Colorcoat-Online - Appearance & Colour

Appearance & Colour

To be truly effective, a building must be able to work well in its local environment either by blending with its surroundings or creating a new perspective. Colour and form can make a huge contribution to this and as a result are often considered at the earliest stages in a building design. Here we set out to explore the dynamics of colour and form in architecture and how they can be used effectively to express different aspects of the building design. Working closely with paint suppliers and researchers, Corus regularly assesses the potential of new paint colours and effects and their application for pre-finished steel envelopes. A brief outline of some of the emerging technologies and recent Corus Colorcoat® developments are included to highlight this.

Colour dynamics

Written in conjunction with Tom Porter, an acclaimed colour specialist and author of several books on architectural drawing and environmental colour. The perception of colour is not a static experience, it is one that is in a constant state of flux. Subtle shifts and modifications of colour result from the effects of changes in size, distance, quality of light, reflected light, and texture.

Colour strategies

Written in conjunction with Tom Porter, an acclaimed colour specialist and author of several books on architectural drawing and environmental colour. Colour, more than any other building attribute, can represent a direct reaction to the particularity of a context and form a human dialogue with the environment.

The effect of form

Two aspects of steel cladding inform the appearance of a façade – colour and texture as already discussed, and the form imparted by the profile and the various jointing strategies which can be employed to break up large expanses.

Buildings as brands

When is a building a brand? One might think of buildings with a world profile, such as Gehry’s Guggenheim in Bilbao, or the Sydney Opera House, each of which encapsulates a city or a country and makes a powerful statement about them. Buildings can be used to reflect the images, values and in some cases the offer of a company, reinforcing the strength of their brand.

Colour and Colorcoat

Market research conducted by Corus reveals that durability followed by colour availability are the primary factors which influence the choice of a pre-finished steel product. Given the potential obstacles which need to be navigated when considering the colour for a new or existing building, this is hardly surprising. To demonstrate the importance Corus places on responding to changing market trends and requirements, two recent colour-driven developments are highlighted.

Colour and pre-finished steel

When attempting to describe the appearance and performance of a building product, it can often be difficult to find the correct terminology. Specialists often resort to jargon, convoluted product references or overly technical descriptions. Trying to develop new coatings means capturing a building designer’s requirements and needs, described in more personal terms