Environmental Light and Colour

Sally Osborne - Colour Consultant MVA (Griffith University).
Projects include:- Couran Cove Eco Cabins, Sports Super Centre Runaway Bay,
Colour Palette for Currumbin Valley Eco Village, Lawson Street Byron Bay,
Medical Centre Morningside.

Colour: A Valuable Tool for Architectural Design

As colour is the first thing we see and instantly conveys a cultural and social context, it is a significant factor in any building project. This is evident in the variety of significantly different regional colour responses throughout the world which convey cultural, religious and social identity. For example, compare the colours of India with those of Japan.

The specific quality of light of a region is the first determinant of its appropriate colour. We can readily appreciate this if we compare the strong bleaching light of Brisbane Queensland for example with English light and colour. Other environmental factors of soil colour, climate and vegetation also contribute to the regional colour palette.

Why Choose a Site Colour Palette

An environmental colour analysis of a site produces a Site Colour Palette from which colour decisions can be based. If, for example, it is a sporting complex, it would provide cohesion of identity and a reference for such decisions as major architectural colour elements, to colour for graphics, signage and landscape elements.

Creating and Using a Site Colour Palette

An environmental colour study will include a colour analysis of the site (including seasonal variations) and a synthesis of this information with the social colour preference of the region to create the Site Palette which becomes the master reference palette for all introduced colour. As a reference palette it provides the basis upon which colour intentions can be ensured as it is the background into which new colour will be introduced and the complex interactions of harmonies and discords, psychological and social responses trialed.

Colour can transform an environment and resolve within itself many complex aspects of the physical design as well as psychological and social design intentions. It is the interface of the physical with the metaphysical and as such is a very powerful energy and significant aspect of any project.

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