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Colors and Architecture

12/27/2013
 
    According to Frank H. Mahnke 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.

    The meaning of colors can vary depending on culture and circumstances. For example;
  • White is color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection. The color meaning of white is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion. 
  • Black is the color of the hidden, the secretive and the unknown, creating an air of mystery. It keeps things bottled up inside, hidden from the world. 
  • Orange is the color of social communication and optimism. From a negative color meaning it is also a sign of pessimism and superficiality. 
  • yellow is the color of the mind and the intellect. It is optimistic and cheerful. However it can also suggest impatience, criticism and cowardice.
  • Green is the color of balance and growth. It can mean both self-reliance as a positive and possessiveness as a negative  
  • Blue is the color of trust and peace. It can suggest loyalty and integrity as well as conservatism and frigidity.  

  • Indigo is the color of intuition. In the meanings of colors it can mean idealism and structure as well as ritualistic and addictive. 
  • Purple is the color of the imagination. It can be creative and individual or immature and impractical.
  • pink is unconditional love and nurturing. Pink can also be immature, silly and girlish.
  • magenta is a color of universal harmony and emotional balance. It is spiritual yet practical, encouraging common sense and a balanced outlook on life. 
  • brown is a serious, down-to-earth color that relates to security, protection and material wealth. 
  • gray is the color of compromise - being neither black nor white, it is the transition between two non-colors. 
  • Gold is the color of success, achievement and triumph. Associated with abundance and prosperity, luxury and quality, prestige and sophistication, value and elegance, the color psychology of gold implies affluence, material wealth and extravagance.


   Great heros in architecture such as Steve Holls, Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Rem Koolhas and the like are very good in the choice of colors. Sometimes their works looks great because of the color selection.

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