Architectural aspects of atrium buildings are reviewed in this paper. The development of atrium buildings is discussed. The origin of the atrium form and how it was evolved and improved from time to time by designers are described. Hotels, office buildings, shopping malls and multi-purpose megastructures have exploited the atrium concept extensively in the recent decades. Merits and demerits of atrium form buildings are outlined, attempting to explain the reasons for their popularity since the last century. Atrium design in Hong Kong is briefly described as this design is popular in the local construction industry. Fire safety aspects for this novel type of architecture are also discussed. After reviewing the existing types of atrium, design considerations are proposed for improvements in new projects with atria.