Architectural language has a way of catching up to ideas long after the ideas themselves have taken root. “Fifth wall” is one such idea. It refers to the ceiling, but the phrase itself is doing important work. By calling the ceiling a wall, it places the surface on equal footing with the walls that architects and designers have always considered carefully.

In most homes and design briefs, wall colours are debated, wall textures are sampled, and wall finishes are chosen to set the mood of a room. False ceiling designs, meanwhile, are usually flat, white, and decided in the last phase of construction. But as architecture evolves and design grows more detailed, these elements are being viewed as part of one connected experience, and ceilings are now finding their way to the forefront of the design conversation.