Color in Kahn's Architecture

"Colors are sensitizers of the place"

Color is used in architecture because of the characteristic to inflict feelings on people. It can affect in their behavior and the way to appreciate places and objects. People can feels identified with color and can associate them with general situations. It’s delicate to include colors inside a space since it can potentiate it or damage the experience.

The stateliness of the shape and scale of Kahn’s work reminds of classic ruins. But in a certain way, Kahn’s choice of colors are thought to create a contrast with the context or to differentiate parts of the building.

The majority of the buildings are characterized for using neutral, soft colors. They give a pure perception of the form or geometry, amplify the space and allow a better lecture of the elements and the circulation.

Fisher House

The red of the brick and the grey of the concrete are visualized monochrome and rough like, yet their function is to lay low before the circulation. Kahn only uses one dominant color. When a lone color dominates the space, our brain fabricates the complementary color to create a spectrum similar to white light. Because of this, if we stare for a time at one color, we’ll see the complementary colors next to it to reduce the levels of visual and mental fatigue. Grass’s intense Green or trees are always present in Kahn’s work and they are dramatized when seen next to cold, stony colors in walls and floor.

Exeter Library

Four Freedom Park

Salk Institute shows subtle contrasts of colors in the facades. Wood and glass give it volume and make the aspect better without standing out in the context.

Kahn uses glass, not only for the light, but to give the facades the capacity to reflect colors and movements that make the building more interactive inside the city.

Assembly of Bangladesh

Kahn uses water mirrors to give color to his work. In Bangladesh, the water mirror reflects the huge structure but disappears colors and generated an interesting sensation of movements. The feeling that cause the colors, is very hypnotic. the building can take up a polychromatic platform, therefore, its own color does not highlight, it is highlighted.

Louis Kahn takes advantage of the simple colors in his work and is able to bring out elements inside of them like the light and the structure. That’s why his work is distinguished because of its clarity and continuous shape.