The similarities and differences between the design, construction and environmental performance of a typical Mesopotamian ‘courtyard’ and a Roman ‘peristyle’ house
The idea of courtyard goes back to Neolithic Times. It was conceived for such needs as providing protection from natural forces : weather, wild life or human invasions. Later on, it was transformed in functional architecture that can be characterized by its design, structure and environment uses. Apart from its climatic functions, the cultural aspect has the same importance.
Vittirio Gregotti is describing the courtyard as an architectural act par excellence saying :”The enclosure not only establishes a specific relationship with a specific place but is the principle by which a human group states its very relationship with nature and cosmos. In addition, the enclosure is the form of the thing; how it presents itself to the outside of the world; how it reveals itself.”
There is something poetical about the courtyard as they represent for humans a link between the sky and the ground by creating a direct contact with nature. Therefore, monumental trees, vegetation and ponds were used in order to make a pleasant ambiance. Some of them looked like gardens.
Roman and Mesopotamian courtyard houses were inward-looking towards the central courtyards , without any external windows and the external spaces were avoided in order to assure the necessary intimacy and privacy.
A common thing for all the courtyards was its location. By placing it in the middle of the house plan , was obtained a link effect. This space interlinked all the rooms. Usually, the kitchen had its opening to this space, that is how the smoke was let out from the house. Using the courtyard for different ...
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... design and construction of the houses is that Mesopotamian dwellings can be characterized by thick walls and flat roofs, that allow shadowing. In this way the quantity of heat that enters the houses was reduced. Roman walls were lighter because the weather conditions could not be described as brutal. Also, the walls were made from mud bricks as this material was a available. The thick walls were load baring as the use of post and lintel systems hadn’t yet developed however despite the obvious downside of the amount of space such walls take up, they do benefit from their heavy thermal mass which would have enabled the differential temperatures between the inside and outside to be maintained. Awnings on the upper floors of the house helped to shade the courtyard and prevent solar gain throughout the day which also helped to keep the temperature lower for longer [3].