What is a peristyle?
A peristyle (also peristylium) is an open courtyard surrounded on all four sides by a colonnade. The name is Greek: peri (around) and stylos (column).
It is not the same as a colonnade, which runs in a straight line, and not the same as an atrium, which in the Roman house was the covered front room with a light opening. The distinction: in a peristyle the row of columns runs around an open court.
| Peristyle | Open courtyard surrounded on all four sides by a colonnade |
|---|---|
| Colonnade | Row of columns that runs in a straight line |
| Atrium | In the Roman house, the covered front room with a light opening |
Origin and use
The type arose in the Greek world — in temple building as the ring of columns around the cella, and in the house around the courtyard. In the Hellenistic and Roman house the peristyle garden became the representative heart of the dwelling: a green courtyard with a water basin, sculpture and painted walls, with the covered walk around it giving shelter from sun and rain. The houses of Pompeii still show the scheme intact.
Through the cloister the principle lives on in medieval architecture, and through the Renaissance in the courtyards of Italian palazzi and in buildings well into the nineteenth century.
Why it works in construction terms
A peristyle solves three things at once in a densely built city:
- Daylight and ventilation for rooms with no external wall.
- Climate. The shaded walk and the planting cool the air, while the court can release heat at night.
- Circulation. Every room is reached from the surrounding walk, with no rooms in enfilade.
That is precisely why the motif returns in modern form in courtyard houses, almshouse layouts and the internal courts of apartment buildings. Anyone designing one should above all check the ratio of court size to building height: if the court is too small relative to the surrounding facades, hardly any daylight reaches the ground floor.
Related terms
- Atrium
- Colonnade
- Column
- Impluvium
- Patio
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