Colour and Contingency: Theory into Practice (original) (raw)
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Three color strategies in architectural composition
Color Research & Application
This article deals with the possibilities that color affords architectural composition, the strategies facilitated through color as a vocabulary of expression. It primarily focuses on the rules of grammar and syntax of color, and to a lesser degree on the semantic meanings, as this would entail multiple interpretations by the observer. Following an analysis of architectural color classification systems suggested by other authors, we reason that there are three main groups of plastic strategies. These are not mutually exclusive, but rather, complementary to each other: (I) color can influence the perception of the visual properties of architectural shapes; (II) color can describe the building and (III) color can be arranged for its intrinsic value. Each of these strategies deals with a different level of knowledge of the building, which requires both subconscious and conscious mechanisms of identification by the observer. These are the color strategies used by architects to express a particular compositional purpose. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2012
Color in Architecture — More Than Just Decoration
Color is an integral element of our world, not just in the natural environment but also in the man-made architectural environment. Color always played a role in the human evolutionary process. The environment and its colors are perceived, and the brain processes and judges what it perceives on an objective and subjective basis. Psychological influence, communication, information, and effects on the psyche are aspects of our perceptual judgment processes. Hence, the goals of color design in an architectural space are not relegated to decoration alone.
Shifting interpretations of interiors and buildings: the impact of colour
2010
The ability of a designer – for example, interior designer, architect, landscape architect, etc. – to design for a particular target group (user and/or clients) is potentially enhanced through more targeted studies relating colour in situ. The study outlined in this paper involved participant responses to five achromatic scenes of different built environments prior to viewing the same scenes in colour. Importantly, in this study the participants, who were young designers, came to realise that colour potentially holds the power to impact on the identity of an architectural form, an interior space and/or particular elements such as doorways, furniture settings, etc., as well as influence atmosphere. Prior to discussing the study, a selection of other research, which links colour to meaning and emotions, introduces how people understand and/or feel in relation to colour. For example, yellow is said to be connected to happiness; or red evokes feelings of anger. Secondly, the need for sp...
Colourful Language: Researching Architects' Knowledge and Use of Colour
The development of architectural materials and technology is transforming the colour palettes and identities of cities by juxtaposing or replacing vernacular colours with global and often contextually meaningless colours. As Built Environment designers have significant roles in determining city colourscapes, it might be expected that these professionals have considerable knowledge. However, there is largely an absence of colour training in the majority of built environment degree programs. While colour has been studied in a broad range of disciplines, very few studies have focussed on architecture and even less on colour in architectural education. This paper reports on the early findings of research into what informs architect’s understanding and use of colour. Data was analysed from a survey of 33 practicing architects, academics and postgraduate students from Melbourne, Australia. The findings indicate that built environment designers see the need for increasing their colour knowledge. In line with previous studies, there was no evidence of correlations between gender and age, but findings suggest cultural differences in the level of colour education depending on country of architectural study. The wider research that this study is a part of ultimately aims to inform education around the use of colour in the built environment.
USE OF COLOR IN ARCHITECTURE – INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE PERSPECTIVE
FACTA UNIVERSITATIS Series: Architecture and Civil Engineering, 2020
This paper deals with the color theory and the application of this theory in architectural design. Since the modernist architects and modern era in architecture, the colors of the buildings were not in the focus of their authors. On the contrary, the modern movement has taught us that color, and especially an artificial one, is almost a crime to use and in a way, it expresses a lack of a style. Through examining universal color harmony principles in this paper the problem and phenomenon of using colors in contemporary architecture was discussed, which had its roots in the modern movement and evolved through technological advance especially in material technology. Industrial architecture is used as an example, to narrow down the research field, but also for the reasons of extensive and creative use of color in this type of buildings. We have examined several industrial buildings that have been systematized into three categories. All three categories are analyzed for the application of general color harmony principles. Then discussion focuses on refining principles of color usage in architecture that appear in contemporary architecture in order to systematize those principles, particularly important for architectural education and new practitioners of architecture. In conclusion, it is stated that universal color harmony principles are applicable in architecture as well, as in other visual arts.
