Architectural Colour in the Professional Palette

Fiona McLachlan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781136327582
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture Essays & Monographs

How do architects use color? Do they adopt a different strategy or starting point for every project? Do they gradually cultivate individual color palettes, which develop alongside their body of built work? Do they utilize, or are they aware of, the body of theoretical work that underpins the use of color in the past, and forms the basis of most of the color systems commercially available today?

Informed by the author's thirty years in architectural practice and academia, this book investigates, documents and analyzes the work of a number of contemporary architects in order to respond to these questions and provide a clear reference of contemporary color use. The book suggests a holistic approach to the integration of color in architecture; through a series of thematic essays, the text explores and reveals underlying principles in color design and application. Case studies include:

• AHMM
• Caruso St John
• Erich Wiesner and Otto Steidle
• Gigon/Guyer
• O'Donnell + Tuomey
• Sauerbruch Hutton
• Steven Holl
• UN Studio.

The book provides clear insights into how particular contemporary architects use color confidently and intelligently as an integral part of their design philosophy, in conjunction with their choices of materials and finishes.

Offering a stimulating view of the history of color theory, and pragmatic advice to practicing architects, this book will be inspiring to both design professionals and students.

Index

Page numbers in italic indicate photographs / drawings

accuracy / precision 105, 182, 191

achromatopsia 151

Adelaide Wharf flats, London 123–4, 135

aesthetic judgement 50, 112, 147, 150

Agora Theatre, Lelystad, Netherlands 13, 159, 165–70, 166–7, 170

AHMM Architects 12, 118–35, 118, 120–1, 124–6, 129–31, 193

Akzo-Nobel / ICI / Dulux 123, 180, 192

Albers, Josef 5, 11, 87, 91, 128, 140, 151, 154–5, 184, 189, 193

Alsop, Will 63, 63, 164

ambiguity / doubt 12, 18, 97–8, 101, 117, 140, 147, 155, 170

An Gaelárus Cultural Centre for the Irish Language, Derry, Northern Ireland 48, 58, 61

Angel office building, Islington, London 128

Aristotle 178

artists, influence of 64–9, 194

artist/architects collaborations 63–4, 71–81, 104, 128–9

authority 9, 69–70, 89, 117, 128, 147–8, 174, 186

Bach, Johann Sebastian 72, 152

Balabanoff, Doreen 90–1, 91

Ball, Philip 19–20

Barking Central, London 118, 120, 128

Barragán, Luis 59, 96, 140

Batchelor, David 1, 69, 93

Bauhaus, the 5, 52, 53, 140, 164, 186, 219, 220

Behnisch, Günther 64, 73

Berlage, Hendrix Petrus 26, 145

Birren, Faber 32, 101, 132,...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Preface
• Dedication
• ONE Introduction: investigations in the professional palette
• TWO Colour, form and material surface
• THREE The unattainable myth of novelty: Caruso St John
• FOUR An intuitive palette: O’Donnell + Tuomey
• FIVE Who’s afraid of red, yellow and blue? Erich Wiesner and Otto Steidle
• SIX Place, space, colour and light: Steven Holl
• SEVEN Surface and edge: Gigon/Guyer
• EIGHT Memories, associations and the brightness of yellow: AHMM
• NINE Synergies and discords: Sauerbruch Hutton
• TEN Transformational, instrumental colour: UN Studio
• ELEVEN Navigation, communication and language
• TWELVE Playing space: laws, rules and prescription
• Acknowledgements
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Image credits
• Index