A vestibule (also anteroom, antechamber, outer room, air-lock entry or foyer) is a small room leading into a larger space such as a lobby, entrance hall, or hallway, for the purpose of waiting, withholding the larger space from view, reducing heat loss (→ air trap, windbreak), providing storage space for outdoor clothing (→ mudroom), etc. The term applies to structures in both modern and classical architecture since ancient times.
In antiquity, antechambers were employed as transitional spaces leading to more significant rooms, such as Throne room in palaces or the naos in temples.
In ancient Roman architecture, a vestibule () was a partially enclosed area between the interior of the house and the street.In modern architecture, a vestibule is typically a small room next to the outer door and connecting it with the interior of the building.
In ancient Greek houses, the prothyrum was the space just outside the door of a house, which often had an altar to Apollo or a statue, or a laurel tree.
In elaborate houses or palaces, the vestibule could be divided into three parts, the prothyron (πρόθυρον), the thyroreion (θυρωρεῖον; ), and the proaulion (προαύλιον).
The vestibule in ancient Greek homes served as a barrier to the outside world, and also added security to discourage unwanted entrance into the home and unwanted glances into the home. The vestibule's alignment at right angles of private interior spaces, and the use of doors and curtains also added security and privacy from the outside. The Classical Greece marked a change in the need for privacy in Greek society, which ultimately led to the design and use of vestibules in Greek homes.
The structure was a mixture between a modern hall and porch.
In Roman Catholic and some Anglican churches, the vestibule is usually a spacious area which holds church information such as literature, pamphlets, and bulletin announcements, as well as holy water for worshippers. In Orthodox and Byzantine church architecture, the temple antechamber is more commonly referred to as an narthex.
In early Christian architecture, the vestibule replaced the more extravagant atrium or quadriporticus in favor of a more simplified area to house the vase of holy water.
Although vestibules such as a modified mud room are common in private residences, they are especially prevalent in more opulent buildings, such as government ones, designed to elicit a sense of grandeur by contrasting the vestibule's small space with the following greater one, and by adding the aspect of anticipation. The residence of the White House in the United States is such an example. At the north portico, it contains a tiny vestibule between the doors flushed with the outer and inner faces of the exterior wall of, and in the past inside, the Entrance Hall (called incorrectly Vestibule) separated from the not much bigger Cross Hall by just 2 double columns. The difference in sizes between a vestibule and the following space is better illustrated by the—so called— entrance (15) to the main gallery in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright. Many government buildings mimic the classical architecture from which the vestibule originates.
A purely utilitarian use of vestibules in modern buildings is to create an airlock entry. Such vestibules consist of a set of inner doors and a set of outer doors, the intent being to reduce air infiltration to the building by having only one set of doors open at any given time.
ATM vestibules may also contain security devices, such as panic alarms and CCTV, to help prevent criminal activity.
Designers of commercial buildings must install a vestibule between the main entry doors leading to spaces that are greater than or equal to . One other requirement of the design is that it is not necessary for both sets of door to be open in order to pass through the vestibule, and they should have devices that allow for self-closing.
An example of such is in New York City where in the winter, temporary sidewalk vestibules are commonly placed in front of entrances to restaurants to reduce cold drafts from reaching customers inside.
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