Some mistakes had disastrous consequences
The colossal atrium at Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai used to be the tallest in the world before the launching of the Leeza SOHO. Nonetheless, it's still an amazing sight.
Built in 1985, Atlanta's Marriott Marquis 47-story atrium was once the tallest in the world.
Carefully sculptured and making full use of naturel light, the 152-m (498-ft) barrel-vaulted atrium at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai spans 88 floors.
Pictured is the mesmerizing interior of the Leeza SOHO Tower in Beijing, China. At 194.15 m (636.97 ft), the twisting atrium is the world's tallest.
The atrium of the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada is vast. The property is designed as a pyramid within, with an overhead atrium of 820,000 m3 (29 million cubic ft).
One of China's most-visited museums, the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is enclosed in a huge inverted geodesic dome that emphasizes the building's celestial design signature. Visitors are encouraged to peer up through an atrium into the sky above.
Believe it or not, this is the interior view of the atrium of the Costa Atlantica, a luxury cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Shipping.
The Palazzo Lombardia in Milan serves as the seat of the Lombardy regional government. The atrium's sinuous, interweaving form is designed to evoke the region's mountains, valleys, and rivers.
The Atrium is the central space in The Hague city hall. Spectacular in its dimensions and design impact, the Atrium's prominent use of the color white is deliberate, symbolizing as it does spatial clarity, purity, and perfection.
Toreo Parque Central is an enclosed mixed-use complex featuring a shopping mall, hotel, and corporate office space located on the outskirts of Mexico City. The architect's idea is to convey the sense of a huge park where facilities circulate among fountains, trees, and open spaces under a domed atrium.
The Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart, or Stuttgart City Library, is designed as a simple cube shape with two floors underground and nine above ground. A glass block facade, effectively an atrium, forms the outer skin of the building.
Visitors mingle in the modern main hall under the atrium of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Glass roofs, natural illumination, and polished stone floors that reflect the daylight give the atrium a spacious and luminous look and feel.
Kiev's TSUM (central department store) is housed within a building that dates back to Soviet-era 1939. The interior mall, however, is all 21st century. Eight floors, each connected by a series of escalators, are set under a vast atrium, which is known for its excellent acoustic qualities.
The law school building atrium on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The five-story glass atrium crowns the two buildings, which date back to 1853.
The futuristic campus of the University of Economics in Vienna has as its centerpiece the building of the Library and Learning Center, complete with an atrium of spaceship looks.
The historic 50-m (164-ft) Coop's Shot Tower, preserved for the public at the atrium of Melbourne Central Shopping Centre in the city's CBD area.
The handsome interior of the former Noble Casino, now the House of Scientists, in Lviv. A central feature of this historic late 19th-century mansion is its ornate grand wooden staircase and glazed atrium.
Axelborg Hall is located in the Axelborg building across from the main entrance to the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. While the hall itself is clad in wood paneling, the glass-domed atrium stands incongruous over the foyer.
A national historic landmark hotel, West Baden Springs Hotel in Orange County, Indiana, which opened in 1902, is famed for its graceful atrium, itself enclosed by a 61-m (200-ft) dome.
The famed Galeries Lafayette in Paris. Architect Ferdinand Chanut designed the art nouveau glass and steel dome to enclose the galleries, thus creating one of the most dazzling and talked-about atriums of the early 20th century.
The British Museum's Norman Foster-designed glass-and-steel roofed courtyard surrounds the reading room tower, which dates back to 1857. The glazed canopy effectively works as an atrium that "manages both to respect the classical architecture of the original building and to provide a gentle counterpoint to it," according to The New Yorker.
Dating back to the 14th century, Leadenhall Market is one of the oldest markets in London. Its ornate covered arcades meet under an equally embellished central atrium.
The Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles is best known for its extraordinary sky-lit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and their ornate ironwork.
Sources: (World-Architects) (The Architect's Newspaper)
See also: Marvels of mudbrick architecture
1 Bligh Street, the iconic, premium-grade office tower overlooking Circular Quay in Sydney's central business district (CBD), features a full-height glass atrium designed to optimize sustainability, performance, and the workplace environment.
Tokyo's extraordinary National Art Center is located in the city's Roppongi district. The entire building is wrapped in steel and glass, with a central atrium serving as a base for a seriously funky restaurant facility.
Toronto's Brookfield Place showcases the Allen Lambert Galleria passage, an atrium designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
The centerpiece of Moscow's Europeisky Shopping Mall is the neon-streaked central atrium.
Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí designed his famous Casa Batlló in 1904. The celebrated Barcelona landmark features a zany interior atrium.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan is one of the world's oldest and most luxurious shopping malls. Designed and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877, the central atrium is a masterpiece of 19th-century iron-and-glass architecture.
The ancient Romans conceived the idea of the atrium. Theirs was an open central court with enclosed rooms on all sides that became a central architectural feature of a domus, or large town house. Today, modern-day atria represent some of the most impressive and dramatic design signatures of numerous hotels, shopping malls, museums, libraries, office complexes, and even cruise ships. So, where can you admire these expansive open-air or skylight-covered spaces?
Click through and appreciate the world's most amazing atriums.
The world's most amazing atriums
Impressive atria you need to see
TRAVEL Architecture
The ancient Romans conceived the idea of the atrium. Theirs was an open central court with enclosed rooms on all sides that became a central architectural feature of a domus, or large town house. Today, modern-day atria represent some of the most impressive and dramatic design signatures of numerous hotels, shopping malls, museums, libraries, office complexes, and even cruise ships. So, where can you admire these expansive open-air or skylight-covered spaces?
Click through and appreciate the world's most amazing atriums.