Lebanese University
Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture – Hadath
Architecture Department
Sketching and Colors Research
Colored Architecture and The School of Bauhaus
Done by Fatima Sobh, Fatima Jawad, Nour Zahoui, Sara Harb, Joya Ghanem, Lama Deeb,
Amarein El Saidi, Omar Diallo
Professors: Rajaa Hoteit, Talal Al Haj Hasan, Khawla Tfaili
Date: 31-10-2023
Univ. Year
2023-2024
INTRODUCTION
What is Colored Architecture?
All architecture has some color definitely integrated within it, but what sets apart colored
architecture is the profound use of colors; primary, secondary, vivid and lively colors; rather
than abiding to the usual use of neutral tones that are usually muted and reflect the surrounding
environment. Hence, the main element of colored architecture is no other than color.
The Use of Color in Architecture
Working with color is, above all, challenging. When choosing or recommending a finish for
a project, a designer must take into account several variables. How will it shape perceptions?
How will it last over time? How will it respond to the lighting conditions of its location at
different times of day and night? How will its texture and reflectivity impact the surrounding
buildings? This is a decision that will have a significant impact on how the building is
perceived and will shape its relationship with its surroundings. Michael Wilford states "The
reason for introducing color is actually to bring another dimension. To bring joy, delight,
pleasure and to celebrate the fact that there are certain materials that can be colored as
distinct from the use of more natural materials." The architect's main legacy was to embrace
color as a dynamic design tool, enhancing architectural expression and creating a lasting
impact on architectural aesthetics.
Color is often associated with interior projects, but it can also play an equally essential role
in exteriors, influencing the local context and the overall experience of the occupants. Going
far beyond decorative elements, they are powerful communicative tools that can convey
subtle or vivid messages about function, identity and values. In addition, colors can play a
practical role, being used strategically to guide the flow of people, indicate entrances or
exits, and highlight important architectural features, for example. Using a contrasting color
on an entrance door can direct visitors' attention and invite them to explore the interior.
Similarly, architectural details such as columns or ornaments can be emphasized through the
use of different colors, enriching the visual perception of the structure as a whole. Choosing
a specific color or texture can also limit material options. For instance, bold primary colors
might rule out materials like bricks, raw concrete, or natural stone due to their inherent
qualities.
Another extremely important aspect when considering the use of color in exterior
architecture is its ability to create visual focal points that capture attention in a captivating
way. Vibrant, distinctive colors have the power to highlight unique architectural features,
generating a sense of interest and instant attraction. Alternatively, the use of darker colors at
the base of the building can lend a sense of visual lightness. These focal points not only
enrich the aesthetics of the project, but also help the building stand out in the urban context,
giving it memorability and an iconic aura.
THE BAUHAUS
Introduction to Bauhaus
•Founder: Walter Gropius
•The term “Bauhaus” stands for “construction house” in German.
•It is a German art school.
•Was Active between 1919 and 1933.
•The school emphasized the integration of fine arts, crafts, and technology, and had a
significant influence on modernist design principles and the development of functional,
minimalist aesthetics.
•It is characterized by simplicity, functionality, and a focus on the essentials.
•The Bauhaus movement integrated painting, typography, architecture, textile design,
furniture design, theater design, glassmaking, woodworking, and metalworking into its
scholarly repertoire.
•Aims:
-To abolish the “arrogant” distinction between artist and craftsperson by recognizing the
knowledge and skills common to both.
-To mobilize all arts and crafts towards the creation of total design environments.
-To foster links between the school and local manufacturers.
The Influence of Bauhaus on Architecture
1.The basic principle of Bauhaus architecture, “form follows function,”
2.Simplicity
3.Functional Aesthetics
4.Innovative Materials
5.Openness and Adaptability
6.Integration of Arts
Specific characteristics
1.
Cubical or Geometric Shape
2.
Flat Roofs
3.
Innovative Use of Materials
4.
Minimal Ornamentation
5.
Functional Furniture and Interior Design
6.
Focus on Rationality and Simplicity
7.
Integration of Indoor and Outdoor
8.
Open Layout and Functional Spaces
9.
White and Neutral Colors
10.
Large Windows and Natural Light
Bauhaus and Color Theory
The color theory was theorized and taught under four primary, now world-renowned artists:
Johannes Itten, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Josef Albers.
 Wassily Kandinsky’s Color theory
The theory of colors by Kandinsky claims that the colors are causing the human soul to vibrate
and it is a powerful tool to influence human beings as physical organisms. He recalls even
repeated attempts of utilizing the power of colors for treatment of various diseases of the
human nerve system. “Psychologically, says Kandinsky, it has been proven that a red light can
excite and have a stimulating effect on the heart, while the blue color can even cause a
temporary paralysis”. According to Kandinsky, “… color is a means of exercising direct
influence upon the soul. Color is the keyboard. The eye is the hammer, while the soul is a
piano of many strings. The artist is the hand through which the medium of different keys causes
the human soul to vibrate. It is, thus, evident that color harmony can rest only on the principle
of the corresponding vibration of the human soul. This basis can be considered as the principle
of innermost necessity”.
For Wassily Kandinsky, music and color were inextricably tied to one another. So clear was
this relationship that Kandinsky associated each note with an exact hue. He once said, “the
sound of colors is so definite that it would be hard to find anyone who would express bright
yellow with bass notes or dark lake with treble.” In fact, it was after having an unusually visual
response to a performance of Wagner’s composition Lohengrin at the Bolshoi Theatre that he
abandoned his law career to study painting at the prestigious Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
He later described the life-changing experience: “I saw all my colors in spirit, before my eyes.
Wild, almost crazy lines were sketched in front of me.” For Kandinsky, color also had the
ability to put viewers in touch with their spiritual selves. He believed that yellow could disturb,
while blue awakened the highest spiritual aspirations. Just a year before he painted Fragment
2 for Composition VII, Kandinsky wrote Concerning the Spiritual in Art. An important
statement of Kandinsky’s theories on art’s potential to evoke psychological, physical, and
emotional responses, the treatise is considered the first theoretical foundation of abstraction.
 Paul Klee’s Color wheel
The color wheel, invented by Swiss-born German artist
Paul Klee, has been particularly influential in the formation
of contemporary color theory and contemporary art in
general. Klee was an instructor at the Bauhaus school from
1921 until 1931. Influenced by the theories of Goethe,
Runge, Delacroix and Kandinsky, Klee developed his own
colour theory based on a six-part rainbow shaped into a
colour wheel. He placed the complementary colours in
relation to movements that interact with one another, which
shows this theory is based on dynamic transitions.
 Johannes Itten’s Color theory
One of the premier instructors at the Bauhaus school, Johannes Itten was a painter, designer,
teacher, and theorist perhaps best known for his influential ideas about color theory. He was
heavily influenced by mysticism as well as emerging theories surrounding psychoanalysis,
and it is upon these foundations that Itten developed the Preliminary Course of the Bauhaus
school. Notably, this course placed significant emphasis on self-expression and
experimentation rather than traditionalist studies of the Old Masters. Itten fell out with
Gropius in 1923, which resulted in him forming his own art school in Berlin.
The color theory conceived and taught by Johannes Itten was based on a reinterpretation of
the color sphere developed by Romantic painter Philipp Otto Runge. Itten essentially folded
and flattened this sphere in order to view its dark-light polarities on one observable plane. As
part of his theory, Itten identified seven categories of contrast: saturation, light-dark,
extension/proportion, complements, simultaneous, hue, and warm-cool. His color star
modeled several of these categories. It featured six concentric circles, with twelve meridians
extending from their circumference. Each meridian bisects the center of the circles, while an
equatorial zone displays the twelve pure colors from the classic color wheel.
 Josef Alber’s Color theory
Josef Albers was an important artist and educator. His art encompassed virtually every
medium, including photography, printmaking, and murals, but is best known as an abstract
painter and theorist.
Albers defied the standard academic approach of “theory and practice,” focusing instead on
“development of observation and articulation,” with an emphasis not only on seeing color, but
also feeling the relationships between colors. He writes:
-Interaction of Color places practice before theory, which after all, is the conclusion of
practice. … Just as the knowledge of acoustics does not make one musical — neither on the
productive nor on the appreciative side — so no color system by itself can develop one’s
sensitivity for color. This is parallel to the recognition that no theory of composition by itself
leads to the production of music, or of art.
