Colour Composition and Visual Tectonics in Facades; Adapting Colour Teaching to Current Architectural Practice

Abstract

In Norway, this last decade has seen a steadily increasing demand for knowledge of how to use colour in an architectural context, and this paper will focus on the application of colour theory in building façade design. In architecture, colour theory is a body of practical guidance to  the visual effects of a specific colour combination creating a logical structure for colour, how we can organize them, and how colours can be used to enhance architectonic intent. Current architectural education largely focusses on the tectonic, as in relating to building and construction, and on the formal aspects of the visual tectonic, but until very recently, the teaching has devoted little focus to the visual tectonics of colour. As most research estimates that approximately eighty percent of our perception, learning, cognition, and activities are mediated through vision, with form and colour being a key feature, it could be argued that we should put more emphasis on the visual qualities of colour of architecture, i.e., inherent or applied. This paper will discuss how developing an under-standing of colour theory and implementation relevant to architectural education and practice in Norway is changing both students and professional practitioners’ attitudes towards the use of colour in architectural projects, giving examples from the recent years colour teaching at NTNU and professional implementation by the authors.