Illuminated Colors Shift Your Mindset and Your Space

Designers, has your education and (hopefully) subsequent career left you completely terrified to implement colors other than white? Sure, sleek white will always be the go-to minimalist choice, but wouldn’t it be nice to stir things up once in awhile?

Proving that colored light need not only be relegated to Vegas casinos, here are some well-executed displays of multicolor architectural lighting designs to mix up the visual palette. (If only to expand our imaginations… we’re not expecting a complete paradigm shift here.)

Multicolor lighting systems tend to have a bad reputation for appearing tacky, but can actually provide great flexibility in color schemes for interiors. With adjustable color in your backlit features, the surfaces merely provide the intended texture and sheen, with the light as the dynamic variable. Unleashing unlimited opportunities to illuminate the surface in different hues or color cycles, you and your building owner can then select your favorite color settings on-site, react to ambient conditions, or change colors on special occasions.  With the flick of a switch, the entire ambiance of space can shift.

1.  Nordwesthaus building designed by Baumschlager Eberle

Nordwesthaus Blue, White, and Green Lighting Scheme

In this screened facade, lighting changes are reflected on both the interior and exterior surfaces. Cool lighting renders the space in an icy tone.

2.  Marriott Pulse Bar building designed by TVS Interiors

Marriott Pulse with Backlit 3Form Materials

A soaring feature by 3form consisting of LED backlit resin panels that shift color as the day progresses, tracking the programmatic changes in the hotel over the course of a day.

3.  Galleria Department Store designed by UNStudio

Galleria Backlit Glass Facade by UNStudio

This custom facade consists of backlit glass discs, each performing as a pixel. The facade takes on a mother of pearl sheen during the day and transforms into a lively colored billboard at night.

–>Does your design sensibility embrace the use of fluctuating color and light? How do our educational, cultural, gender, and workplace contexts affect our manipulation of these elements in design?

Image Credits: DesignTopNews, 3-Form, UNStudio