-Colors are in a continuous state of flux and can only be understood in relation to the other
colors that surround them.
-How people see color is highly subjective and varies dramatically between individuals.
THE RELATIVITY OF COLOR
A color has many faces, and one color can be made to appear as two different colors. Here it
is almost unbelievable that the left small and the right small squares are part of the same paper
strip and therefore are the same color. And no normal human eye is able to see both squares
— alike.
•Josef Albers Homage to the Square: Albers investigates the interaction of colours with one
another, adjusting hue, tone and intensity to explore optical effects. In his writings of the period
Albers also examined the psychological effect of such optical experiences on the viewer.
The strictly ordered series of compositions had no real aesthetic value, but they were simply a
means to an end. Since there were endless possibilities to use different colors, the squares were
merely there to show how different colors react to the spaces in which they are used.
Depending on the proximity of the viewer, the colors may appear brighter to some people
while others may seem dimmer. The point is for the audience to perceive the shifting depths
and the different tones embedded in the outer and inner perimeters of the squares.
 De Stijl Movement and its Influence on the Bauhaus
Dutch for “the style,” De Stijl is an art movement founded in the city of Leiden in the
Netherlands. From 1917 to 1931, De Stijl, also known as neoplasticism, was a famous modern
art form that valued abstraction and simplicity. Clean lines, right angles, and primary colors
characterized this aesthetic and art movement expressed via architecture and paintings.
Characteristics of De Stijl Art
1. Straight lines: De Stijl art features clean and straight vertical and horizontal lines that
intersect to form right angles.
2. Primary colors: De Stijl artists used primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—plus black
and white. These colors do not touch or blend, and straight lines typically divide the colors.
3. Thick strokes: The straight lines in De Stijl artworks are typically black lines in thick
strokes to accentuate the division between colors and boxes.
4. Geometric forms: Rectangle and square boxes are standard fixtures of the De Stijl
movement. Simple geometric forms were motifs in many pieces, which echoes in De Stijlinfluenced architecture. Buildings resembling boxes with various compartments exemplify
this art movement.
Influence: De Stijl inspired the Bauhaus style and the
architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, featuring
straight lines and simple colors. Architects working in the
international style were also influenced by De Stijl. The
movement also inspired typography and decorative arts,
including furniture design. To a great extent the two
movements have merged in their huge influence on
subsequent art and design developments.
Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red by
Piet Mondrian (c.1937–1942)
EXAMPLES OF COLORED ARCHITECTURE
1-The Bauhaus Dessau Building
Bauhaus Dessau Building: Designed by Walter
Gropius, the iconic Bauhaus Dessau building features
a functional and minimalist design. The exterior
showcases primary colors, with bold blue and red
elements against a white backdrop, emphasizing the
geometric and functional aspects of the architecture.
2-Villa Savoye
At first glance, the house seems to be floating against a backdrop of greenery on very thin
pilotis. Le Corbusier went as far as to specify for the lower-level walls of the building to be
painted green to emphasize the floating effect of the building by making the lower-level
blend in with the green backdrop. On the lower floor plan, the Villa Savoye has a very eyecatching element: the curved glass façade, which can be seen on the lower level Although
white is the villa's dominant color, the villa seems like a box in the air!
The 8 shades of the "Salubra" range were used for the interiors. The paints created by Le
Corbusier have a matte finish, meet very precise requirements and are still produced today.
physiologically on people.
Le Corbusier warmed up to the idea of using colors, at least indoors, as he believed that color
is a strong mood modifier. He chose the wall colors based on the idea that warm colors are
very stimulating and that cool colors bring calmness. The specific colors that he made use of
on accent walls in the Villa Savoye are light pink, orange, vibrant blue, blue-tinted gray, and
warm brown.
Pale colors bring warmth and light, while stronger hues enhance or conceal.
3-Unite d’Habitation Building
The Marseille Housing Unit, the founding work of architectural Brutalism, is the major test
of a new mode of housing based on the balance between the individual and the collective.
The building takes the form of a residential bar 135 meters long, 24 meters wide and 56
meters high, mounted on stilts. Three hundred and thirty apartments, divided into 23
different types, can accommodate a population of 1,500 to 1,700 inhabitants which have on
the 7th and 8th floor, a shopping street, a hotel-restaurant, and on the terrace of a nursery
school, and sports equipment.
