Definition of "Atrium"

The best atrium definition is that of a room with a roof open displaying the sky, but as with most things architecture (or even art) the atrium definition has changed with the passing of time.

Originally, the atrium definition was that of an open roof to the sky in a rectangular shape, acting as the central, most important room in Roman architectural home design. By the third century B.C. the atrium house had become overwhelmingly popular in Italy, but its use gradually declined under the Roman Empire, when it was replaced by garden houses in everyone’s hearts.

Because of that, the atrium definition got a little broader: people started to refer to any open roof as an atrium; not only the rectangular shaped ones. Soon there were circular atriums and even odd shapes like stars for the ones with a more esoteric taste.

Cut to the twentieth century and atrium make its comeback because of two factors: shopping malls and ecological awareness. Looking to save up on energy costs, many shopping malls have atriums on their roof to bring in natural light and avoid having to light up the place with electric lights, and green architecture has catered to Off the Grid Homes by increasingly using atriums and other glass structures to improve natural lighting inside houses and reduce carbon emissions and the need to depend on the power grid and power companies.

Real Estate Tips:

Open an atrium to your ideas and bring some light to your home buying process with a real estate agent by your side!

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Tax credit aimed at encouraging the conservation of natural resources, as well as the development of alternative resource. ...

Point at which a housing development becomes a neighborhood. After an initial housing development is sold and the new owners become established, the neighborhood stage begins. The ...

Wondering what a Judgment Lien is?Well, a Lien can be consensual or non-consensual, right? Meaning it can be forced or agreed upon by way of a bilateral contract. When we say ...

Optional feature included in some homeowners insurance policies that pays the replacement cost of any personal property. ...

Money earned or accrued during an accounting period that results in the increase in total assets. Items such as rental income. Revenues arising from the sales of real estate. The ...

The term over-improvement in real estate defines a substantial and somewhat exaggerated land improvement compared to other properties in the area. For example, an individual builds at a ...

Thin layer or slate of baked clay, linoleum, or some other material that is used for covering floors, roofs, or as an ornament in a building. ...

General decrease in prices. It is the opposite of inflation and different from disinflation, which is a decrease in the rate of price increases. Deflation results form a reduction in the ...

Total expenditure to modernize a building to meet the owner's or tenant's needs. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions