LOOSEN YOUR DEATH GRIP ON VIVID WHITE
Kidman Lane House, Paddington, by Plus Minus Design. Colour by Lymesmith. Photo: Clinton Weaver
THE TIMES THEY ARE (ALWAYS) A CHANGING
In every era, colour palettes shift in response to the social, cultural and political landscape. In the current era, I suggest to you that people need cold, stark titanium white walls and surfaces like they need a hole in the head!
Especially in winter, when light levels are low and our minds and bodies need more rest, the quality of the spaces we inhabit have a direct impact on our ability to rest and recuperate. All year round, we are over exposed to light through our digital screens and electric light that extends our wakefulness and inhibits production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
That’s not to say that white is an inherently bad colour. White is useful for reflecting light around a room, but that doesn’t mean that the brightest white is the best or the only option. (In fact, unless you are designing a laboratory, I would venture to say that the brightest white is NEVER to best option!) Generally speaking, in Australia, we do not suffer from a lack of light.
The way that light is reflected off a surface is just as important as the colour of that surface to the quality of the space. Light reflectance from (standard acrylic) titanium white painted plasterboard walls is in my opinion the most impoverished surface with which to frame our lives. Why? Because it lacks depth and complexity and is so unlike anything we see in the natural world. And like it or not, nature is what our brains and nervous systems need, love and thrive in.
Industrially produced, highly uniform particles of titanium white pigment are unlike whites in nature which feature particle size variation and colour impurities which produce visual complexity.
“(The use of) a single colour in a corridor, especially a long monotonous one,
can desensitize and produce feelings of claustrophobia.” *
Our brains have evolved to thrive in complex visual environments and to see patterns and make sense of millions of colours in an instant. Too much exposure to bland and monotonous surfaces will cause a rise in cortisol and produce anxiety in humans. Too much bright white space can also contribute to eye strain by causing our pupils to contract when they actually need to be open for close or detailed work.
In my Foundations of Colour Design Workshop 1, I offer plenty of alternatives and solutions to the problem of white in architecture, and tips for how to guide your clients towards better options for their health and well-being.
There are so many ways that Architects can begin to loosen their death grip on Vivid White.
For example:
Using Alternatives - choose paint finishes with richer reflective qualities, such as mineral paints, renders and lime wash;
Texture - using variations in texture to increase restful complexity across building surfaces;
Pigmentation - increasing pigmentation and colour ambiguity to emulate the whites in nature;
Context - Select whites and neutrals in response to the particular landscape context of the project (rather than a ‘one white fits all’ approach);
Minimise - reduce the overall area of white in the building, use sparingly and in the company of other colours.
Recent research by neuroscientists has revealed that people need memorable spaces to navigate easily and with a minimum of stress. Overuse of generic and monotonous finishes, especially in large buildings or environments, is detrimental to the well-being of users. But it’s true in all spaces - if you want to design for the well-being of people, you need to loosen your death grip on Vivid White!
*McLachlan, F. “Colour here, there, and in-between: placemaking and wayfinding in mental health environments,” in Color Research and Application 46/1, 2021: 125-139. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/col.22570 Accessed 20 April 2024.