Why Interior Designers differ from Architects in their use of colours in interior

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INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

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Why Interior Designers differ from Architects when it comes to their use and
implementation of colours in interior
Colour is an essential element of our world, not only for the natural environment but also for the
artificial architectural environment. For a long time colour has played a great role in the human
evolution process. (Lance Moore, 2016).
Majority of architects see space, texture, and form as the key elements of any design; they think
in 3 dimensions that use of strong colours in their designs would distract people from their visual
message. Architects think it is dangerous to use strong colours creatively since they can date
easily and become outdated, where clients might find it too be too confronting and the local
authorities and the neighborhood may find it too be too dominating. Majority of people think
excessive use of colour in design is the last thing they will like to see in the streetscapes. There
could be visual disharmony if the greater sections of the streetscapes are not coloured in a
relatively neutral way. Architects are instinctively reflecting a human preference in their designs
on how the world would look like.
Architects don't like using colours in their interior spaces due to the continuous styles, trends,
and fashion which keeps influencing the designs. Architects tend to avoid using colours in their
interior spaces to ensure that the spaces will not be out of fashion within a few years (Ritter,
2016). Majority of the styles, fashions, and trends are short-lived, but have a great impact on the
human association and hence they can impact the designs.
The personal relations to the colour of the architects and clients greatly differ. The architects at
the same time have no control over the preference of the client. For instance, young clients and

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architects prefer primary and more saturated colours where else the older architects and clients
prefer subdued and less saturated colours. Architects tend to avoid using colours in the design of
the interior spaces to avoid architect-client conflict. Human beings are affected both universally
and personally the colours in their environments. From the studies that have been carried out ,
there are some preference patterns which are related to socioeconomic , age and character
traits. The younger architects tend to prefer more saturated colours which in most cases are
rejected by their older clients. At the same time as the older architects tend to prefer lighter
colours which are rejected by their younger clients. With that, the architects prefer avoiding the
use of colour in their interior spaces (martin, 2017).
Architects usually work alone on the residential projects, hence in most cases, they find
themselves focusing on the structure itself. In fact, they focus on how to meet the thermal
comfort standards, natural and artificial lighting, ventilation, sustainability, ergonometric and the
overall functionality of the structure. It is very rare for architects to focus on the colour of the
structure. Since they perceive that using colours is the work of the interior designer.
Architects beliefs that the use of colours in their designs is distractions, and instead they stick to
the architectural based theory of ‘Truth to material' which suggest that the materials should be
used in areas where they are most appropriate and that their qualities should not be altered in
any way. With that theory the majority of architect prefer to use the material in their natural
appearance. For instance; the exposed concrete will be left unpainted, showing the shuttering
marks (Aloice, 2018). Timber is also used in its natural appearance, the natural grains are left
unpolished or painted. Architects beliefs that the use of paint in their designs will hide some of
the details and at the same time it will distract the overall appearance of the building.