étages

Étages is the French term for floors or levels of a building, and more generally for any horizontal layer in a structure. In architecture and construction, an étage is the space between two successive horizontal planes, typically defined by a floor slab and a ceiling, and served by vertical circulation such as stairs or elevators. Buildings in continental Europe commonly distinguish levels by terms such as rez-de-chaussée for the ground floor and premier étage for the first floor above ground; higher levels are named deuxièmes étage, troisièmes étage, and so on. In English-language practice influenced by French usage, the same concepts may be described using either the local floor numbering or by translating the terms.

Floor height varies with era and function, but many urban buildings aim for roughly 2.5 to 3 meters per étage to balance spatial comfort with structural efficiency. The design of an étage affects room proportions, acoustics, and circulation, and it interacts with building codes on fire safety, accessibility, and emergency egress. The arrangement of étages determines vertical organization, including apartment layouts, offices, or other uses, and influences decisions about stair cores, elevators, and service walls.

Other senses: in cuisine, étage refers to a layer of a multi-layer cake, with fillings separating successive tiers. In broader discourse, étage can denote any stacked or layered concept or feature, depending on context.