1

COLOUR IN THE CITY

COLOUR BLO CKS

3

5

COLOUR IN THE CITY

COLOUR BLO CKS

7

Blue Yellow

Introduction

The relationship between architectural history & colour

Colour & space: architecture today

References & bibliography

08

09

36

11

12 20 28Red

Colour in the city

Looking out over a city may not inspire you to think of a rainbow’s spectrum of colour. “Colour is lacking in London buildings, as anyone riding the London Eye will observe.”

2 How does this affect the way we view

the city? Or feel towards it? Do the visual qualities of the buildings that make up our environment affect us pyschologically?

“Most people think that colours make them feel happy. If this is true, it may also be valid the other way round. If we are happy we see everything in colour—‘we want to paint the world.’ The opposite of colour in this context is lack of colour – greyness; a concept associated in most languages with boredom and sadness.”

3

Historically, aesthetic trends have meant that colour and architecture do not sit well together. “Architects have had difficulty deciding how to use color since at least the polychromy dispute of 1830, when the austere whiteness of the Neoclassical was first called into question.”

4

❝ Colours are fundamental elements of our visual perception and environmental experience; they are the substance of how we experience the environment.1

❞

COLOUR BLOCKS

COLOUR IN THE CITY

9

Feelings on colour

There is colour in material; brick, stone, wood, tile, glass. These elements provide a myriad of shades, but but colour is not prominent. To some, this provides for a pleasing aesthetic. On the London cityscape one commentator writes: “I love the subtlety of 100’s of different greys. When on the London eye this summer, I was alarmed to spot splashes of bright colours over towards the Barbican. I am told it is a new building by Renzo Piano.”

5 In reference to it’s pyschological

affect, grey is described as a calm, withdrawn colour, underlined by Mahnke: “it [grey] makes no statement. It is just there and lives in boring neutrality, making the environment neither exciting, nor actively calming, nor inviting.”

6

A cause for unremitting debate, colour is increasingly used by architects (such as Renzo Piano mentioned above for the controversial Central Saint Giles office space), to make their work noticeable in what can be an otherwise ‘colourless’ architectural landscape.

“A few projects stand out from the rest for their creative use of colour to reduce mass, proclaim purpose, or orientate users…In a media-dominated society, architecture also has to assert itself visually in the big city jungle.”

7

Colour in London

Seeking out colour in London is not so much of a difficult task. The Idea Store in Whitechapel, coloured by glass in shades of blue and green, reflects the colours of the street outside, but also plays an integral part in the structure of a distinctive learning environment. Glass provides colour for those looking inside and out. Adelaide Wharf, in Hackney, is a bright and colourful block of flats that brightens up the gritty canal side location. This social housing project exercises a warm and generous use of colour, and demonstrates the integration of this palette in its “ambition of combining good quality private sector apartments with social housing in a non-hierarchical architecture.”

8

The function of colour and its ability to impact the ever shifting human built environment is recognised by architects who choose to use colour as part of a “fast moving cultural code”

9, to enrich their buildings and to

communicate their function in the structure of our ever changing city.

11

Colour in architectural history

During the 20th century, key movements in the creative industries contributed to the notion that the use of colour in architecture should be considered objectional, crude, and unneccesarily ornamental.

Shortly after the turn of the 20th century Adolf Loos wrote the famous and influential essay “Ornament and Crime”—condemning the use of any decorative or ornate element in design. “The evolution of culture marches with the elimination of ornament from useful objects”

11 he wrote, outlining the notion that form must

come before function and that anything ornamental is merely peripheral. As modernism enveloped the design world and favour leant on the qualities of function, reduction, and the sensibilities of industry. Architects designed “plain, simple structures with a strong emphasis on construction and on purity of material.”

12 The Bauhaus taught the ethics of rationality

and economical standardization, and the beauty of simplification and purity. “Simple and economic constructions became the model for architects and designers throughout the 20th century and beyond”.

13

The mechanical, industrial instincts of modernists radicalised the design of the time, and to this day maintain a lively debate: Reyner Banham describes

“what he call(s) the Bauhaus at Dessau as “a sacred site,”

14 and Fiona Maccarthy proclaims that this

architecture remains “moving” as Bauhaus ideas survived to shape the modern world.”

15 Robert

Burnhams meanwhile argues that “At the root, there was always something penitential about modernism, with its stern abjuration of the world’s sensuous pleasures in the interest of higher ones.”

16

Contemporary critics, followers of De Stijl in the 1930’s, reactionary discourse lead to the designer/ architect/painter Theo van Doesburg to comment that “Art should not deal with the ‘useful’ or the ‘nice’, but with the ‘spiritual’ and the ‘sublime.’ The purest art forms do not cause the decorative change of some detail from life, but the inner metamorphosis of life, the revaluation of all values.”

