Patio houses center life around a private, open-air courtyard that organizes circulation, light, and ventilation. The courtyard functions as an outdoor room that mediates interior and exterior spaces and creates a controlled microclimate. Building masses adopt L-, U-, or O-shaped configurations to define the courtyard, with rooms opening directly onto it via porticos, galleries, or large doorways. The inward-facing orientation provides shelter from sun and wind, secures privacy from the public street, and supports intimate domestic activity. Core principles across regions include introversion, controlled openness, and sensitivity to environmental and climatic conditions.
Patio houses embody one of the most enduring architectural typologies, encapsulating the duality of openness and seclusion while nurturing a profound connection with nature. While the term is also used in contemporary American real estate to describe low-maintenance, single-story dwellings on small lots, its classic architectural meaning refers to an introverted design organized around a private, central courtyard. It is this traditional form, the subject of this article, that traces its origins back thousands of years.
The patio itself serves as the primary organizing element, a private outdoor room that dictates the home's circulation, light, and ventilation. The building mass is typically arranged in one of several key configurations that engage this central space: an L-shape that defines a corner, a U-shape that creates a three-sided enclosure, or a fully enclosed quadrangle (an O-shape) that maximizes privacy and introversion.
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