Strategies in colour choice for architectural built environment

Abstract

In the realisation of a colour design, or of a colour plan, every designer should have the availability of a set of basic tools to prevent him or her from performing prejudicial operations in the territory, in the landscape, in the city, in the neighbourhood, and in the individual building. The same designer should then know some rules in the colour choice that will enhance the built environment. The approach to colour selection depends on many factors, for example the building size and function, the combination of spaces, the urban form, the dimensions of streets, alleys, plazas, squares and so on, but especially the specificity of the place. By this we mean the history, traditions, culture, geographical location, the qualities and weaknesses, the range of possible design/conservation options and all those characteristics that distinguish one place from another. So it should be clear to the designer who faces a chromatic project, that he or she primarily needs a dedicated strategy, different from case to case, specific to each place. The diversity of the places establishes the richness of traditions and customs that should be preserved and/or possibly updated.