This paper provides an analysis of the impact of a wide range of design strategies on the energy performance of atrium spaces. In addition, an assessment of the energy liabilities entailed in the atrium concept as such is presented. Four atrium buildings encompassing various building types, climates and atrium configurations were field monitored and modeled using the DOE-2.1B energy analysis program. A total of 320 DOE-2.1B simulations were performed. It was found that for three of the four buildings analyzed, atrium spaces configured to include effective design strategies caused the energy consumption for the building with the atrium to be lower than the energy use of the same building without tile atrium.Units: Dual