileged position in the top floor of a downtown Northampton, MA loft building was largely squandered. We think of design as a problem-solving discipline. An optimal design solution composes space and mass for maximal ut