Victor Olgyay’s Courtyard Houses

The enclosed courtyard is an archetype of vernacular architecture that was studied by architect Victor Olgyay, the Hungarian pioneer of bioclimatic architecture, not only as an architectural element but also, from a new perspective, as a solar conditioning device. This article examines two courtyard houses designed by Olgyay in Princeton, New Jersey, USA: the Schmid and Frank residences of 1959, and his 1956 patent proposal Sun-Conditioned House System; with two objectives: first, to understand the contemporary potential of the enclosed courtyard as a climate device, and second, to highlight and document an important part of Olgyay’s work and thinking. The information on the houses and the patent is both documentary and field-based, originating from the Victor Olgyay Collection at Arizona State University and from two visits to the houses, one by the author and the other by architect Jeffrey Cook. A comparative analysis of the sun exposure of all cases was conducted in the months of June (summer) and December (winter) at 9h00, 12h00, and 15h00, creating two-dimensional drawings of the architectural sections with angles taken from the solar diagram at 40 degrees North latitude, with emphasis on patios, roofs, and overhangs. The relationship between patio area and house area and the room´s average depth were also examined. The article discusses the cases both as courtyard houses and solar houses. It is concluded that Victor Olgyay exemplifies how scientific research and professional practice influence each other to achieve higher quality architectural results; Olgyay’s reinterpretation of the enclosed courtyard shows how innovation in architecture can emerge from vernacular tradition; the Schmid and Frank houses and the Sun-Conditioned House System taken together contribute to better understanding the development of the modern courtyard house and the modern solar house building types; and the contribution of the Schmid House to architecture lies in its sensitive and beautiful application of bioclimatic design, which should be regarded as a significant example of a modern courtyard-solar house of the mid-20 th century.