What is an atrium and what is its role in buildings?
An atrium is a large open-air or skylight-covered space in any interior volume of a building. Atriums are similar to interior courtyards but they are typically enclosed and conditioned as opposed to open to the elements. These spaces are often a major feature and shared space in a building.
In Modern Buildings, an atrium is generally provided at the entrance lobby, staircase lobby and at connecting lobbies or wherever an architect designed it. It is covered with a translucent roof and allows connectivity to the sky. An Atrium is a popular design feature that gives their buildings a “feeling of space and natural light”. There are not any height restrictions in providing atriums to any building but giving an atrium after the double-height is more beneficial.
History of Atrium in Architecture
The atrium was the center piece of roman architecture and later the concept of an atrium was also adopted by the Early Christians in their churches. An Atrium was used to allow natural light and to connect the inside to the outdoor environment and it is still used like this in the current period. In the early days when there was no electricity an atrium was also used as an open roof design that allowed air to circulate and also rainwater to enter and collect in a pool below. At that time it was a very important and functional design element that was providing light, air, and water for human use. The concept of adopting the atrium in residential and commercial buildings revival in the 20th century.
Records
The world’s tallest atrium is 194 meters (636 ft.) in height which is in Leeza SOHO, Beijing and according to the volume The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, US holds the record with 820,000 m³ (29 million cubic feet)
Advantages of Atrium
- Helps in interacting with outdoor space.
- Exposing natural daylight.
- Maximizing benefits from direct solar gain.
- Provide big and aesthetic large space.
Disadvantages of Atrium
- Because of the atrium fire can easily reach the upper floors.
- Creates an unused large and empty space.
- Needs reasonable circulation space to fill the gap.
Difference between Atrium and Courtyard
Atrium
- An open-to-sky space within a building covered with transparent glass at the top and surrounded by walls on all four sides.
- An enclosed space is provided at the main entrance and can go to some stories.
- It is considered to be a part of the building and we enter through the atrium.
- It can be seen mostly in Hotels, Malls, Office Buildings etc.
- It is considered in FAR.
Courtyard
- A courtyard is an open-to-sky space of a building generally not covered by a roof, surrounded by three or four sides of the wall.
- An Open space is provided at the central court, connecting lobbies and it is not very high as an atrium.
- It is usually considered an exterior space and has smaller landscaping elements.
- It can be seen in Residential, Commercial, Educational, Institutional buildings etc.
- It is not considered in FAR (If covered with four walls, then considered in FAR)
Atrium Design
- Depending on climatic resources, atriums also offer several energy design choices for natural heating, cooling, lighting, and plants.
- Many architectural components are used in modern atrium design, including wall enclosures, sun-oriented apertures, shading devices, ventilation systems, and delicate temperature and humidity controls.
- Atriums provide several options for energy design:
1. A gentle shift from the outside temperature to the building interior provides comfort.
2. Protected areas and buffer zones, when appropriately planned, produce natural and free-flowing energy by decreasing the need to heat, cool, or light building interiors.
3. The emphasis on atrium design must be balanced between occupancy and comfort standards and the proportionate demand for heating, cooling, and/or lighting, depending on climatic resources and building usage. {Source: Timesavers (Page 153)}