17

Years later, post-modernists rejoiced in the “pleasure in opulence”—a notion describe with wit and indulgence by Oscar Wilde “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”

18 Today, buildings are

celebrated for their ability to challenge perceptions, “to inspire us to see and to think.”

19

The future is bright

Contemporary architects place much more recognition on the qualities of colour given by material, and recognise it as a natural partner to the elemental principles of space, line, and form. Buildings such as Adyaje (Whitechapel), and the London College of Communication (Elephant and Castle) demonstrate that contemporary architects seek to “endow the landscape with coloured spaces in the recognition that colour is not only an aesthetic force but also a language.”

20

Colour has meaning and can communicate. It can affect us psychologically and physically, and much research has been done into the ways that colour affects how we respond to a physical environment. Colour can describe space, sculpt it, reduce it, and so it seems naturally that

“colour has become architectural composition.”21

Architects are still, maintains Koolhaas “committed to the authenticity of materials.”

22 Returning to the

sensibilities to which early 20th century designers staked claim, “in the contemporary mindset colour does not seem to be the result of designer whim…nor as a mere decorative element”—“colour is all about experimenting with materials, creating interconnection between different volumes of an organic whole, or the contrary, identifying a particular component as an element apart.”

23

It is with this in mind that I seek to examine the use of four specific buildings in London that are noteable for their colourful exterior, and to determine how colour serves as “an important medium of visual communication in the human–environment relationship...[through]“the communication between humans and the spatial environment, and to the interactions that take place there.”

24 It is through

colour that the architect may humanise a building, inspire and engage.

❝ We encounter and are surrounded by color whenever we open our eyes. It accompanies us in diverse visual ways and is always connected with and influenced by light in the natural or human–designed environment.

10

❞

13

❝Blue is somewhat the

peacemaker of colour, not

many people dislike it.

It has a relaxing effect, and

light blue seems retiring.

Its positive impressions are

calmness, security, comfort,

sobriety, comtemplation.25

❞

IDEA STORE

THE

15

❝The stripes also give a lift to the views out, colorising the brown townscape with the hues of grass and sky.26

❞

Idea Store by Rowan Moore

The concept behind the Idea Store, a phrase coined by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, is that dusty old-fashioned libraries don’t attract enough users, especially those who would be least inclined to enter them in the first place, so the new buildings should draw people in and grab their attention in the way that shops do, and they should be placed in shopping areas, so that you can slip into one as easily as you would a supermarket.

“This is an environment where opaque buildings are seen as negative, as a sign of poverty. I wanted the Idea Store to be architecture that people drive into town for; or like a mall, clean and glass and glossy.”

The building’s signature is its stripes of green and blue glass, inspired by the striped awnings of the same

colours on the market stalls that crowd the pavement on Whitechapel High Street. It is a simple enough device, but it is the thing that tells you that this is not any old glass box. The stripes also give a lift to the views out, colorising the brown townscape with the hues of grass and sky.

The new Idea Store both sets itself apart from its surroundings and embraces them. It is clearly something special, a world apart and a construction different from any other nearby, but it also aims to draw the life of the street into it, through the escalator that lands straight on to the pavement, and through the use of both glamorous and workaday materials. It is accessible, not patronising, crowd-pleasing but not dumb, glamorous but not glib. It is not an abstract essay in architectural aesthetics, but a smart response to what the building is, where it is and who it is for.

THE

17

Sky Blue Relaxing, happy and trustworthy

Royal Blue Committed, professional and vibrant.

Electric Blue Dynamic, Engaging, Bold, Exhilarating

Turqoise Healing, Spiritual, mystical.

Aqua Fluid, refreshing, cleansing and energising.

Light Green Rejuvenation

❝

Blue is tranquility and truth that

cannot be subverted. It is the

color associated with spirituality

and wisdom.27

❞

19Source: Colour Ambrose/HarrisSource: Colour Ambrose/Harris

21

❝Reflective and luminous,

yellow is the happiest of all

colours.28

❞

ADELAIDE WHARF

23

Adelaide Wharf Judges Comments, Hackney Design Awards 2008

This mixed tenure residential scheme has eye-catching balconies painted bright shades of red, orange and yellow, hung from large crane-like roof mounted cantilevers. The same colours are used to pick out the key surfaces of the main entries into the development.

❝The mood is bright and busy and the end result is a cheerful, contemporary landmark building that enlivens the neighbourhood.

