The term loft may be battered around by developers serving up new construction or renovations, trying to appeal to the desire for open space. A true loft is open because it was gutted from its old use to its essential elements: columns, beams, floors, windows, and party walls. This loft in Tribeca in Lower Manhattan keeps the steel columns and the wood beams and joists exposed. New construction is limited to white drywall and a steel-and-glass canopy over the kitchen. Raw, indeed. (Note the duct that is tucked between the joists in the left-center of the photo.)