Humanities Courses/Intro to Humanities: Tutoring SolutionCourse
- AuthorDevon Denomme
Devon has tutored for almost two years. They have a Bachelor's in Air Traffic Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and minored in Aviation Safety and Homeland Security. They also are AT-CTI certified.
View bio - InstructorMelissa Olivieri
Learn what an atrium is in architecture. Understand the meaning and definition of the atrium, and see examples of atrium rooms, including open-air atriums and Roman atriums.Updated: 11/21/2023
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of an atrium?
Atriums have been used for many functions since their original creation. Originally, atria were used as a welcoming point into a home and featured a hearth. The smoke from the fire was allowed to escape through the central opening in the roof. When hearths were removed, they were replaced by fountains or pools to collect rainwater. Atria now often are built with skylights and serve their long-lasting purpose of allowing natural light into interior locations. Atria offer a natural-feeling transition from outside areas into the interior of a building.
What is the difference between an atrium and a courtyard?
Atriums and courtyards are very similar both functionally and through their design. Both were originally open-air spaces, but atria were typically more covered. Atria are now mainly covered by skylights, whereas courtyards generally remain in the open. Both spaces are used as a location for social gathering and as a transition from the outdoor elements to the interior of a structure.
Table of Contents
- What is an Atrium in Architecture?
- The Roman Open-Air Atrium
- The Nineteenth Century Glass-Roofed Atrium
- The Atrium in Modern Architecture
- Lesson Summary
What is an atrium? An atrium in architecture is defined as a large, open-aired room often located at the central point of a building. Though most atriums do not have a roof, some are constructed using glass roofs or skylights. Atriums or atria can be thought of as the original sunrooms, acting at first as a court to welcome guests in ancient times. More modernly, atria commonly feature glass roofs and function as a location to grow plants year-round.
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The functions of atria have evolved over the centuries since their first known usage, but the concept and architectural design have remained much the same. In ancient times, the atrium was the focal point of a home and allowed natural lighting to be utilized throughout the other rooms of the dwelling. The indoors spaces were connected to the outside world in a logical and seamless transition through the use of atria. Though modern atria often are built with glass roofs, the space still connects other parts of the structure to a central location, and natural light can still enter.
The Definition of Atrium
The word atrium derives from Latin and holds a similar meaning today to its original use. The term was first practiced in the 1570s to refer to central courts or the first main rooms of ancient Roman housing, which oftentimes featured a hearth or fire. The room was open-aired so that the smoke could easily escape from the surrounding structure. Ater- in Latin means smoke or fire, suggesting that atriums were meant to be a place of warmth and invitation into a home. The atrium soon became the location to host main events, and the hearth was removed from the space.
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The use of atriums in architecture first became popular in ancient Rome. Roman atriums were intended to allow light and ventilation into a room while also acting as a water collection and drainage method. A central fountain or pool often accompanied the open-air atrium design in the atrium room to collect water for human use and serve as a visual centerpiece. Atria were commonly supported by columns or pillars on the outskirts of the room. In a society without electricity, the atrium design was essential to helping residents maintain a comfortable style of living.
One of the most important individuals in the atrium design process was a Roman architect and engineer named Vitruvius. Atria was used for quite a few essential reasons in Roman society, and Vitruvius was the first to identify specific design principles to be used for the desired purpose within a home. His five types of cavaedium, or atrium within a Roman house, included:
- Atrium Tuscanicum (Tuscan): The timbers of the atrium roof are framed together, leaving an open space at the center. There are no columns present because the room can structurally support itself. Rainwater is collected through a series of gutters and fed into a tank, then into a central basin, as the opening in the roof is very small. Atrium Tuscanicum was popular in the city of Pompeii.
- Atrium Tetrastylum (Tetrastyle): An atrium supported by four columns at the corners of the roof opening.
- Atrium Corinthium (Corinthian): More than four columns are used for support and visual appearance. Usually, these are placed around the interior court of the atrium.
- Atrium Displuviatum: The roof sloped down and away from the central opening, rather than the standard inward sloping roof towards the opening.
- Atrium Testudinatum: An atrium with a continuous roof and no central opening in the ceiling. These were very uncommon in ancient Rome.
As time progressed, the design for atria evolved slightly. During medieval times, the atrium featured an open courtyard with covered aisles on the sides. They were commonly used in church and palace constructions and were meant to be a place for social interaction with community members or subjects. They also continued to serve as a transition space from indoor areas to outside spaces.
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Some of the largest advancements in atrium room design took place in the nineteenth century. The development of glass and steel allowed architecture to be designed with more supportive components, meaning new building features could be utilized. Most impressively, atria began to incorporate large glass skylights, which were supported by steel beams. Atrium architecture continued to remain aesthetically pleasing while eliminating the problem of inclement weather affecting the space. Atria may have lost their function as a location to collect rainwater and provide ventilation, but they remained an important visual and social space.
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The new designs of the nineteenth century set the groundwork for modern atria. The horizontally glazed roofs often featured in these structures can still be seen today in new constructions. Among the earliest nineteenth-century atriums included Victoria Hall in the Halifax Town Hall and the atrium of the Bradbury Building in Los Angeles. In many ways, these designs pushed the boundaries of what could be constructed at the time but remained a marvel to the common eye because of their intricacies and attention to detail.
