Colors and Architecture

   After Thursday’s lecture on colors and color theory, the first thing I thought of was Hans Scharoun’s “The Philharmonie” in Berlin, Germany.  Reading about this structure, I couldn’t figure out why the architect chose the color yellow.  Granted, it’s eye catching.  I mean, how can you not notice bright yellow geometrically shaped walls?  But, I also wonder if this goes beyond the visual into the realm of emotional.  This building was designed during the second World War, a sad, horrifying and grief stricken period for all.  So I can’t help but wonder if Scharoun deliberately made the building yellow, to convey the emotion of ‘happy’ in a time when it was greatly needed.

    A color emotion study was published in 2004 in which basically explains that every color will have a different impact on each individual (which incorporates our homework assignment), but there are averages to what people feel regarding a specific color.

Yellow: Happy, energetic

Red: Angry, excited

Green: Calm, happy, peaceful

Purple: Calm, tired

Blue: Calm, sad

White: Empty, void

Black: Depressed

Grey: Bored

   I won’t pretend to understand Scharoun’s psyche and falsely assume that post war trauma was the cause of his color choice of the Philharmonie.  But I feel it’s a decent educated guess.

   So I guess we should all consider color and how it relates to our emotional nature the next time we create wonderful works of art, and in time, buildings!

— Kristy