Façade Colour and Judgements about Building Size and Congruity

Abstract

Façade colour is frequently mentioned in planning policy with regard to environmental evaluation, and assumptions embedded within planning policy tend to reflect the notion that ‘harmonious’ colours are more congruous than ‘contrasting’ colours. However, the literature relating to colour theory includes diverse meanings of ‘harmonious’ and ‘contrasting’, with some theorists suggesting that harmonious colours reflect hue similarity, while other theorists suggest that contrasting colours are complementary and a necessary foundation for colour harmony. Given the diversity in meanings of colour harmony and the relative dearth of empirical evidence relating to façade colour and environmental evaluation in general, a research project was undertaken to investigate the relationship between façade colour and judgements of building congruity and size. The investigation, which involved an experimental research design, incorporated a semantic differential rating scale in conjunction with visual stimuli presented to 288 participants using the Latin-Square technique. The findings indicate that judgements about building congruity and size vary in relation to changes in façade colour, and this may have relevance for buildings labelled ‘eyesores’ and large, industrial structures.