This paper aims to reveal the importance that the study of light and colour should take in the decisions of the architectural project from its beginning to its implementation on the working site. The colour among architects is often thought as something that is added at the end of the architectural process, often already at the working site, and when in doubt always using white. According to this idea, Werner Spillmann observed that colour decisions usually came when everything is already determined; that is, most often colour was considered in the very last moment within an extremely short time period without any consideration of the building structure, function and surroundings [2]. On the other hand, light is considered a mysterious and elusive entity, something that many architects talk about, but only few can really master. And if we consider artificial lighting, most of them rely on electrical engineers to control the space appearance when sunlight is not enough, or at nightime. At a time where it is increasingly impossible to control all the aspects of expertise, specific legislation and areas of knowledge that contribute to the development of an architectural project it is natural that the architect look for experts to help him in these various areas. But he should not give up on controling fields that intrinsically belong to architecture and its presentation (meaning communication). And colour and light are certainly among the most important ones for this goal. For this reason Light and Colour should be considered a specific branch of specialisation that could help architects to convey their objectives concerning aesthetical, functional, ergonomic and comfort issues. Colour consultants should work together with light designers to promote the knowledge that architects need to communicate the complex and transdisciplinary objectives of architecture. To illustrate these premises we present some results of our practice both as Colour Consultant and as Light and Colour teacher at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon.
Architectural Theory Review— Colour Theory (19:2, 2019)
Architectural Theory Review, 2014
A special issue edited by Adam Jasper containing new articles by David Macarthur, Sandra Kaji-O'Grady, Karl Kullmann, John Stanislav Sadar, Victoria Watson, Gavin Perin and Linda Matthews, Jessica Jenkins, and Fiona McLachlan and Ewen McLachlan; with reviews by Jesse O'Neill and Mark Titmarsh.
Architecture is space built for human life, and colour in architecture means colouring this space, or spaces. To choose colour for rooms within a building is profoundly different from two-dimensional artwork or colour design, as the spatial preconditions themselves interact with the chosen colours to form a three-dimensional totality. On the other hand, the experience of space is always present in our visual perceptions, even when we look at surfaces that physically have only two dimensions. Colour presupposes light, and the understanding of light and shadow is decisive for our spatial understanding. The purpose of this article is to discuss the issues of colour, light and space, mainly with reference to current Swedish research results and the experiences of practicing architects and interior designers.
Color Research and Application, 2006
This article examines some of the outstanding contributions or points of interest in the research and application of color in architecture, from ancient times to the present. The discourses about color are classified by periods and according to the utterers: theoreticians or writers of architectural treatises, archeologists and historians of architecture, architects who have been relevant in professional practice, color theorists coming from the fields of architecture and design, and color researchers related to the International Color Association. As a conclusion, the main characteristics of these discourses about color are summarized, and a point is made about the use of instruments derived from color science in color design, implying that the evolution in the use of color in environmental design and the research in this field will increasingly rely on the interaction between scientists and designers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 31, 350–363, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20224
THE ART AND APPRECIATION OF COLOURS IN ARCHITECTURE
ACA 2019, 2019
According to the father of Organic Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright as rightly said, that the mother art is Architecture, without Architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization. Art and Architecture should live as a family or live as husband and wife. No Architecture is good without the application of art. A building without art is like Bread without butter or tea without sugar. The use of colour in Architecture has been effectively applied since the early ages in both India as well as Europe, Middle Eastern and Chinese cultures. In Italy, during the Baroque era, architecture was assigned the role of conveying emotions and captivating the imagination of the masses visiting churches. Colour played a vital role in fulfilling this architectural ambition. Following that trajectory of radical use of colour and blending it with his curvilinear fluid forms that were done by the master architect Antonio Gaudi during his time. He was perhaps the most radical in his experimentation of colour and architectural form and showcasing to the world the magic that could happen when the two combined. Colour plays a significant role in the perception of a space in the human mind. When lighter shades are used, it makes the space appear bigger. On the other hand, using darker shades make the same space look smaller. Hence colours can be used to adjust the proportion of a building space. In the Expression of material, we saw in the example of falling water that light painted materials seem lighter than dark coloured materials. Other visual effects of colour can make things look further away or more distant; larger or smaller; cooler or warmer. For example, a cool blue bathroom and warm red living room. This paper is a review of literature that were collected from documents, journals, books, periodical and other materials that will explore the key importance of art and appreciation of colours in Architecture.