Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome ...

, a (or , from , board, picture) was a room generally situated on one side of the

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 ...

and opposite to the entrance; it opened in the rear onto the

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 ...

, with either a large window or only an anteroom or curtain. The walls were richly decorated with fresco pictures, and busts of the family were arranged on pedestals on the two sides of the room.

Description

The ''tablinum'' was the office in a Roman house, the father's centre for business, where he would receive his clients. It was originally the master bedroom, but later became the main office and reception room for the house master.

Takhtabush

is the Arabic language, Arabic term for a tablinum. Like the ancient Roman tablinum, it opens onto a heavily shaded courtyard and, on the other side, a rear garden. Unlike the Roman tablinium, the garden side is closed with a lattice (Roman tablinums may have had open-weave curtains). If there is a wind, it tends to blow down into the windward court and up out of the leeward court. A draft can, however, be driven by convection. One of the courts will generally be hotter than the other; which is hotter may vary. The courtyard is often pale, paved and narrow, and may be shaded by an awning and evaporatively cooled by a fountain. The garden is generally darker in colour, but evaporatively-cooled by

evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...

. The larger court will generally be less shaded by its own walls, and more exposed to hot winds; it may also be less sheltered by surrounding rooms. From both wind pressure and convection forces, the hottest air in the hotter court rises and escapes over the wall, pulling fresh air from the cooler courtyard through the into the hotter court.
low-res bw version
The cooler court is replenished with air from the side (drawn through doors, evaporatively-cooled projecting bow windows, and small vents in the wall), or from above, which cools by contact with masonry and evaporative cooling. The thus has a strong cross-breeze from the cooler court. The breeze is at least partly driven by convection, and may also be driven by wind pressure and evaporative cooling, so the gardens and courtyards are used as

windcatcher A windcatcher, wind tower, or wind scoop ( ar, برجيل ; fa, بادگیر) is a traditional architectural element used to create cross ventilation and passive cooling in buildings. Windcatchers come in various designs: unidirectional, bi ...

s. Similar systems may be used to create a cool, breezy public roofed space between two public squares.

References

Ancient Roman architectural elements Rooms Passive ventilation {{room-stub

Description

Takhtabush

See also

Further reading

References