Colour in Architecture

What if, you were asked the colour of your favorite building? It would take a while to answer because the question would instantly make you walk down the streets of your city, the cafes and bookstores, or the tourist spots. You would also have a list of places that make you say, “I feel good coming here” or “everything here is a little disturbing.” Your mood is often influenced by the colours surrounding you. You may not consciously notice the colours in a shopping mall but, your mind perceives all the shades and that has an effect on your mood.  

Since decades, studies are being conducted to understand the effects of colours on human psychology, which has now become a very important part in the architectural designing and development. It has been proven that abstruse patterns or dull colours can cause stress, disturbance or low mood. Whereas, a combination of pleasant colours and patterns can stimulate positive emotions and improve social interactions. Colour therapy or “colour cure” was popularly used in the 20th century to cure mental illness. 

“Patients with acute mania were put in black rooms, patients with melancholia in red rooms; blue and green rooms for the boisterous, and a white room for the person who is practically well." 

- Use Colors to Cure Insane, New York Times, October 26, 1902. 

Colours have always had an impact on the sensory perception. In the 18 century, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a book called Theory of Colours which was written by a poet’s perspective on the nature of colours and its human perception. When, in the 1960s, the psychological and physiological effects of colours was being taken into consideration, Faber Birren (1900-1988) followed Goethe’s footsteps and started extensive research on the human response and perception to colours. He wrote over 20 books and more than 200 articles on this subject. 

Of course, individually, every person responds to colours differently and thus, designers cannot take every individual’s response when making a plan. However, the designs are curated keeping in mind the responses of the majority. Here’s a list of 11 colours that are commonly used in the architecture and interior designing palettes. 

RED 
Effect: exciting, vibrant, intense, stimulating 
Positive association: passionate, active, strong 
Negative association: aggressive, raging, fierce 
Character: A bright, dominant and dynamic colour. The eye adjusts it’s focus when looking at the colour because it is brighter than the natural light. As a consequence, the colour appears closer than it is.  
Ceiling: intruding, disturbing, heavy 
Walls: aggressive, advancing 

BROWN 
Effect: resilience, steady, dependable, safe 
Positive association: warm, secure, stable 
Negative association: oppressive, overbearing, dominating 
Character: There is a great difference between wood and brown paint. In certain institutions brown should be avoided since it evokes fecal associations. Wood and stone on the other hand appear very comfortable, and warm. 
Ceiling: oppressive and heavy (if dark) 
Walls: secure and assuring if wood, much less so if paint 

ORANGE 
Effect: energetic, cheerful, exciting, stimulating 
Positive association: jovial, lively, extroverted 
Negative association: intrusive, blustering, overbearing 
Character: Because it is not as bright as the colour red, it has less negative associations. However, the colour may appear dull if it’s low in saturation, which can make the appearance look old and faded. 
Ceiling: stimulating, attention-seeking 
Walls: warm, luminous 

YELLOW 
Effect: Cheerful, upbeat, happy, elevating 
Positive association: glowing, radiant, vital 
Negative association: egocentric, glaring, gaudy 
Character: A plain yellow is a symbol of happiness. It radiates warmth and feels welcoming to look at. It can come off as ‘too much’ at times. 
Ceiling: light (towards lemon), luminous, stimulating 
Walls: warm (towards orange), exciting to irritating (highly saturated) 

GREEN 
Effect: Relaxing, calm, refreshing, soft 
Positive association: tranquil, quiet, natural 
Negative association: common, tiresome, dull 
Character: Contrary to red, the eyes can focus exactly when they look at the colour green, which makes green the most restful color to the eye. Green can symbolize nature and calm or weakness. 
Ceiling: protective, reflection on the skin can be unattractive 
Walls: cool, secure, calm, reliable, passive, irritating if glaring (electric green) 

BLUE 
Effect: Soothing, relaxing, spiritual, safe 
Positive association: calm, sober, comfortable 
Negative association: depressing, melancholy, cold 
Character: Blue feels transparent, cool, and relaxing. Opposite to red, blue will decrease a person’s blood pressure and pulse rate. However, too much can instigate a feeling of depression and bring down the mood. 
Ceiling: celestial, cool, receding (if light), heavy and oppressive (if dark) 
Walls: cool and distant (if light), encouraging and space deepening (if dark) 

PURPLE 
Effect: Subduing, fleeting, exaggerating, tasteful 
Positive association: dignified, exclusive, royal 
Negative association: lonely, mournful, conceited 
Character: A mixture of red and blue (the two colors that are psychologically most opposed), Purple can appear delicate and rich, or unsettling, distasteful and degenerate. 
Ceiling: disconcerting, subduing 
Walls: heavy, overpowering 

PINK 
Effect: welcoming (bubble-gum pink), friendly (light pink), harmonious, hopeful 
Positive association: lively, calming, intimate 
Negative association: too soft, weak, 
Character: Pink is usually considered as feminine, but depends on its use and tones and combination. Ceiling: delicate, comforting 
Walls: aggression-inhibiting, intimate 

WHITE 
Effect: pure, cleanliness, safety, goodness 
Positive association: neat, crisp, bright 
Negative association: empty, sterile, mundane 
Character: There are a lot of psychological and physiological justifications for not using white as a dominant color. 
Ceiling: empty, no design objections-helps diffuse light sources and reduce shadows 
Walls: neutral to empty, sterile, without energy 

GRAY 
Effect: neutral, calming, conservative, sophisticated 
Positive association: neutral, soothing, clean 
Negative association: boring, dingy, dirty 
Character: Gray does not have too much of psychotherapeutic application.  
Ceiling: shadowy 
Walls: neutral, dull, boring 

BLACK 
Effect: ominous, powerful, sleek, smart 
Positive association: deep, abstract, sophisticated 
Negative association: grief, death, unhappiness 
Character: Black is associated with oppressive power, darkness, and the unknown. In architecture it is often used to make something appear as receding, such as the HVAC in a ceiling. 
Ceiling: hollow to oppressive 
Walls: ominous  

The aforementioned list of colours and their effects depend upon the design plan. The use of colours in relation to whether they are being used in the interiors or the exterior of a building, the hue and tone of colours and location, play a very important role. Colours are more than just decoration – they create an experience. Therefore, when designing or decorating, special consideration should be given to the right colour palette, keeping in mind the health and welfare of the people.