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The use of atriums to provide lighting for work spaces is rapidly gaining acceptance and is a beneficial element in many energy-conserving designs. However, clients often question the cost benefits of atriums and impose undue pressure on the design professional to provide a lengthy, long-term economic analysis.

This paper looks at the benefits of atriums to the worker environment, including visual relationships with outdoor-like space, daylighting, and thermal comfort on a year-round basis. The importance of the atrium in the energy performance of the building will be discussed, appropriate uses for the atrium space will be explored, and a new way of calculating the overall building efficiency of structures with atriums will be presented.

Life-cycle cost analysis is usually fraught with problems and provides room for argument because of the assumptions of future cost, which, no doubt, require guessing. This paper will share a methodology for evaluating atriums on a first-cost basis, thereby removing much of the guesswork from the decision.

Citation: Symposium, ASHRAE Transactions, 1983, vol. 89, pt. 2B, Washington, D.C.