I Spain it is fairly common to see appartement building with a hollow center and interior balconies (but they usually have exterior balcony too).

I honestly hated this design because the hollow center was almost never getting any light, but it was getting the moist and the rain, making it look dirty almost all the time. It also act has a good way for sound to propagate. You can hear your neighbours at all time ...

When the hollow center has the size of a court, it is okay, but when it is just a few meters wide, it is truly awful.