A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a
building
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...
or complex, that is open to the sky.
Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary architects as a typical and traditional building feature. Such spaces in
inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
s and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...
. Both of the words ''court'' and ''yard'' derive from the same root, meaning an enclosed space. See
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...
and
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
for the relation of this set of words. In
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
courtyards are often known as
quadrangles.
Historic use
![Lidzbark Warmiński zamek dziedziniec(WLZ12)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Lidzbark_Warmi%C5%84ski_zamek_dziedziniec%28WLZ12%29.jpg)
Courtyards—private open spaces surrounded by walls or buildings—have been in use in residential
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
for almost as long as people have lived in constructed dwellings. The
courtyard house
A courtyard house is a type of house—often a large house—where the main part of the building is disposed around a central courtyard. Many houses that have courtyards are not courtyard houses of the type covered by this article. For example, la ...
makes its first appearance ca. 6400–6000 BC (calibrated), in the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
Yarmukian site at Sha'ar HaGolan, in the central
Jordan Valley
The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...
, on the northern bank of the Yarmouk River, giving the site a special significance in architectural history. Courtyards have historically been used for many purposes including cooking, sleeping, working, playing, gardening, and even places to keep animals.
Before courtyards, open
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
s were kept burning in a central place within a home, with only a small hole in the
ceiling overhead to allow
smoke
Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produc ...
to escape. Over time, these small openings were enlarged and eventually led to the development of the centralized open courtyard we know today. Courtyard homes have been designed and built throughout the world with many variations.
Courtyard homes are more prevalent in temperate climates, as an open central court can be an important aid to cooling house in warm weather.
However, courtyard houses have been found in harsher climates as well for centuries. The comforts offered by a courtyard—air, light,
privacy, security, and tranquility—are properties nearly universally desired in human housing.
Comparison throughout the world
![Spain Andalusia Granada BW 2015-10-25 17-28-47](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Spain_Andalusia_Granada_BW_2015-10-25_17-28-47.jpg)
In c. 2000 BC
Ur, two-storey houses were constructed around an open square were built of fired brick.
Kitchen
A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running wate ...
, working, and public spaces were located on the ground floor, with private rooms located upstairs.
The central uncovered area in a Roman
domus was referred to as an ''
atrium
Atrium may refer to:
Anatomy
* Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart
* Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods
* Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain
* Pulmona ...
''. Today, we generally use the term ''courtyard'' to refer to such an area, reserving the word ''atrium'' to describe a glass-covered courtyard. Roman atrium houses were built side by side along the street. They were one-storey homes without windows that took in light from the entrance and from the central atrium. The hearth, which used to inhabit the centre of the home, was relocated, and the Roman atrium most often contained a central pool used to collect rainwater, called an ''
impluvium
The ''impluvium'' (pl. ''impluvia'') is a water-catchment pool system meant to capture rain-water flowing from the ''compluvium'', or slanted roof. Often placed "inside", instead of "outside", a building, it is a notable feature in many archite ...
''. These homes frequently incorporated a second open-air area, the garden, which would be surrounded by Greek-style
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...
s, forming a
peristyle
In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=f ...
. This created a colonnaded walkway around the perimeter of the courtyard, which influenced monastic structures centuries later.
Courtyard houses in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
reflect the nomadic influences of the region. Instead of officially designating rooms for cooking, sleeping, etc., these activities were relocated throughout the year as appropriate to accommodate the changes in temperature and the position of the sun. Often the flat rooftops of these structures were used for sleeping in warm weather. In some Islamic cultures, private courtyards provided the only outdoor space for women to relax unobserved. Convective cooling through transition spaces between multiple-courtyard buildings in the Middle East has also been observed.
![Old Planetarium - courtyard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Old_Planetarium_-_courtyard.JPG)
The traditional Chinese courtyard house, (e.g.
siheyuan
A ''siheyuan'' (; IPA: ɹ̩̂.xɤ̌.ɥɛ̂n is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing and rural Shanxi. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used ...
), is an arrangement of several individual houses around a square. Each house belongs to a different family member, and additional houses are created behind this arrangement to accommodate additional family members as needed. The Chinese courtyard is a place of privacy and tranquility, almost always incorporating a garden and water feature. In some cases, houses are constructed with multiple courtyards that increase in privacy as they recede from the street. Strangers would be received in the outermost courtyard, with the innermost ones being reserved for close friends and family members.
![hoopercourtyard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Hoopercourtyard.jpg)
In a more contemporary version of the Chinese model, a courtyard can also can be used to separate a home into
wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
; for example, one wing of the house may be for entertaining/dining, and the other wing may be for sleeping/family/privacy. This is exemplified by the
Hooper House in Baltimore, Maryland.
