Colour is evocative. It can excite us, elevate our mood or calm us down. So, why is it that there is an almost complete lack of colour in so many of the inside and outside environments we see today? Has colour gone out of fashion? In this article, Project Director and Interior Designer Laurence Orsini explores some of the potential reasons for this, and through projects highlights where colour can add another dimension, enhancing both our perception and enjoyment of spaces.

WHY THE NEUTRALITY?

It would be wide of the mark to propose that bright colour is right in every situation. There are so many beautiful examples of where a combination of light, subtle shifts in material, self-colour, and texture are enough to create the desired atmosphere. However, it is worth considering the reasons why we seem to have seen the trend move away from colour over recent years. The first, I believe, is a tendency towards using tried and trusted palettes of self-finished materials that in the corporate world are often associated with sophistication and kudos. Phrases such as ‘honesty of materials’, ‘creating a timeless design’ or ‘let the people and furniture add colour’ enable designers to shy away from the riskier use of bright colour.

Another reason colour seems to be avoided in design could be to do with the poor associations of its use that spring to mind. These include some post-modern architecture. Here colour was embraced, but sometimes to excess, creating visual confusion and lack of harmony. The use of colour is associated with institutional buildings such as hospitals and schools, particularly pastel colours, where it becomes an inexpensive way to add interest through painted walls. Both have in someways, devalued the currency of colour. On the contrary, we have all probably experienced environments where too many colours have been applied together at the same time, especially in retail where colours compete to attract our attention, resulting in a sensory overload. A literal nightmare for the neurodivergent who tend to prefer muted and pastel hues and neutral tones. In my own experience, applying more than two bold colours together can be problematic and therefore could present another reason for opting for a more neutral and easier colour palette to work with. It will be interesting to see how a greater understanding of designing for neurodiversity, combined with the reuse and recycling of materials will impact future utilisation and application of colour.

Potentially the biggest reason for this reluctance to design with a freedom of colour expression, is that we have simply been following a trend. Fortunately, we appear to be slowly coming out of this phase, as we did with ‘post modernism’ and ‘minimalism’ and other isms. ‘Non-colourism’ is a less obvious trend but is non-the-less a fashion that we will hopefully look back on. Maybe as designers and architects we have become over obsessed by the ‘Scandi’ aesthetic, beautiful in its own way, but not the only kid on the block. Of course, there are always exceptions so by contrast, there are times when the intentional and total removal of colour can become an exciting proposition in itself. As the deliberately ‘super monochrome’ environment of high contrast, courtesy of the New York design Studio Snarkitecture who worked with our US Partners, Crown Architecture on the refurbishment of 530 Broadway. Where like a black and white photograph, the concept emphasises form, shadow and texture, bringing delight without use of colour at all.

CONTRASTING COLOURS
Fortunately, I am part of a practice that looks beyond stylistic trends and embraces colour both internally and externally, as demonstrated in projects such as Solent University, Shinfield Studios, and offices in Gdynia. In each it is the juxtaposition of a single bold colour against a neutral or natural background that creates the most impactful, dynamic and uplifting environments.

RED: At the heart of the atrium in Southampton Solent University’s Spark building, sits a red structure approachable by bridges and known as ‘The Pod’. This not only houses a presentation suite, collaboration spaces (within and on top), but has become an emblem that emphaisises the University’s innovative thinking. Red is used to create a central focus and symbolises the heart of the building complex. Set against articulated white atrium walls, the Pod’s deep red colour is further emphasised by a highly polished surface that reflects its surroundings. Here, colour creates a memorable destination, sense of place, and orientation for the students, staff and visitors.

YELLOW: Shinfield studios is a one million sq.ft film and TV studio facility, where dark grey exteriors have been used to limit the developments impact within its context. On approach a bold yellow portico contrasts with the rest of the buildings, creating a striking set of wayfinding devices that draws the eye and helps to navigate one million square feet of studio space. Scale and boldness of colour therefore enhance the character of the building, while providing a functional clarity to an otherwise potentially overwhelming complex.

BLUE: The Gdynia Offices were designed for a historic financial institution as their satellite space in Poland. The interior design was developed to optimise features of the inherited building, exposing the internal fare-faced concrete walls and most of the concrete soffit, in parallel utilising natural materials for the majority of the internal palette. This all provided the perfect backdrop for a single blast of colour, in this case a sprayed blue soffit and services. Often a soffit is sprayed black with the intention of disguising the services, however, here the sculptural form of the services are highlighted and celebrated. A colourful intervention loved by staff, this helped to reinvigorate and revitalise a workforce that had lost some of its positive culture through the separation and stresses resulting from the covid pandemic lock-down.

JUXTAPOSING COLOURS

While this article does not delve into the extensive subject of colour theory, the aspect of how colours interact is fascinating, with our perceptions changing when one colour is set next to another colour. At Network Rail’s National Centre – The Quadrant, a population of 3,000 staff are housed across four buildings set either side of an internal street. Here, colour contrasts against the external natural finishes of street, but this time in multiple transparent colours. This brings a separate but unified identity to each of the four buildings. With the introduction of coloured film applied to the glazing; a red, blue, yellow and green building appears to visitors and staff, offering simple and intuitive wayfinding across the expansive complex. Here, colour not only provides vibrancy, but also helps to create a sense of

place and aids orientation. The transparency of the optically clear coloured glass means there is also opportunity to view the street through colour from the other side, like rose or blue tinted glasses.
On the other hand, a colourful art installation located in the centre of the entrance hall at 280 High Holborn draws focus away from the reception desk. Creating an impactful first impression, greeting the visitor with a multicoloured display, inspired by the tree canopies of Lincon’s Inn Fields behind the building. Appearing as a giant hearth with a playful array of subtly combined colours; when viewed from a distance these show as multicoloured flames. However when close up, the art piece, by Studio Waller Hewett actually comprises over a thousand individual brightly coloured felt balls. The impact and vibrancy of the coloured balls is highted by the contrast to the surrounding polished concrete frame and natural finishes of the entrance hall. So again, it is colour against a counterpoint neutral and natural that makes the colours sing.
Returning to Schröder House on a sunny day, natural light reflects off the primary colours onto white and grey walls, producing a subtle set of diffused additional colours. This is a magical effect, that I have not seen replicated even by the most sophisticated artificial lighting system, proving that the natural light spectrum of colours offers another palette and dimension ready for us to dive into.

CONCLUSION

This article only scratches the surface of the vast subject of colour use in our environments. Whilst there appears to be many potential reasons to steer away from the bold use of colour rather than embracing it, colour could be back on the agenda this year.  2024 interior design award judges are favouring projects with bold colour, used to great effect, recognising the rewards that colour can bring to our lives.

Let me end with a provocative question; -when you look around…are you getting your colour fix? 

This article was written as part of issue Seventeen of Design Research Unit’s publication IA: Intelligent Architecture, dedicated to the theme: ‘Contrast and Juxtaposition’. To read the issue in full, click here.