COLOR

Part 2
Second Semester, SY 2019 - 2020

Dear Class,

It has been my pleasure to be a part of your studies in TIP Manila.

I hope the following materials can help you in your journey towards
being architects.

The following are my personal compilation. My request is that you

use them only in your studies and not for any other reason.

Thank you class.

Ar. Renee Borromeo

The word color has so many
aspects that it means different
things to a physicist, optician,
psychiatrist, poet, lighting
engineer, and painter….

There are numerous books that

discuss the topic of color.
But, what does
color mean to
an architect?
“Colors acquire
particular associations
on the basis of prior
experience and cultural
background.”
Interior Space: Design Concepts for Personal Needs
By Stuart Miller, Judith K. Schlitt
RED
Effect: exciting, stimulating
Association:
Positive: passionate, fervid, active, strong, warm
Negative: intense, aggressive, raging, fierce, bloody
Character: Red is the most dominant and dynamic color.
The eye actually has to adjust focus, since the natural focal
point of red lies behind the retina. Consequently red
appears closer than it is.
Ceiling: intruding, disturbing, heavy
Walls: aggressive, advancing
Floor: conscious, alert
The color red carries many meanings—it
represents power, love, anger, beauty, fire,
and energy, among other things. It is the
color of the holiday season, and it serves as a
symbol of good luck in Asia.

In architecture, red is arresting….

There are studies
that associate the
color red with
urgency.

Red is also easier to

spot from a
distance, which is
exploited by a lot of
fast food chains.
Some food marketing experts has stated the
red tends to be an appetite stimulant. It’s
effectiveness is magnified when combined
with the color yellow.
BLUE
Effect: retiring, relaxing
Association:
Positive: calm, sober, secure, comfortable, noble
Negative: frightening, depressing, melancholy, cold
Character: Blue appears to be transparent, wet, cool, and
relaxing. Opposite to red, blue will decrease a person’s
blood pressure and pulse rate.
Ceiling: celestial, cool, receding (if light), heavy and
oppressive (if dark)
Walls: cool and distant (if light), encouraging and space
deepening (if dark)
Floor: inspiring feeling of effortless movement (if light),
substantial (if dark)
Blue transmits the feeling of positivity,
confidence, and security. It is often used in
commercial and business spaces, such as
banking agencies, offices and companies.
YELLOW
Effect: cheering
Association:
Positive: sunny, cheerful, radiant, vital
Negative: egocentric, glaring
Character: When pure, yellow is the happiest of all colors.
In radiates warmth, cheerfulness, and inspiration and
signifies enlightenment, and communication.
Ceiling: light (towards lemon), luminous, stimulating
Walls: warm (towards orange), exciting to irritating (highly
saturated)
Floor: elevating, diverting
Psychologically, yellow is often characterized as
making people happy or invigorated and —
whether the designer intended it to or not — it can
underscore such notions for inhabitants when used
in a building.
ORANGE
Effect: exciting, stimulating, cheering
Association:
Positive: jovial, lively, energetic, extroverted
Negative: intrusive, blustering
Character: Orange is less masculine than red. It has very
few negative associations. However, it may appear cheap
or without vigor if low in saturation.
Ceiling: stimulating, attention-seeking
Walls: warm, luminous
Floor: activating, motion-oriented
Orange projects an idea of intensity, creativity,
euphoria, and enthusiasm. It is often used in
creative environments, such as offices, studios, and
schools. If used together with blue, it conveys the
idea of impulsivity and trust, and so is adopted by
banking agencies and offices.
GREEN
Effect: retiring, relaxing
Association:
Positive: tranquil, refreshing, quiet, natural
Negative: common, tiresome, guilty
Character: Contrary to red, green focuses exactly on the
retina, making green the most restful color to the eye.
Green can symbolize nature but also mold and sickness.
Ceiling: protective, reflection on the skin can be
unattractive
Walls: cool, secure, calm, reliable, passive, irritating if
glaring (electric green)
Floor: natural (if not too saturated), soft, relaxing, cold (if
towards blue)
Nowadays it mostly subsumes sustainable architecture and
plant-encrusted buildings. Green is one of the most
interesting architectural colors with its life-giving ability
and a habit of instantly grabbing attention.
Green evokes calm, tranquility, serenity and well-being. It is
regularly used in spaces associated with health and well-
being, such as hospitals and relaxation centers.
VIOLET
Effect: subduing
Association:
Positive: dignified, exclusive
Negative: lonely, mournful, pompous, conceited
Character: Purple is a mixture of red and blue (the two
colors that are psychologically most opposed). Purple can
appear delicate and rich, or unsettling and degenerate.
Ceiling: disconcerting, subduing
Walls: heavy, overpowering
Floor: fleeting, magical
Perhaps one of the least used color in building design,
violet is associated with royalty. It conveys notions of
wealth, sophistication and privilege, it can be a powerful
color choice even in small doses.
PINK
Effect: lively (bubble-gum pink), calming (light pink)
Association:
Positive: lively, calming, intimate
Negative: too sweet, weak
Character: Pink must be handled carefully. It is generally
considered feminine, but depends much on the nuance
used (bubble-gum pink, or old rose)
Ceiling: delicate, comforting
Walls: aggression-inhibiting, intimate, too sweet if not
grayed down
Floor: too delicate, not used very often
In the 1960s, scientist Alexander Schauss wanted to find
out if color could reverse a person's mental state.

He conducted a series of experiments and observations

that compared people's reactions to the colors pink and
blue. He found that a bright Pepto Bismol pink
environment lowered his own blood pressure, pulse and
heart when he viewed the shade.

He thought it could impact human aggression, and

Schauss tested his theory on March 1, 1979 at the U.S.
Naval Correctional Facility in Seattle, Washington.

"It was a huge success."

BROWN
Effect: subduing
Association:
Positive: warm, secure, stable
Negative: oppressive, heavy
Character: There is a great difference between wood and
brown paint. In certain institutions brown is 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
Floor: steady, stable
WHITE
Effect: disconcerning
Association:
Positive: clean, crisp, bright
Negative: empty, sterile
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
Floor: touch-inhibiting (not to be walked upon)
GRAY
Effect: neutral to calming
Association:
Positive: neutral
Negative: boring
Character: Gray fails to have much psychotherapeutic
application. Thus, the current fashion of using it with
various accent walls defies all logic.
Ceiling: shadowy
Walls: neutral to boring
Floor: neutral
BLACK
Effect: ominous
Association:
Positive: deep, abstract
Negative: dungeonlike, night, grief, death
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, dungeonlike
Floor: odd, abstract
 Architects are
different from
artists and
graphic designers
Our colors come
from the materials
we choose to build
with.
We are also concerned
with the texture of the
material and the light
that illuminates the
material.