This article includes residences with atriums as a central design element, including a trapeze net in Montreal, a warehouse conversion in London, and an Indian home with a monolithic marble facade.
Atriums, which are large open-air spaces surrounded by a building and have skylights, were originally used in Roman homes, where they functioned more like a courtyard. Modern atriums are cavernous spaces that stretch up for stories and are typically found in larger buildings.
Residential architects who wish to include atrium areas must scale them down in size, but that doesn’t mean homes can’t have the loft ceilings and abundant light given by atriums.
The core room of these residences is open, with skylights and glass ceilings letting light into the building. When it comes to building homes on busy city streets where outside views are not always ideal, atriums give an alternative for airiness. Have a look at these spaces:
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1. Atrium Townhome, Canada, by Robitaille Curtis
When dealing with restricted space in city structures, an atrium might help to open up the interior. Robitalle Curtis, a Canadian studio, designed the white-walled interiors of this Montreal Townhome around a triple-height atrium.
The atrium is located in the centre of the house and stretches upwards from the open-plan kitchen. The main feature of this slim Montreal home, renovated by Canadian studio Robitaille Curtis, is an atrium encircled with wooden slats and capped with netting. The open space is punctuated by a trapeze that forms a children’s play area on the top floor, which is lit by a skylight.
2. Margin House, Japan, by Kohei Yukawa
Yukawa Design Lab’s Kohei Yukawa created this home for himself in Ibaraki City, north of Osaka. The residence is made of corrugated metal and has a central atrium with a tiny tree. Instead of being totally capped by a skylight, the atrium is integrated into the home’s tilted volume. On one side, it is accompanied by a glass wall, while at the top, two clerestory windows send light into the vacuum.
The arrangement of the volumes creates spaces with higher ceilings on the side facing the field. The flow of movement between different areas is accentuated by the way light entering through large windows interacts with the carefully chosen material palette.
3. La Clairière, USA, by Studio PHH
Studio PHH in Brooklyn linked two wood-and-brick-clad volumes with a double-height atrium that serves as the living area in this New Jersey property. The walls of this wide room are defined by horizontal wooden siding, which contrasts with the other two volumes, which are encased in dark, narrow bricks.
The area is occupied by a central staircase that leads to a mezzanine and features floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides that face the outside. The room is illuminated from above by two huge circular skylights.
4. Tawainese Home, Taiwan, by KC Design Studio
KC Design Studio was charged with adding light to this 50-year-old Tawain residence. To accomplish this, an atrium-like centre void was built.
A metal stairway ascends three stories from the atrium, providing a central flow through the property and allowing in ample natural light. To take advantage of the sunshine and bring life to the design, plants have been suspended from the exposed structural rafters.
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