The Importance of Color Palettes in Architectural Design
The Importance of Color Palettes in Architectural Design
Besides thermal, acoustic and luminous comfort, colors are factors that influence the sensation we feel when in an environment and become a strong device to influence the user’s behavior.
Far beyond aesthetic preferences, the use of certain colors can bring different meanings that cover other fields such as psychology or symbology. Therefore, it is known that a color does not depend only on light and environment, but also on the perception we have of it. The German Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, who has deepened his study of the Theory of Colors, points out that the identification of tones is subjective, but the effects are universal. As an example, the warm colors (red, yellow and orange) are more dynamic and cause feelings of comfort and stimulus in people, while the cold colors (green, purple and blue) have a softer, soothing and static effect. Therefore, creating a color palette is a possibility to generate different sensations in the perception of space.
In the architecture field, the possibilities are infinite – contrasts between different materials and colors, different tendencies such as pastel or neon tones, or even acromatism. In any case, colors are a fundamental tool to intensify or diminish the presence of elements, facilitate or complicate the reading of the environment as a whole. For this reason, we have selected some projects that are colored in different ways and we highlight the chosen palettes as a way to exemplify the different sensations that can be generated in the viewer.
Riviera Cabin / llabb
Mixtape Apartment / AZAB
Latino Coelho Apartments / Manuel Tojal Architects
NOON afterschool / TACO taller de arquitectura contextual
Ne_On Apartment / NestSpace Design
Single Family House / Brandt + Simon Architekten
Casa Praia Vermelha / Nitsche Arquitetos
Nagatacho Apartment / Adam Nathaniel Furman
Images d’Orient / Rabih Geha Architects
Can Picafort / TEd’A arquitectes
Lavabo Tri Suave / Marília Zimmermann Arquitetura e Interiores
Paredes de Coura / Escritório de Arquitetos
GMG House / Pedro Gadanho
BOX 298 Building / Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados
House TEC 205 / Moneo Brock Studio
Did you know that it is possible to search for projects by their colors in ArchDaily? Click on one of these and see how easy it is: pink, red, orange, blue, green, yellow, black, gray, white.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June 2020, and updated in April 2022.