Colour can be a transformative tool to add joy, variety, and legibility to space, but is often rejected or ignored during the design process in favour of neutral tones, perceived as practical and ‘default’. In striving for inoffensiveness, multiple opportunities have been lost to use one of the greatest tools in an architect’s arsenal. A wall painted bright orange might look yellow in the morning and blaze bright red at sunset, however no such emotional variety could be experienced on a white wall, as the sun moves across the sky. 

 

Architects such as Bruno Taut used colour to challenge the conventional image of social housing - grey, monolithic, cheaply constructed boxes - and imbued residents with a sense of pride and ownership, simply through the economic means of paint and render. In the case of the Zehlendorf estate in Berlin’s outskirts, the repeating blocks were individually painted in strong colours, depending on their orientation to the sun. Smaller details such as window frames and doors were painted contrasting colours, to be enjoyed by those walking closer to the building. Beyond its aesthetic benefits, this strategy also helped improve visitor navigation.

Zehendorf estate / Bruno Taut © Helena Howard, Hawkins\Brown

The need to use colour as a means of challenging negative associations and improving accessibility is especially true in healthcare buildings, where visitors are not typically there through choice, but through necessity. When visitors are dealing with potentially life-changing news, it is vital that the environment is comforting and non-institutional. Like Taut, we argue that colour has the potential to lift spirits, and thus deserves more imaginative exploration of how it can be utilised.

 

As part of our long-running enquiry into the use of colour in the built environment, we are currently undertaking practical research into the application of colour in one of our buildings - the QS Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Headquarters in London. The building is under construction and due for completion in 2024, containing laboratories and offices alongside a clinical outpatient facility.

The UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Headquarters CGI © Hawkins\Brown Digital Studio

Collaborating with UCL academics, clinicians, lighting engineers, patient groups, and contractors, this work has concentrated on three specific areas of enquiry: the visual and neurological experiences of dementia patients; the environmental phenomena affecting the perception and rendering of colour (i.e., light); and the physical design of the building as a surface for colour.

 

This has led to a complex study in developing a holistic colour strategy that provides suitable visual contrast, without being compromised by the wonderful, yet challenging nature of changing natural daylight. We have also learned the importance of combining the speed of 360 rendering software with the truthful nature of physical samples, in helping us make good decisions.

The UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Headquarters CGI © Hawkins\Brown Digital Studio