Ethereal Material:
On Colour in Architecture
Professor Fiona McLachlan
Colour is rarely static - it shifts in its appearance, is dependent on light conditions and material surface, can be fugitive and ephemeral, and is frequently complex to define in terms of its role.
This talk explores the potential of colour to modify space and the way in which buildings are perceived. Colour plays a significant role in architecture – it affects the character, atmosphere, meaning, spatial understanding and hierarchy of architecture, and of place. It can be used to tune and transform the way we perceive our surroundings. Yet specific strategies employed by architectural practices in relation to colour are rarely considered in texts, architects frequently use colour in an arbitrary manner and colour is seldom integral to the discourse in architecture schools.
The lecture will draw on ongoing research to enhance the understanding of the strategic use of colour within architectural design.
Fiona McLachlan is Professor of Architectural Practice at the University of Edinburgh. She teaches architectural design and professional practice and is a past Head of the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA). Her practice– E & F McLachlan Architects– specialized in social housing and residential projects over a thirty-year period and has been included in international exhibitions and publications. She is the author of three books: Architectural Colour in the Professional Palette, (Routledge, 2012)– which was stimulated by her work in practice– a co-author of Colour Strategies in Architecture, (Schwabe Verlag, 2015) and author of Colour Beyond the Surface: Art in Architecture (Lund Humphries, 2022).