Editing Atrium (architecture) (section)

{{short description|Architectural feature}}
[[File:Tucson High Library.jpg|thumb|The [[Tucson High School]] Galleria and reflexive library (pictured) feature a modern atrium tetrastylum with four support columns and open roof]]
In [[architecture]], an '''atrium''' ({{plural form}}: atria or atriums<!--in both British and American English-->)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/atrium?a=british|title=atrium|website=Cambridge English Dictionary}}</ref> is a large open-air or [[skylight]]-covered space surrounded by a [[building]].<ref name=dict_atrium>{{cite web|title=Atrium|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/atrium|publisher=The Free Dictionary|access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref>
Atria were a common feature in [[Ancient Roman architecture|Ancient Roman dwellings]], providing [[light]] and [[ventilation (architecture)|ventilation]] to the [[interior design|interior]]. Modern atria, as developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries, are often several stories high, with a [[Glazing (window)|glazed roof]] or large [[window]]s, and often located immediately beyond a building's main entrance doors (in the [[lobby (room)|lobby]]).

Atria are a popular design feature because they give their buildings a "feeling of space and light."<ref>{{cite book|last=Driscoll|first=Matt|date=2013|title=Model Making for Architects|location=Ramsbury, UK|publisher=Crowood Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dYl8AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA69|page=69|isbn=9781847976239}}</ref> The atrium has become a key feature of many buildings in recent years.<ref>{{cite book|last=Steemers|first=Koen|date=2000|title=Architecture, City, Environment|location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Earthscan Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ee4XH1wFFFYC&pg=PA292|page=292|isbn=9781902916163}}</ref> Atria are popular with building users, building designers and building developers. Users like atria because they create a dynamic and stimulating interior that provides shelter from the external environment while maintaining a visual link with that environment. Designers enjoy the opportunity to create new types of spaces in buildings, and developers see atria as prestigious amenities that can increase commercial value and appeal.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sharples|first1=S.|last2=Shea|first2=A. D.|title=Roof obstructions and daylight levels in atria: a model study under real skies|journal=Lighting Research and Technology|volume=31|issue=4|pages=181–185|publisher=SAGE Publications|date=Dec 1999|doi=10.1177/096032719903100408|s2cid=109961211}}</ref>