atrium & housing
research thesis
YEAR: 2013 - DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING, DEMOCRITUS UNIVERSITY OF THRACE
TEAM: MANOLIS VENIERAKIS
SUPERVISING PROFESSORS: PANAGIOTIS KOKKORIS, GEORGIOS PATRIKIOS, CONSTANTINOS KEVENTSIDES
SUMMARY:
As a typology, the atrium has been widely used in the formation of housing both as individual units and in organized groups. Its implementation into the residential area creates particular social relations according to the user, the scale and the place.
The intention is not to present the historical development of the atrium in housing nor to organize the various types thereof according to scale, but to identify the particular characteristics of this shape. Essentially, this lecture is not about a morphological or typological investigation of the atrium over the centuries, but an exploration of the type of habitation the atrium implies. In other words, it is an exploration of the reasons and the consequences from the use of atriums both in the inhabitants’ everyday life and in the city life in general, investigating the exchange between dwelling and social relationships formed inside and because of them.
I structured the thesis concept based on my research interests during my undergraduate studies, realizing that many of my designs were formed on this typology, The references gathered from Greek and international bibliography, aim to collect the most characteristic and comprehensive examples of dwellings, opinions and texts ranging from classic writers such as Vitruvius, Aldo Rossi, Kenneth Frampton, Rudolf Arnheim, Amos Rapoport, Camillo Sitte to contemporary researchers, architects and films.
METHODOLOGY:
The research is organized in four main chapters. The first analyzes the basic principles for atriums ranging from functionality to its fundamental principles, contained in this closed environment. Main topic is the symbolism in the clear boundary and shape of the atrium. The second chapter covers the private residence, as an autonomous unit, within which grows the need for isolation, introspection and tranquility. A wide range of private residences is studied, dating from ancient Greek dwelling and Roman domus to Greek modernism and Alvar Aalto. An atrium is an autonomous unit, accomplishes the need for isolation, introspection and tranquility. Furthermore, attention is paid to isolated complexes, collectively organized as
closed fortress sections, from perimetric housing blocks until urban planning. Their location and layout aim at protecting and securing the interior in cases such as ancient Greek palaces and temples, medieval fortresses, castles and monasteries. The fourth chapter discusses collectivity as a concept developed in massive forms of habitation. The feeling of unity and communication among residents as well as the transition and connection to the city are thoroughly studied. A major subject is collectivity as a concept developed in massive forms of habitation. Case studies range from Le Corbusier’s Immeuble Villa, Karl Marx Hof in Vienna, Brinkman’s Spangen until the typical urban block of Berlin in International Building Exhibition, Cerdà’s plan for Barcelona and Athens as an urban development.
FINDINGS:
I investigated the various bipolar systems affecting this typology, such as private and collective, individual and society, isolation and communication, natural and artificial environment. My findings concluded that the atrium manages to achieve the intermediate balance between all these factors and to realize the meaning of transition into space.