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Argument › No. 16/2024

Color and Volumetric Shape in the Transylvanian Urban Area

https://doi.org/10.54508/Argument.16.09

  • / “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest, RO

Abstract

Color, seen as a defining element for the expressiveness of a built volume, can influence the appearance of the urban space, of which it is a part, by expressing a unique, sometimes even emblematic architectural character. This study focuses on the relationship between the built volume and its chromatic appropriation, having the role of highlighting its form as an important architectural-urban component. The emotional response that the color of a simple object or a compositional ensemble can transmit is analyzed, in order to optimize its use in design. On an urban scale, it was analyzed the relationship between the colors of the historic center of the Transylvanian city of Brașov and those specific to its peri-urban areas.

An optimal selection of colors depends on the prior analysis of some determining factors, such as: the function of the building through the relationship between the exterior and interior spaces, the dimensions of the urban framework intended for the insertion of the volume, the optimized volumetric form, the built ensemble in the vicinity, the circulations and nearby points of interest. Equally important for choosing the color scheme is the local specificity, which will be analyzed from the point of view of history, culture, traditions, geographical area and climate, with examples described from Transylvanian cities. Certain colors can have cultural or symbolic connotations, the architect contributes by using them to the identity and recognition of the buildings within the community.

The use of color in architectural compositions provides architects with a complex set of strategies to convey and influence the perception, interpretation and visual experience of buildings. Color can be seen as a vocabulary of expression, a means of communication in the architectural concept. The integration of colors into the built ensemble can have a significant impact on the way in which the dimensions, proportions or depths of buildings and spaces are perceived, attributing to them qualities with emotional influences both for users and the community, as well as for simple casual observers.

Keywords

Color in architecture, volumetric form, urban space, public spaces, peri-urban area

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