OUT OF THE BLUE out of the blue A project about colour in interior architecture, focussing on the connection between colour and light and the people who perceive these phenomenons. The result is a colour palette for a bath which is not complete without the skin colour of the viewer.
my motivation During my studies in interior architecture I have found that the topic of colour is something one often does not deal with until the very end of a project. Colour is looked upon as something that only “adds to” a final result. Reflections about colour are sometimes not included at all. Thus I wanted to do a project that had its main focus on colour. Colour palettes are often presented as only as colour swatches and material samples, and to me this does not say much about the actual power colour has in a spatial context. I wanted to find out how I could work with colours in a different way.
colours
A significant part of the process I spent observing, experimenting and learning about different aspects of colours. During this time I learned how diverse the subject of colours is (I started to see beyond surface colour or chemical colour and explored physical and physiological colour) and I began to understand the rules behind using colours.
colours in context In order to start working with colours myself, I needed a context to investigate how colours work in a certain situation and how they relate to people. I looked for a space or building – a case study – where I could try out different approaches of working with colour. I chose to work with Sagene Folkebad because people are especially sensitive to the atmosphere in baths, which includes the colours that are used. The bath was a tool for me to try out my ideas. The process consisted of two parts: 1. analysing Sagene Folkebad; 2. developing a colour palette. These two were happening simultaneously and influenced each other at all times. At first I started out with the tools and methods I had as an interior architect: analysing the plans, rethinking the organisation of the bath and making models to try out my ideas. I found out that I needed to create new ways of working to work with colour in space. Instead of tools for organising and planning I started to develop tools for experiencing. I did this by using a method of experimentation close to Goethe’s: by observing empirically, reproducing the phenomenon experimentally and drawing syntheses that open up for other experiments. 1. Analysing tools: visit the space at regular times to see how the light and colours change; asking people about their experiences; my own experiences; mapping out where people use
different senses; mapping of mobility; mapping of sunlight (mapping of unique moments). 2. Developing colour palettes: sketching to generate ideas; models and small movies to understand how you move from one colour combination to the next; colour swatches (colourAid); coloured foils to change the colour of the light. The result of this process were 4 colour palettes and atmosphere descriptions for 4 specific areas at Sagene Folkebad.
colour me... After all this research, it did not make sense to present a series of colour swatches of the colours I propose at Sagene Folkebad. Instead I created an installation that resonates with my way of thinking about colour. Colour changes so much, and it is really hard to predict how a colour will look in a certain place. I want to embrace this quality and focus on making this change visible.
outcomes My initial ideas about this project contained most of what I studied, but at the time I did not understand what I actually wanted to do and how. I want to create experiences for people by emphasising what happens when colour and light interact. For this project, I worked with a bathing house where people are especially sensitive to their environment. Working with colours in a different context will generate different processes, but there are certain concepts to take with me. 1. Colour is very personal, cultural and universal at the same time. When researching colour, one needs to see it in the context in which it will be used. This makes it is possible to discover very specific things about colour. 2. Colour is a multifaceted element to work with in space. It changes over time, both physically and how it is perceived, and it is therefore hard to predict how it will turn out. Embracing this quality gives one the opportunity to approach colour in a different way, by concentrating on specific moments. With this approach, working with colours happens in phases. First, one creates a colour palette and then adjust it according to what happens to the colours at different times. 3. Colours have an impact on how people feel, as well as a personal and cultural meaning. People perceive colours differently, so as a designer one cannot know if a colour experience will be the same for everyone. By researching how one experiences a situation oneself and how other people experience the same situation, an opportunity to approach colours in different ways comes up. In this way it is possible to bring various experiences together in one colour palette. Eva De Moor, 15.07.2013
From the top down 1-4: Sunset in one of the protected waiting rooms on 13.03.2013, pictures takes between 17.40 and 18.30. 5-6: In the old apartment of the caretaker at Sagene Folkebad, a blue was found underneath layers of walls and wall paper, which has been there since 1899. This blue, which I from now on will refer to as Kitchen Blue, is the key colour for three of the colour palettes.
T
he time I spent at Sagene Folkebad allowed me to see how the colours and light changed the place during the course of one year. In a sense, the building is always there, but varying circumstances has shaped the way in which I have perceived it.
