A low-rise is a building that is only a few stories tall or any building that is shorter than a high-rise, though others include the classification of mid-rise.

Definition

Emporis Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. Emporis was acquired ...

defines a low-rise as "an enclosed structure below 35 metres 15 feetwhich is divided into regular floor levels". The city of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

defines a mid-rise as a building between four and twelve stories. They also have elevators and stairs. Shorter structures may only have stairs.

Characteristics

Low-rise apartments sometimes offer more privacy and negotiability of rent and utilities than high-rise apartments, although they may have fewer amenities and less flexibility with leases. It is easier to put fires out in low-rise buildings. Within the United States, due to the legal-economic and

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

perspectives, low-rises can in some cities be seen as less luxurious than high-rises, whereas within

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

(for historical identity and legal reasons) low-rise tends to be more attractive. Some businesses prefer low-rise buildings due to lower costs and more usable space. Having all employees on a single floor may also increase work productivity.

Gallery

File:Sydney House, Adelaide Street Flats, Hull - geograph.org.uk - 3260846.jpg, Flats in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England File:Jouppi, Seinäjoki luhtitalo.jpg, A deck-access apartment houses in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

File:Stade, Hansehafen -- 2018 -- 2949.jpg, Typical German Fachwerkhäuser in the Hanseatic harbour of

Stade Stade (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (, ) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the Stade (district), district () which bears its name. It is located roughly to the wes ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Bergtocht van Watles via Sesvennahütte en de Uina Slucht naar Sur En 19-09-2019. (actm.) 22.jpg, Low-rise house ''Alte Pforzheimer Hütte'' near the ''Pforzheimer See,'' in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

Apartment house Warmbuechenstrasse Suedstadt Hannover Germany.jpg, Modern style flat in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany Firenze-apartment-building-0899.jpg, Low-rise flat with balconies in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy Apartment complex on Robinson Street, Inglewood, Western Australia, July 2021.jpg, Low-rise apartment complex in Inglewood, Western Australia Apartment building on Girrahween Street, Braddon December 2024.jpg, Modern low-rise apartment block in Braddon, Australia Paris Apartment Building 0164.jpg, Low-rise apartment in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France PikiWiki Israel 23348 House with sukut (tabernacles) in Bnei Brak.JPG, Low-rise apartment blocks in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Apartment buildings from the 1980s by Paseo Juan Aparicio in Torrevieja, Alicante, Spain, 2022 January.jpg, Low-rise apartments in

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, Spain

References

Structural system Apartment types {{struct-type-stub