Heliocaminus
Heliocaminus refers to a solar heated room, one example, the remains of which can still be seen, is found at the thermal complex of Hadrian's Villa at ancient Tivoli in Italy. The villa was the luxurious Roman residence of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (the years 117 to 138), which is said to have become a type of test bed or laboratory for architectural and artistic creativity, where technological and architectonical innovations were experimented with (MacDonald and Pinto, 2006).
The heliocaminus, a term based on Ancient Greek and Latin, (also translated as solar furnace), at Hardrian's villa it was a large circular room with a coffered dome roof, a central oculus and large south facing windows, it was heated through a combination of the passive solar gains and massive structure and a hot-air under floor heating system invented by the Romans. It was first identified by the use of the solar stove (Paribeni, 1922), then by Sudatio or underfloor air heated sauna (Verduchi, 1975), then by a heated swimming pool (Manderscheid, 1998).
Today Villa Adriana or Hadrian's Villa near Tivoli can still be visited as one of the best kept and most visited archaeological sites in Italy it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. It is found at the foot of the Tiburtine Hills the vast residential complex originally spread over around 120 hectares (about 300 acres) including the thermal baths, temples, barracks, theatres, gardens, fountains, nymphaeums and the villa itself, around 40 hectares are now open to the public.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Botanical gardens
- Biomes.
- BRE National Solar Centre.
- Building an extension.
- Conservatory.
- Garden greenhouse.
- Hydroponics and buildings.
- Large scale solar thermal energy.
- Odeillo solar furnace.
- Renewable energy sources: how they work and what they deliver: Part 4: Solar thermal hot water systems DG 532 4.
- Sauna.
- Solar heat gain coefficient.
- Solar photovoltaics.
- Solar thermal systems
- Sunspace.
- Types of glass.
- Twenty winters of Bedzed.
- Winter gardens.
[edit] External links
Featured articles and news
Edmundson Apprentice of the Year award 2026
Entries now open for this Electrical Contractors' Association award.
Traditional blue-grey slate from one of the oldest and largest UK slate quarries down in Cornwall.
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.