More about the atrium house

http://www.worldbook.com/content-spotlight/item/1127-world-book-explores-ancient-rome/1127-world-book-explores-ancient-rome?start=3

http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/schoenauer/arch528/lect05/n05alec5.htm


We often use ancient ideas to create new designs. In this case, I needed a water collection system that wouldn't require extra expenses outside building the house itself. The Roman atrium house began as a single story structure with a small opening in the roof. This hole is how the house gets its name. Originally the hole was just a small opening to let smoke out of a hearth below. Over time it developed into a water collection system. Rain would flow down the roof, which was tilted into the center, and into a pool inside the center of the house. That pool would drain into a cistern from which the residents would take their drinking and bathing water.

The design of the water collection system of the atrium house is a good starting point for my design for the DRC house.