As an example of colored architecture in the Unite d'Habitation each housing unit was given
a specific color palette, with walls and structural elements painted in vibrant hues such as
yellow, red and blue, creating a dramatic contrast with the surroundings, adding vitality and
energy to the residential spaces. In addition, Le Corbusier employed colors at different levels
of saturation and brightness to emphasize architectural elements and highlight the visual
hierarchy within the building.
He used the effect of his colours in the interior of the
Unité d'Habitation – multiple shades individualise the
entrance doors of the apartments, various coloured
elements characterise wall units and kitchens, parts of
the kitchen cabinets appear as a material mix of wood
and colour. Le Corbusier probably used six colours on
the façade and inside the Unité.
4-Kuggen Building by Wingårdh Arkitektkontor
Kuggen is nestled in among Lindholmen’s big office
buildings, like a colorful blossom surrounded by gray
leaves. Its form and color are not immediately revealed. The
round building looks different from every direction. The
upper floors project out over the lower—more on the south
side than on the north, so that the building partially shades
itself when the sun is high in the sky. A rotating screen
shades the top floors, following the sun’s path around the
building. These details change the building’s character from
one side to another, and over the course of the day
5-BioMuseo by Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry’s first Latin American project, designed as an
ode to Panama’s biodiversity, sits on a sprawling nature
reserve at the mouth of the Panama Canal. Inspired by the
country’s tilted tin roofs, the metal canopies of different
shapes and sizes are stacked on top of one another. Inside,
concrete trees merge into sculptural canopies, while the colo
rful design is reminiscent of Panama’s own tropical palette.
6-Sugamo Shinkin Bank by Emmanuelle Moureaux
The French-born, Tokyo-based architect Emmanuelle
Moureaux has never been shy about using color. In fact, it’s a
bit of a trademark. The Sugamo Shinkin Bank is no different.
Here, trees miraculously sprout from paint-chip-encased
planters that evoke depth, vibrancy, and expression. Rising in
Nakaaoki, Japan, the pixelated grid is an excellent addition to
the architect’s Pantone-inspired oeuvre.
CONCLUSION
The Future of Colored Architecture
The focus of the discourses about color in the architectural treatises from the ancient times
until the Renaissance seems to have been put on the material aspects: pigmenta and their
mixtures. As for the discourses of the historians and archeologists of the 19th century, they
are mainly descriptive of the use of color in the past, with a pretension of objectivity. Among
the modern architects of the 20th century we can two kinds of discourse: (a) the architects
who write in a didactical way, giving importance to color studies and appealing to color
science (like Gropius), usually do not make a special use of color in their projects or
building; (b) the architects who have produced polychrome architecture usually write about
color in a rhetorical way (like Taut), trying to convince rather than educate or convey
information or knowledge about color. Finally, among the color reseachers who come from
the field of architecture and design and have been related to the International Color
Association, those who try to build common grounds between color science and color design
are to be highlighted.
There is no doubt that the evolution in the use of color in environmental design in the
future, and thus the research in this field, will have to rely more and more on a fruitful
interaction between scientists and designers. The surveys conducted by Jan Janssens and
Bryon Mikellides on color in architectural education show that there is a severe lack of
knowledge about color research among architecture students. This situation must be reverted.
In this sense, the most important task for the reseachers of environmental color design will
be to act as a nexus between both groups, developing applications of color science in color
design, proposing theoretical hypotheses that could be scientifically tested, and contributing
to the mutual communication by agreeing on terminological matters based on common
grounds. The most interesting scenario we can desire and expect in the years to come is a
true integration of all fields of color research and the sharing of a common language.
"In the future that I hope for there will be more interaction between the arts and sciences in
the field of color. Artists and scientists each have their own way of contributing to knowledge.
I hope we can encourage more artists to join the designers and architects in the AIC. I was
struck by an instance during the congress where an artist and a scientist had come to similar
conclusions, but through their own distinct ways. If there is to be more cooperation between
the disciplines, between people in the sciences and the humanities, and if that is to be
productive, a first move might be to tackle the thorny problem of terminology. It will be a
good way to start if we can learn to speak each other’s color languages." -Paul GreenArmytage in his lecture for th closing session of AIC 2001
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