Colors and their perceptions are

responsible for a series of conscious

and subconscious stimuli in our
psycho-spatial relationship.

Despite its presence and its variations,

it is present in all places.
What is its role is in architecture?
As well as the constructive elements that make
up an architectural object,

the application of colors on

surfaces also influences the
user's experience of the
space.
“the goals of color design in an
architectural space are not
relegated to decoration alone”
Chromatic Energy of
Architectural Design
 Chromatic
• Came from the Greek word “chromatikos”
which means “color”
• Anything related to color or color phenomena
 Energy
• Came from the Greek word “energos” which
means “active”
• The capacity of acting or being active
COLOR.
Color
Is a phenomenon of light or visual
perception that enables one to
differentiate otherwise identical
objects.
The aspect of appearance of objects
and light sources that may be
described in terms of hue, brightness,
and saturation for light source
 Color Wheel
A Color Wheel or color circle is an
abstract illustrative organization of
color hues around a circle that
shows relationships between
primary colors, secondary colors,
complementary colors.
 PRIMARY COLORS
Red, Yellow and Blue
 SECONDARY COLORS
Orange, Violet and Green
 COMPLIMENTARY COLORS
Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange,
Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Blue-
Violet and Red-Violet.
Colors do not exist without the
presence of light
 LIGHT
Light is something that makes
vision possible.
Light gives life, and beauty to
Architectural Designs
"color has no material existence: it
is only the sensation produced by
certain nervous organizations
under the action of light, with
more precision, the action
provoked by the action of the light
on the organ of vision."
– Israel Pedrosa, Da Cor à Cor Inexistente
 The architect must consider the color effect
of every element of a building’s construction,
from the earthy colors of primary
construction materials like wood, stone,
brick, and marble, to the expansive variety
of colors available for paint, doors, windows,
siding, and trim.
Colors have psychological effects
upon people:
- Colors reflect people’s attitude or
their other views in life.
- Color is often associated with a
person’s emotions.
- Color may also influence a
person’s mental or physical state.
The impression of a color and the message it
conveys is of utmost importance in creating
the psychological mood or ambiance that
supports the function of a space.
"A colorful sensation is produced
by the nuances of light refracted or
reflected by a material, commonly
the word color is designated to
those shades that function as
stimuli in a chromatic sensation.“
- Israel Pedrosa
Well-Known Names from the History of
Architecture:
• Luis Barragá - color demonstrates spatial purity
as an element that evokes emotions
• Siza Vieira - adheres to the achromatism of
surfaces
• Lina Bo Bardi - uses red in some architectural
elements
• Legorreta - adopts exuberant colors, which are
inspired by Mexican culture.
If we create an environment with walls, floors, and
neutral ceilings, when we apply certain colors on
the different surfaces, we get different visual
effects. For example, if we apply a darker shade on
the ceiling, the sensation of a lower space is
generated; if we apply color to the central wall of
space, the idea of a certain "spatial shortening" is
created visually; whereas, if it is applied to all
walls, the perception of a space longer than it
really is, is produced.
If only the lateral walls of the space are painted,
there is a noted perception of narrowing;
otherwise, when painting the central wall and
ceiling in the same hue, the environment seems to
expand. If you are looking to lower the height of
the space or put the focus at the height of the
observer's gaze, then painting all the surfaces at
half height, and putting the darker tones on the
upper surfaces gives us this desired effect.
PSYCHOLOGY OF COLORS
Two Main Categories of Colors
• WARM COLORS – such as red, yellow, orange
• Can spark a variety of emotions ranging from
comfort to warmth to hostility and anger.
• COOL COLORS – such as green, blue, and purple
• Often spark feelings of calmness as well as
sadness.
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
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
GREEN
Effect: retiring, relaxing
Association:
Positive: tranquil, refreshing, quiet, natural
Negative: common, tiresome, guilty
Character: Contrary to red, when looking at green the
eye focuses exactly on the retina, which makes 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)
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)
PURPLE
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
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
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 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
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
 the effect of these colors also
depends on their position and
context, since colors are almost
never seen in isolation.
How Colors are used in Projects:
• In children's projects, colors are used to
motivate the child's psychological and
sensory development.
• In hospital projects or the field of health,
colors are used as a complementary
element for the rehabilitation of patients
• In urban projects, colors are sometimes
used to restore liveliness and to renovate
deteriorated spaces
Good Architects must always consider
his/her client’s preferred color of the
structure because it will affect his/her mood.

But Good Architects must also know how to

combine colors or in order to give life to the
structure.
Color is an integral element in architecture; it
is not only important aesthetically, but it also
has a great psycho-sensory importance.

Use it wisely in your projects!

https://www.archdaily.com/895498/the-role-of-color-in-architecture-visual-effects-
and-psychological-stimuli
[1] (PEDROSA, p.98, 2009)
[2] (PEDROSA, p.20, 2009)
PEDROSA, Israel. Da Cor à Cor Inexistente. São Paulo: Senac, 2009.
https://medium.com/studiotmd/the-perception-of-color-in-architecture-
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