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Modern atriums are often found in malls, museums, and hotels. They continue to use a glazed roof design and are built using large skylights. Sometimes, atriums are modernly located just inside the entrance to a building, though this not always be the case. Atria is most commonly a central location with access to many other interiors. The design of atrium rooms in architecture has also become much taller throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The tallest atrium in the world is located in Dubai's Burj Al Arab Hotel, scaling 590 feet tall. Other stunning atriums are located at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas and Opryland Mills in Nashville.
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There are many criticisms towards the construction of atriums in modern structures. Some engineers and architects have acknowledged that in the event of a fire, an atrium may allow for a faster spread and more difficult control of the situation. The large, open spaces which atriums often include may also provide a visually pleasing aesthetic. Still, overall they are unused spaces that could house other floors of a building or serve a more functional purpose. Atria also consume more energy than other architecturally designed rooms because outside temperatures may still be allowed inside a building. In turn, heating and cooling costs are driven upwards.
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An atrium is a large, open-aired room often located at the central point of a building. The earliest atriums were built in ancient Rome and featured a hearth or fire to warmly welcome guests into a home. The central opening in the atrium roof provided ventilation by allowing smoke to escape from the structure. When hearths were removed, fountains and basins took their place to make atriums a functional location to collect rainwater and grow plants. Additionally, natural light could enter into other interior locations. Atria evolved to feature glass roofs or skylights and became a location for social gatherings.
Vitruvius was a Roman architect who defined five different styles of cavaedium or atria, each with a different design or functional purpose. Atria helped residents maintain a comfortable quality of life in a society without electricity or heating and cooling systems. Modernly, atria are tall and are built using glass roofs. They are criticized because they cost more to heat and cool, provide a generally unused or non-functional space, and make a disaster such as fire more severe because there are few barriers to slow the spread.
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Video Transcript
What is an Atrium?
You can think of an atrium as the original sunroom. Today, we see sunrooms in many homes where people want to soak up sun rays in the middle of winter, or maybe grow plants year-round.
An atrium is an open-roofed part of a building, though now it more commonly has a glass roof. Although the atrium has evolved throughout the centuries, the basic design has remained the same. The word ''atrium'' (also called ''cavaedium'') is Latin and refers to an open central court. Just as the left and right atria in our heart are central chambers, an atrium in architecture is a central part of buildings.
The atrium was the centerpiece of the home in ancient Roman architecture and is still used today to allow natural light in and connect the protected inside space to the outdoor environment, adding natural beauty to the space. We see this remain constant in the lobbies of many public spaces today.
History
Atria were originally popular in Roman architecture as a way to allow light and ventilation into other rooms. Their open roof design allowed air to circulate and also rainwater to enter and collect in a pool below. This was in a time before electricity, so it was a very important design element from a functional point of view because it added light and airflow to a building, as well as collecting water for human use.
In medieval times, the atrium was an open courtyard at the entrance that usually had covered aisles on the sides. They were often found in churches and palaces. In modern buildings, they are entry rooms with a translucent roof that allows a connection between the outdoor sky and the indoor space.
Five Types of Atria
There are five types of atria in architecture that came about because of the need to collect rainwater and because different architects had different ideas about how to do that while providing a solid support for the roof. The five types are:
- Tuscan – This common style had only ceiling beams to support the roof (no columns) with a downward sloping roof (in a sort of ''V'' shape) to gather more rain.
- Displuviate – This style had a roof that sloped outward (like a sort of ''A'' shape) to detract most of the rain.
- Tetrastyle – This style had four columns in a square supporting the beams making up the hole in the roof.
- Corinthian – This style had many columns supporting the roof, like a peristyle porch.
- Testudinate – This style actually didn't have a hole; it was roofed over and relied on windows for light instead.
The Modern-Day Atrium
The modern-day atrium, developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, added a glazed roof, which meant that there was no opening, and it was no longer a way to collect rainwater or improve ventilation. Its location was moved to right inside the entrance to the building (lobby), which is still sometimes the center of the building but not always. They also became generally much taller. As of 2023, the tallest atrium is in the Leeza SOHO office towers in Beijing at 640 feet tall. The largest atrium by volume (29 million cubic feet) is the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The modern-day atrium still adds lots of natural light to a space and connects the interior with the outdoor world. There are some breathtaking atria in hotels, train stations, and other public spaces throughout the world today.
Lesson Summary
Traditionally, an atrium has been defined as an open-roofed part of a building. The atrium in architecture has remained an eye-catching centerpiece of buildings for centuries. It can originally be traced back to ancient Roman times when it was introduced as a way to increase ventilation and the amount of natural light indoors. It also allowed rainwater to be collected indoors. There are many different types, though five stand out: Tuscan, displuviate, tetrastyle, Corinthian, and testudinate. Although their supporting structure and function have evolved somewhat over the centuries, they are still used to beautify a building and connect the interior space to the world outdoors.
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