The patio house is a type of home in which the rooms are organized around a private central patio. This type of house has been widely used in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern region since ancient times.

The patio house typology was widely used in ancient times, as a response to the environmental and social needs of the time. On the one hand, the need to isolate oneself from the outside in desert climates; on the other, the privacy of family space for social and religious reasons. The model is fully developed already in the city of Ur, around the year 2000 BC. C.[1]​ The oldest known example is that of the archaeological site of Sha'ar HaGolan, where remains of courtyard houses dating from 6400-6000 BC have been found. C.[2]​.

In Mesopotamia in the first millennium BC. C. the predominant type of house were the houses called e (Cuneiform: , E; Sumerian: e; Akkadian: bītu) - they were organized around a patio called tarbaṣu, and did not have openings to the outside except for the entrance door.[3]​.

Remains of this type of housing can also be found in ancient Greece. Cities such as Olynthus, Pompeii or Herculaneum show traces of courtyard houses, especially the last two due to their exceptional degree of conservation. The homes were organized around a patio invisible from the street, in which there was often an altar. Similar homes have been found in various excavations in Athens.[4]​.

The Roman domus is also an example of a courtyard house. The rooms were arranged around the patio, called atrium. There used to also be an altar, and a pond or impluvium that collected rainwater.

Courtyard houses are also typical of Islamic architecture, in which the privacy of the home is especially important. The homes are organized around a sahn that has a pond in which ablutions are performed.