The medieval European farmhouse embodies what we think of today as one of the most archetypal examples of a courtyard house—four buildings arranged around a square courtyard with a steep roof covered by thatch. The central courtyard was used for working, gathering, and sometimes keeping small livestock. An elevated walkway frequently ran around two or three sides of the courtyards in the houses. Such structures afforded protection, and could even be made defensible.
In the first half of the 20th century, a trend developed in the
sunbelt regions of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
around Courtyard houses, especially in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Relevance today
![Kaapelitehdas inside yard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Kaapelitehdas_inside_yard.jpg)
More and more, architects are investigating ways that courtyards can play a role in the development of today's homes and cities. In densely populated areas, a courtyard in a home can provide privacy for a family, a break from the frantic pace of everyday life, and a safe place for children to play. With space at a premium, architects are experimenting with courtyards as a way to provide outdoor space for small communities of people at a time. A courtyard surrounded by 12 houses, for example, would provide a shared park-like space for those families, who could take pride in ownership of the space. Though this might sound like a modern-day solution to an inner city problem, the grouping of houses around a shared courtyard was common practice among the
Incas
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
as far back as the 13th century.
In
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, the floor plans of "marina style" houses often include a central
patio
A patio (, from es, patio ; "courtyard", "forecourt", "yard", "little garden") is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In Australia the term is expanded to include roofed str ...
, a miniature version of an open courtyard, sometimes covered with glass or a translucent material. Central patios provide natural light to common areas and space for potted outdoor plants. In Gilgit/Baltistan, Pakistan, courtyards were traditionally used for public gatherings where village related issues were discussed. These were different from jirgahs, which are a tradition of the tribal regions of Pakistan.
Gallery
File:Palais Bahia (The Bahia Palace) (7346181900).jpg, Bahia Palace, Marrakesh, Morocco
File:Daisen-in3 (1).jpg, Daisen-in
The is a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji, a temple of the Rinzai school of Zen in Buddhism, one of the five most important Zen temples of Kyoto. The name means "The Academy of the Great Immortals." Daisen-in was founded by the Zen priest , and was ...
, a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji, one of the five most important Zen temples of Kyoto
File:Rome's bikes 03.jpg, A courtyard in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy
File:Cloitre Cordeliers.jpg, Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938.
In the heart of the country of ''Libournais'' (the area around Libourne), i ...
's Romanesque ruins
File:Mor chowk, City Palace, Udaipur.jpg, City Palace, Udaipur
City Palace, Udaipur is a palace complex situated in the city of Udaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was built over a period of nearly 400 years, with contributions from several rulers of the Mewar dynasty. Its construction began in 155 ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
File:Tripoli - Karamanli-Haus, 1750.jpg, Tripoli, the Karamanli House
File:WLANL - E V E - Interior of ING Building.jpg, Interior of the ING Building
This is a list of the tallest buildings in Edmonton, the capital city of the province of Alberta in Canada.
Edmonton has twenty-three buildings taller than . The tallest is the Stantec Tower, the tallest Canadian building outside Toronto, which ...
, Edmonton, Canada
File:Rakibkhaaneh-4.jpg, The courtyard and the pool in Rakib-khaaneh mansion in Isfahan, Iran
File:Patio central asep.JPG, Central patio in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Antonio Ballvé Penintetiary Museum
File:Riad du Figuier courtyard - Essaouira 188.jpg, Courtyard in Essaouira, Morocco
File:1 Beit Gazaleh RCh 2010 DSC 1798.jpg, Beit Ghazaleh, Aleppo, Syria
File:The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay7.jpg, The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay
The Abbey in Sutton Courtenay is a medieval courtyard house in the English county of Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire). It is located in the Vale of White Horse near the River Thames, across the road from the twelfth-century Norman Hall and the ...
, England
References
* ''Atrium: Five Thousand Years of Open Courtyards'', by
Werner Blaser Werner may refer to:
People
* Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name
Fictional characters
* Werner (comics), a German comic book character
* Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Raid ...
1985, Wepf & Co.
* ''Atrium Buildings: Development and Design'', by
Richard Saxon
Richard Gilbert Saxon CBE (born 14 April 1942) is an English architect. He was chairman of Building Design Partnership (BDP), chairman of BE (a fore-runner of Constructing Excellence), a vice-president of the Royal Institute of British Architects ( ...
1983, The Architectural Press, London
* ''A History of Architecture'', by
Spiro Kostof
Spiro Konstantine Kostof (7 May 1936, Istanbul – 7 December 1991, Berkeley) was a Turkish-born American leading architectural historian, and educator. He was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His books continue to be widely ...
1995, The Oxford Press.
External links
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