29

❞

The mood is bright and busy and the end result is a cheerful, contemporary landmark building that enlivens the neighbourhood. The palette is warm and friendly, “the lively colours and varied form of this distinctive new block, make it a positive addition to the local built form and a navigation landmark in its own right.”

ADELAIDE WHARF

❝

Yellow’s expansiveness means communication.30

❞

25

Golden Yellow Sunny, autumnal.

Gold Wealth, extravagance, excess, luck and tradition.

Bright Yellow Hopeful, cheery.

Light Yellow Inspiring, walm, calming, hazy and summery.

Orange Fun, glowing and vital: the warmest of colours.

Terracotta Warm, ethnic, wholesome.

Bronze Warm, tradition, durable, rustic.

Source: Colour Ambrose/Harris

27

29

❝ Red is an arousing, exciting, and stimulating colour with the positive associations of passion, strength, activity, and warmth. Red also signifies life and living. Understanding the connection between life and blood probably goes back to the earliest of times.31 ❞

Blizard building

“Our aim has been to create a space that avoids the traditionally sanitised environment of laboratory research buildings - here the very fabric of the building speaks about science and is conducive to better science by bringing researchers together. (Alsop, 2010)”

Aiming to create an outstanding new building for the College, plus a significant landmark and educational resource for the local community, the design team developed the building’s form around two primary concepts; firstly to foster better integration of the science disciplines through the provision of an open-plan environment; and secondly to create a building which broadcasts its purpose, achieved by the development of a seductively transparent building envelope.

Putting colors together: an interview with Will Alsop

For Alsop, it is the act of painting, the state of losing control - its imprecision and intuitiveness - that best define his initial vague intentions - and what ultimately brings him close to the mystery of inventing new architecture.

By Vladimir Belogolovsky: November 30, 2010

VB: Do colors play a specific role in your work?

WA: On one level, it cheers people up. There is nothing in architecture books that says it cannot be fun. I think color has a very direct effect on the way we behave and the way we feel. Colored glass casts colorful shadows. If there was no color in my buildings, it would be a completely different experience. Architectural critics think that fun and architecture don’t go together. But I always ask, why not? Where in the rule books does it say these things don’t go together? The fun aspect of architecture is a very serious part of it. There is no right way to make architecture, and I think that is good. Our cities should have diversity. Uniformity makes life less interesting. There is a lot of that around Moscow or in the north of England. It bores people. Architecture is not about just having a roof over your head, but about a feeling of belonging and feeling comfortable. Sometimes, it is very difficult to explain how to do that, but I have had people tell me that my buildings are very comfortable. They would come to me and ask,

“How do you do that?” I don’t know, and I don’t want to know, because if I did, all the fun and exploration about making architecture would be destroyed.

VB: The way you use materials has a lot to do with color, right?

WA: Yes, new materials enable me to use colors in new ways. For example, the green on Peckham Library is oxidized copper. I am now working on a project near Barcelona where I am using wood, and it is available in many colors. Working with various materials makes you think of colors.

❝Colored glass casts colorful shadows. If there was no color in my buildings, it would be a completely different experience.32

❞

BLIZARD BUILDING

THE

31

BLIZARD BUILDING

33

Burgundy Opulent, intense, grand.

Brick Red Secure, natural, strong.

Scarlet Red Exciting, dynamic, dramatic.

Fuschia Energetic, theatrical, fun.

❝

Research indicates that seeing red releases

epinephrine in the body, a chemical that causes

you to breathe more rapidly, and your heartbeat,

pulse rate and blood pressure to rise.30

❞

35Source: Colour Ambrose/Harris

BIBLIOGRAPHYAlsop, A. (2010) Putting Colors Together: An Interview with Will Alsop. Interviewed by Vladimir Belogolovsky. [Internet Transcript: Available at: <http://www.archiquotes.info/art/316--putting-colors-together-an-interview-with-will-alsop> [Accessed 3 April 2011] November 30.

Alsop Design/AMEC. (2011) Blizard Building . Available at: <http://www.arcspace.com/architects/alsop/blizard/blizard.html > [Accessed 3 April 2011].

Ambrose, G & Harris, P. (2010) Colour. Lausanne: AVA.

Architecture About. (2011) Adolf Loos and the Shocking Goldman and Salatsch Building in Vienna - Adolf Loos House. Available at: <http://architecture.about.com/od/europ1/a/goldman.htm > [Accessed 3 April 2011].

Bellamy, A. (2004) Systematic/subjective colour selection. Lausanne: AVA.

Braham, W. (2002) Modern Color/Modern Architecture: Amédée Ozenfant and the genealogy of color in modern architecture. Aldershot: Ashgate.

First Base. (2011) Adelaide Wharf. Available at: <http://www.adelaidewharf.com/aw/awbook.html> [Accessed 3 April 2011].

