ARTICLE REVIEW

CONTENT :

TITLE

CITE OF THE ARTICLE

ARTICLE IDENTIFICATION

INTRODUCTION

SUMMARY

REVIEW

CONCLUSION
ARTICLE IDENTIFICATION
Article - 6.2
Courtyards: Guidelines for planning and design.
Written by : John .S. Reynolds.
From : Time Savers Standards - Urban design.
Adapted from his book , courtyards : Aesthetic , Social and Thermal
delight, John Wiley and Sons,2002.

INTRODUCTION :
1. Article is divided into several sections resulting sub topics in each of the
section.
2. These makes us easy to understand the idea in brief of how the courtyards
as a organized building element is linked with other elements.
3. Sections of the article : CITY AND COURTYARDS
CARS AND COURTYARDS
COURTYARDS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD
COURTYARDS AND THEIR BUILDINGS
COURTYARDS AND COOLING
COURTYARDS AND WINTER SUN
COURTYARDS AND ARCADES
SUMMARY :

• Organizing elements of the buildings

and urban design.
• Observations of Mexico and Spain.
• Public plazas ,an example of courtyard
in larger scale.
• Value of plazas dependent on the
Characteristics.
• Consider more than one courtyard to
serve differing needs. Plaza mayor, Madrid and Salamanca

• Resolving location of parked cars Courtyard in

relative to courtyard. Carmona,
• Keeping the building in touch with life Spain.

of street.
• Making the courtyard floor initially as
large as possible.
• Winter solar access needs greater
efforts to maintain it.
• Arcades can be both “path” and
“place”.
Emerald People’s Utility District
Chicago courtyard townhouses. Offices,.
REVIEW :
• Author had issued the needs and segregated into categories.
• Addresses solutions at least three in each categories.
• Solutions are explained with suitable examples with proper details .
• Some of the solutions of the categories are :
1. Resolving of car parking can be 2. Keeping the buildings in touch with
considered by putting the carport below street :
or behind the courtyard instead of a) Within entry way : solid doors and iron
between courtyard and street. grille rejas are “switches” that give
Elements of entry way : Carport, Ramp, occupants degree of control over
Driveways. privacy.

Residence on
Calle Zarco,
Córdoba,
A house rebuilt in
the 1980s
resolves the car
and the b) Façade can me a setback from the street
courtyard, with more of a privacy screen can be
ramp down to a developed.
lower
level garage with
stairway and
courtyard above.

Where the façade can or must be set
back from the street, more of a
privacy screen can be developed
within this setback.
The entryway can be the public
eye on the courtyard, and vice
versa.
Courtyards may be compromised by building expansion in
several ways, for example: (a) Filling in one side of the
arcade. (b) Dividing the courtyard. (c) Encroaching on the
courtyard’s open space. (d) Adding another floor.
(Drawing: Michael Cockram.)
CONCLUSION :
• Origin of courtyards was from
civilization.
• Author has given all the appropriate
solutions along with the calculations
where ever needed.
• Focuses only on two places Mexico
and Spain.
• Gives different ideas to understand
the relative elements with courtyard.
• Explanation along with percent
wherever required.
• A typical zoning regulation for the
courtyard-type neighborhood is that
25% of the site must be open to sky
,whether in one large or several
smaller areas.
• This statement doesn’t explain how
he come to this accurate statement.