Red on red: a framework for the interaction of colour in the built environment

Abstract

This project is based on a proposal for a temporary experimental installation for the International Garden Festival at Les Jardins de Métis in Grand-Metis, Quebec, Canada. Building upon Josef Albers’s seminal primer on colour theory, Interaction of Color, the garden project was designed to establish a new framework for experiencing and testing colour perception and sensation in a larger field. This research examines the hypothesis, that the Interaction of Color is valuable architecturally, aesthetically, and in terms of performance, both in interior architecture and in architecture generally. The effect of colour can be increased without changing people’s perceptions of the colour in a space by understanding the interaction of colour with the larger built environment in nature or within larger fields. The proposed research project focuses on the connection between design principles and colour interaction in order to develop understanding of how to optimise spatial efficiency, performance, and visual comfort. This research further explores through the process of testing and evaluation of experiments in various scales and media (rendering, collage, mock-up, etc.) the potential for using colours to expand, confuse, conceal, and misrepresent built three-dimensional forms.