Architecture has a remarkable capacity to not only reflect social patterns and behaviors but to engender public image and identity. Therefore, it has proven to be a viable source for understanding the lives of ancient people. In fact, many scholars have established a connection between the atrium-house's design and the power and social identity of the paterfamilias, or male head of household. However, little has been said about what these same architectural features mean in relation to his female counterpart, the materfamilias. Therefore, this paper argues that the architecture of the atrium-house likewise engendered a sense of power and freedom for the Roman matron in two main ways. First, the atrium-house was considered in many ways a continuation of the public realm, and was thus structured to be open and outward instead of inward and private. In addition, archaeological and other evidence suggests that the atrium-house lacked gendered divisions and therefore allowed the matron to freely utilize even the most public areas of the home. Second, just as the paterfamilias was able to use the visual dynamics of the atrium-house to manipulate his public image and to glean authority, so also did the materfamilias use the tactics of visibility to assume masculine power. As a result, the architecture of the atrium-house helped to structure the social identity of the materfamilias in promoting her power and influence in both family and social life.

In the United States, the living urban environment in the last two centuries has almost completely disappeared. Dense urban environments as viable and normal places to live have become a thing of the past. Living in the suburbs has become the trend and everyone has looked to the outskirts of the city to live. Downtown areas have become a place to work, and the suburbs a place to live. Downtowns have become ghost towns during the evenings, while little communal interaction can be found in the suburbs due to its inhuman scale and automobile dependence. Developers have marketed suburban living for their profits, offering no other alternative housing between suburban and urban living cores as they exist today. This thesis will explore an alternative prototypical housing type to promote vitality and livability in urban environments today. / Master of Architecture

This study investigates two significant components of architectural design, &lsquo / &lsquo / form&rsquo / &rsquo / and &lsquo / &lsquo / space&rsquo / &rsquo / and the basic design elements and principles used in their creation in the context of Roman domestic architecture. It more specifically examines how, by which means and for which purposes certain form and space defining tools such as the column, wall, floor, ceiling and opening with their architectural equivalents as the point, line, plane and volume were used in the atrium houses exemplified in Pompeii in Italy. The study discusses how Romans organized their daily life in reference to certain domestic spaces and how the form and spatial qualities of these spaces contributed to the architectural articulation of the private sphere. By concentrating on a group of recurring domestic spaces including the atrium, garden, and banqueting room and by illustrating the form and spatial composition of these, the study presents an architectural reading of the Roman atrium house.