I
worked with the in between rooms at Sagene Folkebad. Rooms that are situated in between the protected rooms, which where either technical rooms or did not have any of the original purposes left. I made different maps of Sagene Folkebad which each highlighted an aspect of the bath in order to help me decide where to place each of the areas. It is important to understand that these maps are in not finished or complete investigations, but rather a way of thinking about space.
school bell children ringing playing (school) birds rain falling relaxing sofa’s Looking in through the windows
Daylight falling through the windows on the walls/floor
Sky
sun on fresh your skin air slippers on fresh air on your feet your skin
door outwards opening/closing
cold water
people gasping for air
cold water
showers
relaxing chairs
Basement at Sagene Folkebad
people jumping into the ice cold pool
soap
Looking in through the windows
people coming down the stairs
Daylight falling through the windows on the walls/floor
warm water
cold stones
tiles money falling on the floor
children playing
deodorant
relax
showers
hot water on the stones
door of the sauna opening and closing
wooden bench
area
wood
sauna
children playing
the pool water
children playing sports (the floor above the pool)
warm wood
no direct daylight
tiles
wardrobe
water
bath
showers
Transition Area
the door towards the backyard
steam
no direct daylight
entrance to the silent area people talking
water
The pool
water from the pool and people swimming
Light falling through 2 windows
steam-
people talking
warm eucalyptus stone
sweat
men’s
people talking
perfume
tiles
showers entrance to the men’s wardrobe
tiles
the pool
soap
Entrance to the children’s area /elevator
people coming down from the stairs
Daylight falling through the windows on the walls/floor
Mapping of the senses: This map allows me to see where the different senses (see, hear, touch, smell) are used the most in the bath. Smell and touch are very important in areas where we don’t use sight a lot, such as the sauna, the steam bath and the showers. We use our sight to navigate, where there are variations in lightness, from almost no daylight, where the light stays the same, to places where the sunlight comes and disappears. This is important for people who don’t have good eye-sight, because they easily get confused by light spots. (However, this is not a topic I will work on at this stage of the project.) Touch is very important in all areas, because people are walking around with bare skin and the materials you touch need to be comfortable.
water
No direct daylight
water
hear kids talking
smell see touch
Mapping of mobility: here I observed where people walk from one place to another (the mobility zones), the zones for slow flowing activities requiring a bit of focus and concentrated zones, where you shower and undress for example. In this way functions can be organized according to where people move a lot or need a quiet space with a lot of movement. Mapping of daylight: I mapped out where the sunlight hits the walls in the morning and the evening, which created a grid. Then it became obvious where certain functions should be placed, for example the steam bath and the sauna in the middle, because they don’t need any daylight. intimate zone
/// morning light
(showering/undressing)
/// evening light
mobility zone slow activity zone (sauna/steam bath)
F
rom the beginning I was
working a lot with pink skin colours in combination with Kitchen Blue. Later, I realised that skin colour pinks and Kitchen Blue are, in fact, complementary and that is the reason for them working so well together. The tool that I used to find this out was not the complementary colour wheel but through the simultaneous contrast effect!
Do the test! How do you perceive the complementary colour of Kitchen Blue? Look at the black spot on the Kitchen Blue circle for about 20 seconds and then look to black spot next to it. You will see the complementary colour of Sagene Folkebad appearing for some seconds. Probably you perceive the complementary colour of Kitchen Blue different than me, as our colour visions slightly differ from each other. (C.L. Hardin, 2012)
The inspiration for the sauna colour palette came mainly from a study trip to Morocco, where I visited different cities with each their own characteristic colour: Marrakesh, Fez and Chefchaouen.
T
o present a series of colour swatches of the colours I propose at Sagene Folkebad did not make sense to me. Instead I created an installation that resonates with my way of thinking about colour. Colour changes so much, and it is hard to predict how a colour will look in a certain place. I want to embrace this quality and focus on making this change visible. When one looks at a colour at different times of the day, it will look different, depending on where the sunlight comes from, or what the weather is.
The women’s wardrobe – painted warm white, warm grey and Kitchen Blue.
Daylight in the women’s wardrobe
The sauna area – painted tones of Marrakesh Red and wood.
Daylight in the sauna area Daylight in the transition area
The transition area – painted warm white, an orange-yellow and Kitchen Blue.
Daylight in the men’s wardrobe
The men’s wardrobe – painted dark grey, warm white and Kitchen Blue.