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Architecture vocabulary · Space, Form and Composition

Atrium

Meaning in architecture, with examples

/ˈeɪtriəm/nounCommon term

In architecture, atrium means: A large open space inside a building that rises through several floors, usually under a glass roof, and is often used as an entrance hall or meeting area.

In Turkish: atriyum, galeri boşluğu

How it is used

Common in offices, shopping centres, hotels and schools. Atriums bring daylight into deep plans and help natural ventilation, but need careful fire design. The plural is atriums or, more formally, atria. In ancient Roman houses the atrium was the central hall.

Example sentences

  1. All the classrooms open onto a four-storey atrium with a glass roof.

  2. Smoke control in the atrium was the fire engineer's main concern.

Common collocations

  • glass-roofed atrium
  • central atrium
  • full-height atrium
  • atrium space
  • courtyardAn open-air space surrounded fully or partly by walls or buildings, used to bring light, air and privacy into the heart of a building.
  • double-height spaceA room or area whose ceiling is two floors high, so that it rises through the floor above, often with a gallery or mezzanine looking down into it.
  • daylightNatural light from the sky and sun that enters a building; architects shape windows, rooflights and room depths to bring in enough of it without glare or overheating.
  • circulationThe way people move through and between the spaces of a building, including corridors, stairs, lifts, ramps and entrances.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Space, Form and Composition

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