Altered space:The transformative capabilities of colour and light in the architecture of Steven Holl and UN Studio (original) (raw)
Related papers
Shifting and unstable: The role of colour and light in affording multiple readings of architecture
JAIC - Journal of the International Colour Association, 2017
The paper will explore the transformative capabilities of colour and light in architecture through selected projects from contemporary architectural practices and designers. Colour, which is generated through the play of light, is never static, and has the capability to be used as an instrument to tune and transform architectural space. Through the constantly changing conditions of daylight, coloured filters, projected images, and technological developments in the control of light sources, multiple readings of space are generated. Drawing on an interview with Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos of UNStudio, based in Amsterdam, and considering the work of the American architect, Steven Holl, alongside an emerging field of architect-designers, the paper argues that the metaphysical properties reflected and projected coloured light can be seen as instrumental to the synergic design of architectural space [1].
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.
« The Ambience Potential of Coloured Illuminations in Architecture »
Ambiances. International Journal of Sensory Environnement, Architecture and Urbain Space, 2018
This article presents the results of a spatial experiment, which investigates the ambience potential of coloured illuminations in architecture. The experiment took place over a period of two weeks, situated in a semi-laboratory setting of a performance art installation. Qualitative methods inspired by sensory ethnography and cultural probes were applied to grasp the fullness and originality of human bodily sensations of coloured illumination by exploring its effects on participants’ perception of body-space interaction. During the days of experimentation participants were interviewed on their bodily sensation in and perception of a space, while being blindfolded and exposed to three different hues of illumination; red, blue and amber. Findings from the experiment showed how participants sensed their bodies and perceived the space around them in a comparatively different manner in relation to the different hues of illumination, independently of being blindfolded or not. By this, the article contributes to spatial innovation in the light of feelings and sensations of ambience, informing a new multisensory understanding of how coloured illumination can affect bodily sensations and perceptions of space, and argues for a general mindful integration of coloured illuminations in architecture as an essential design element.
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...
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.
Daylight, Design and Place-Making
2020
Daylight, Design and Place-Making examines the role of daylight in creating and revealing the wonders of heritage and contemporary architecture. Shifting from a purely technical approach to daylighting, this book places importance on the creation of meaningful aesthetics through an understanding of context and culture. Cultural applications of light in architecture differ depending on various historical, technological, and social characteristics. Increasingly, there is a revival of interest in contemporary architecture using daylight as an essential contextual ingredient in the design process. By examining the architecture of daylight in different locales and setting these in their historical contexts, the book argues that appropriate use of daylight will ensure not only visual and thermal comfort in the urban setting and aid in energy efficiency, but also will contribute to the overall identity of new buildings, particularly in urban regeneration projects. This book brings together...
The colour of architecture. Past and present
2013
Colour has accompanied man throughout time since the beginnings, the primitive man used colour to paint drawings in caves, so the relationship between man and colour was, and still is, one of the closest. In architecture, colour swung between the magic, ritualic role and aesthetics, between outside and inside, scoring or reinterpreting in every step new facets and meanings. This article is a brief overview of the main aspects of this evolution, from the prehistoric times to the present with an emphasis on the relationship between the colour and the architectural composition.
Colour as Spiritual Significance in Contemporary Artistic and Architectural Creation
The present research paper aims to be a reflexion and an observation of the way colour is used in contemporary art and architecture as a means to recreate the artist's and architect's desired significance. For this, colour is firstly understood as a vital essence, a 'significant language' associated to life itself; comparing different theories, colour is then further defined as a fundamental essence of art itself: a vital component that 'ensouls' forms, and that allows for the adequate means to express the inner significance of the artwork. In order for colour to reach these depths in art, the artistic creation is also comprehended and defined as a sort of alchemy: a means by which mere materials become gold (bearers of a deep spiritual significance). A creation, thus, be it an architectural space or a painting, is a visual representation of the artist's inner life, but in it's significance lies these 'gold' essences: the profound emotional and spiritual significances, of which colour is indissociable. In this way, the phenomenon of colour, the research paper corroborates, is not something that can be applied post-creation but an essential tool of the creative process itself, a fundamental aspect of the alchemical process of creation. But how are these ideas applied in contemporary art and architecture? Bringing together multiple examples of contemporary art and architecture (briefly analysing architectural spaces, paintings, and new sculptural spatial art forms), the research paper aims to further reflect and consider the different ways in which colour is used in the artistic phenomena in order to amplify and accommodate the artwork's emotional and spiritual significances. The examples selected, aim to present a broad analysis of each type of significance and how it is achieved creating categories for each. In architecture three categories are defined as follows: the 'white' approach (such as the spaces of John Pawson), the 'colour-material-space' approach (such as Peter Zumthor's atmospheres) and the 'colour-significance' approach, defined mainly by the cornerstone example of Luis Barragan. In painting, a two folded approach is defined: the use of colour as 'colour-subject' (with examples ranging from the impressionists to Anselm Kiefer), and 'colour-colour' (defined by colour being used for it's own sake). Lastly, the sculptural spatial artworks, analyses colour uses as 'colour-object' (Richard Serra and Anish Kapoor) and 'colour-dimension' with James Turrell. Throughout the various examples, it is made clear that the colours used are in perfect sync with the spiritual and emotional significance the work aims to transmit. The research paper thus, further shows that colour is a fundamental essence that allows for the artistic vision, with all it's significance, to be created and materialised. Colour is not only a component of art, but one of the main aspects that most embodies it's significance.
Color composition in postmodern western architecture
2013
This research aims to know some of the most innovative aspects of color in composition of postmodern architecture in Europe, approximately between 1960 and 2000. We describe the main formal and chromatic trends in this period following JA. Ramírez's classification: the new utopias ('60s), neoiluminist rationalism ('70s), figurative postmodernity ('80s) and deconstructivism ('90s). For each trend, we point out some color composition features; analyze a case study building; and reflect on later influence on contemporary colored architecture.
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