‘Colour is inevitable!’ Chilean researcher Elisa Cordero on the role of colour in architecture and urban space

In architecture, colour is as powerful a tool as the plan and the section. Or rather, polychromy is an integral part of the plan and the section itself,’ said the architect and artist Le Corbusier. In addition to the formal design of space, materials and colours shape the perception of urban space and architecture. Their effect therefore influences the well-being of the people who use these spaces every day. Under the theme ‘Colour – Public Space – Wellbeing’, architecture students at the Institute for Landscape Architecture at Technische Universität Braunschweig were trained in the productive use of various media to experimentally investigate the topic of wellbeing in public spaces. The students approached the places to be studied both photographically and spatially with the publication ‘Landscape for Architects’ and atmospherically with sketches, collages and watercolours. These analytical strategies were first tested on the campus of TU Braunschweig and then applied to urban situations in Berlin in a four-day intensive workshop. The seminar was led by photographer Hanns Joosten and Chilean graphic designer Elisa Cordero-Jahr, whose research focuses on colour.

Ms Cordero-Jahr, what role does colour play in architecture and urban space?

Colour is something we perceive very quickly, it is immediate, like music or smells. Urban space is made up of architecture, streets and nature, such as rivers, trees, plants, etc. All this surrounds us, we live in it and it all has colour.

These colours that surround us create a chromatic atmosphere that directly influences us, although almost always unconsciously. Architect Peter Zumthor says that it affects our emotions. In architecture, for example, entering a room painted red is very different from entering a room painted blue. The different wavelengths of each colour affect us physically. On the other hand, colour is also communication; it gives us information.

This is a result of human evolution, in which we have learned to distinguish, for example, a ripe fruit from an unripe one by its colour. We also give colours a cultural meaning, for example, red means violence or passion for many people, but also communism and other things that each culture gives them. The role of colour in architecture and public spaces is therefore complex and needs to be considered and designed on a case-by-case basis.

How does colour influence people’s perception and behaviour in urban spaces?

Colour is an integral part of public spaces, colour is inevitable. The French designer Jean Philippe Lenclos says that there are three types of colour in cities: the fixed colours of the built environment (architecture, streets), the mobile colours, such as people or cars that are constantly moving, and the light of the sky and water, such as lakes or rivers. Even nature in cities (trees, plants) has colour. All these factors contribute to the chromatic atmosphere of urban space. Every city, every neighbourhood has its own chromatic atmosphere, some are more colourful and others more neutral.

In Norway, many neighbourhoods are currently changing the bright colours of their houses, such as yellow, red or blue, to the trendy colour grey. They have a very long and dark winter, and grey is certainly not a colour that will brighten their winter. Maybe it causes health problems, we don’t know yet. This is being studied by two architects called Alex Brooker and Kine Agelo. They call it the ‘greying of Norway’.

The green colour of trees makes a neighbourhood look more positive, providing shade in the summer and adding movement to static architecture. Trees that turn orange or red in the autumn and then lose their leaves also give the streets a sense of dynamism. On the other hand, poorly lit areas with muted colours can feel unsafe.

 

 

Insights into the intensive workshop in Berlin. Video: Nebelräuber Berlin

Are there historical examples where colour has played a particularly important role in architecture or public spaces?

During the Renaissance, Italian villas were painted with yellow ochre, which was extracted from local minerals. At the same time, houses in Sweden were painted with a natural mineral called Falun red (also known as Sweden red). In Germany, the colour yellow may also have played an important role in bringing a bit of Italian sunshine to the dark northern cities. These natural materials, pure or mixed with each other and with lime, coloured the cities and gave their inhabitants an identity.

Other towns were built entirely of wood, and others of mud. Each city was built with local materials and this was part of its identity. Today, in a globalised world, cities resemble each other. International architecture can be found in all of them. The current fashionable colours in architecture are grey, light and dark, and even black. There were times when pink was used, in others green, and so on. A historical example in Latin America is the red colour of the Mayan pyramids in Mexico, symbolising the life-giving energy of blood. In Egypt, on the other hand, we know that the pyramids of Giza were painted white, representing the sacred. The Taj Mahal in India is also white for religious reasons.

How can colour contribute to the design of urban spaces to make them more inclusive and accessible?

Inclusivity can be achieved by involving people and neighbours in the choice of colours for the urban space. This can be done through participatory workshops where people who live in the area can choose the colours. I have experience with the colour design of social housing in Chile, where we were able to paint the houses in the colours that people themselves had chosen as their favourites, because they associated them with positive emotions or sensations that they had discovered for themselves.

Are there any colour combinations or patterns that are particularly problematic in public spaces?

Dark colours in narrow streets make the surroundings seem even darker. If all the houses are grey, the city loses its personality. It becomes flat and boring. Each building has its own details, its own personality. Colour brings that out. I hope that the colour is chosen in relation to the other buildings. If colour is neglected, it quickly looks spooky, especially in poorly lit streets. However, this is also subjective, as a house in which the old colours are appreciated as witnesses to the passage of time can be a heritage, as long as it is maintained and appreciated as such.

How can colours help to improve the perception of safety and well-being in the city? Can you give a positive example?

In my opinion, it is first and foremost about taking care of public spaces, which means keeping buildings and streets in good condition. Well-being is created in a well-maintained space, which includes the facades of houses (which are private) as well as gardens (private and public), trees, the condition of pavements, cleanliness and lighting. Bright colours help to brighten up narrow streets, trees provide shade on sunny days, flowers bring colour in the spring and wide pavements offer the opportunity to place street furniture such as small benches where people can sit, rest and perhaps have a chat.

Many years ago, NASA conducted a study to find the ideal colour for a lunar base. After a long period of research, they came to the conclusion that there was no single colour, but that the secret lay in the combination. The colours had to be placed in such a small space that they gave the feeling that it was always a new space. Valparaíso in Chile is a good example. It’s a port city on a hill, with lots of nooks and crannies, changing every moment. It’s always different, even though it’s the same city.

Do you have a favourite colour?

At the moment it’s turquoise. And I like to combine it with dark, warm pink. I also like silver. In general, I like colour combinations more than single colours.

Thank you very much!