Architecture and Public Space

Colour at the scale of buildings and streets: façades, heritage districts, hospitals, stations and wayfinding, glare, and the measurable effect of a surface's reflectance on heat.

Separates aesthetic convention, cultural identity, wayfinding function and measurable environmental effect. Room-scale interior advice lives in Interiors.

12 topics · 58 evidence-labelled claims · 34 sources

Buildings and streets

Façades, orientation and daylight, heritage and urban identity.

How do towns and regions decide what colour buildings should be?Mostly they did not decide at all: regional building colour came from local earth, stone, lime and timber, which is why a region'…How do conservators find out what colour a historic building was originally?By architectural paint research: taking tiny samples that contain every layer of paint down to the substrate and examining them i…Why is the Golden Gate Bridge orange?Because its consulting architect, Irving Morrow, liked the red-lead primer he saw on the steel as the towers rose, and after colo…Why does the same façade colour look different on north- and south-facing walls?Because the two walls are lit by different light.

Colour that does a job

Wayfinding, visual contrast, schools and healthcare settings.

How much colour contrast do doors, walls and floors need for people with low vision?UK guidance measures it as a difference in light reflectance value (LRV), not as a difference in hue: Approved Document M treats…Does the colour of a hospital affect patients?The evidence that particular colours improve clinical outcomes is weak and mixed.Does the colour of a classroom affect how well children learn?Slightly, as far as the best study can tell, and not in the way colour charts suggest.Does colour coding help people find their way around buildings?It helps as a secondary cue: a colour tied to a zone, floor or route lets people confirm they are in the right place and remember…How were the London Underground line colours chosen?They grew up with the map rather than being designed all at once.

Measurable effects

Reflectance, heat and glare.

How much cooler is a white roof than a dark one?A lot, on a sunny day: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Heat Island Group reports that a clean white roof reflecting 80% o…Why do some buildings cause dazzling glare?Because they reflect sunlight or bright lamps specularly — like a mirror — rather than diffusely, sending a concentrated beam tow…Why do cities look a different colour at night than they used to?Because the lamps changed.