Cumming, R. (1990) The Colour Eye. London: BBC Books.

Hackney Design, Communications & Print. (2009) Hackney Design Awards 2008. Press Release, January 2009.

Hughes, R. (2006) Paradise Now Available at: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2006/mar/20/architecture.modernism1 > [Accessed 3 April 2011]

Koolhaas, R. (2001) Colours. Basel: Birkhäuser.

MacCarthy, F. (2007) House style. Available at: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/nov/17/architecture.art > [Accessed 3 April 2011]

Mahnke, F. (1996) Color, Environment, and Human Response: An Interdisciplinary Understanding of Color and Its Use as a Beneficial Element in the Design of the Architectural Environment. New York: Wiley.

Meerwein, G. (2007) Color: Communication in Architectural Space. Boston: Birkhäuser.

Moore, R. (2005) The East End’s own Pompidou Centre; Architect David Adjaye has designed a bold, beautiful building for Whitechapel that perfectly marries form and function The Evening Standard, September 23, p28.

Leonardi, N. ed. (2010) Plans and Details for Contemporary Architects: Building with Colour. London: Thames & Hudson.

Porter, T. & Mikellides, R. eds. (1976) Colour for Architecture. London: Studio Vista.

Rachel. (2010) Should London’s Tower Bridge be painted red? Gardenvisit [blog] September 28th. Available at: http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/2010/09/28/should-londons-tower-bridge-be-painted-red [Accessed March 10th 2011].

Reed, R . (2010) Color & design : transforming interior space. New York : Fairchild.

Schmidt, P., Tietenberg A & Wollheim, R. (2005). Patterns in design, art and architecture. Basel: Birkhauser.

Shaughnessy, A. (2009) Graphic Design: A User’s Manual. London: Laurence King.

Wong, W. (1997) Principles of color design New York: Wiley.

BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES

37

REFERENCES1 Mahnke, F. (1996) p.16

2 Leonardi, N. ed. (2010) p.171

3 Porter, T. & Mikellides, R. eds., (1976) p.123

4 Braham, W. (2002) p.4

5 Rachel (2010) Blog

6 Mahnke, F. (1996). p.82

7 Schmidt, P., Tietenberg A & Wollheim, R. Braham, W. (2005) p.12.

8 First Base. (2011)

9 Koolhaas, R., (2001) Pg 10

10 Mahnke, F. (1996) p.16.

11 Architecture About (2011)

12 Schmidt, P., Tietenberg A & Wollheim, R. Braham, W. (2005) p.12

13 Schmidt, P., Tietenberg A & Wollheim, R. Braham, W. (2005) p.14

14 Shaughnessy, A.,( 2009) p.194

15 MacCarthy, F, (2007)

16 Hughes, R (2006)

17 Porter, T. and Mikellides, R. eds., pg 42

18 Schmidt, P. Tietenberg A and Wollheim, R. (2005) Pg 15

19 Schmidt, P. Tietenberg A and Wollheim, R. (2005) Pg 15

TEXT CREDITSP11 Moore, R. (2005) The East End’s own Pompidou Centre; Architect David Adjaye has designed a bold, beautiful building for Whitechapel that perfectly marries form and function The Evening Standard, September 23, p28.

P19 Hackney Design, Communications & Print. (2009) Hackney Design Awards 2008. Press Release, January 2009.

P26 Alsop Design/AMEC. (2011) Blizard Building . Available at: <http://www.arcspace.com/architects/alsop/blizard/blizard.html > [Accessed 3 April 2011].

P27 Alsop, A. (2010) Putting Colors Together: An Interview with Will Alsop. Interviewed by Vladimir Belogolovsky. [Internet Transcript: Available at: <http://www.archiquotes.info/art/316--putting-colors-together-an-interview-with-will-alsop> [Accessed 3 April 2011] November 30.

IMAGE CREDITSAll Illustrations Hyde, K. (2011)

20 Porter, T. and Mikellides, R. eds. pg 42

21 Leonardi,. ed. (2010) p.171

22 Koolhaas, R. (2001) p.11

23 Leonardi,. ed (2010) p.171

24 Braham, W. (2002) p.4

25 Mahnke, F. (1996) p.63

26 Moore, R. (2005)

27 Mahnke, F. (1996) p.63

28 Mahnke, F. (1996) p.62

29 Hackney Design, Communications & Print, (2009)

30 Ambrose, G & Harris P. (2010) p108

31 Mahnke, F. (1996) p.61

32 Alsop, W. (2010)

BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES

39

KATE HYDE 2011

COLOUR IN THE CITY

COLOUR BLO CKS