Various kind of atrium buildings have been constructed in Japan since 1982. Recently, there have been some measured data on thermal environment of atriums. This paper firstly describes the trends in the design and construction of atrium buildings, based on the design magazines. Secondly, the design methods of thermal environmental control of 21 atriums are classified, and measured data on vertical temperature profiles in the atrium are compared, referred to the technical papers. In summer, there is high temperature rise such as 60℃ in the top of the atrium. The temperature profiles except below-roof area can be divided into three groups, as follows : 1) Little temperature gradient in case of the courtyard type with high ceiling. 2) High temperature gradient in cases of the greenhouse type with large glass area. 3) Moderate temperature gradient in other cases. In winter, there is little temperature for whole enclosure in all cases. But in many cases, the temperature decrease in the floor level area appears due to stack effect.
