It is well known that colour can have a profound impact on building occupants; Dawn Scott at Dulux Trade explains how in educational environments, it can be used to enhance learning and wellbeing for students.
Across the built environment, colour is used to bring life to spaces and evoke specific emotions within building occupants. When used correctly, colour can be used to make students feel at ease in a high stress exam room or energised in the gymnasium.
However, if used incorrectly, students’ performance and wellbeing may be negatively impacted. For example, four experiments found that even briefly looking at the colour red before an important test, such as an IQ test or exam, impaired performance.
It is therefore vital that architects work closely with clients to determine what each space will be used for and how they want students to feel in that space. In doing this, architects can create colour schemes that place the occupant and use of the space at their centre, ensuring effective and inclusive designs that help students to thrive.
Psychology of colour
When used correctly, colour can improve behaviour and encourage creativity within educational environments. Every colour evokes emotion, so it is important to think about the use of the space when designing schemes. For example, pale blues and greens are often associated with relaxation and tranquillity. This means that they are ideal for high stress environments like classrooms, exam halls and medical rooms where calm and focus are needed.
On the contrary, bolder hues like yellow and orange can bring a sense of energy and excitement and lend themselves to spaces like gymnasiums and canteens where energy and play are encouraged.
Ensuring inclusivity
Everyone is different, which means learning environments must be adaptable to suit as many needs as possible. While a calming, distraction free classroom design might work for some students, other learners may need a bolder colour scheme to bring out their creativity. As such, architects should consider offering options for students, with some spaces designed for focus and others for stimulation.
Creating visual contrast
To ensure everyone can move through a building as easily as possible, architects need to consider visual contrast across critical surfaces. Building Regulations Approved Document M, volume two and the British Code of Practice: BS8300-2:2018, which align with the Equality Act 2010, recommend that a minimum visual contrast of 30 Light Reflectance Value (LRV) points is used for critical surfaces like walls, floors, ceilings and doors. This ensures these elements are clear and easy to identify.
To put this into practice, if the main wall is painted in a neutral colour, then the doors and door frames should be in a bold tone that has a minimum visual contrast of 30 LRV points. Contrasting colours can also be used to visually differentiate each building or floor, to help students quickly identify if they are in the correct location.
Colour tools can help
To help architects create compliant colour schemes that can improve occupant wellbeing and productivity, some manufacturers offer useful colour tools. Some allow architects to experiment with various palettes and visualise how colours will work together in a space. They can also explore curated colour schemes tailored to specific sectors, including education. Once the design is ready, architects can get an A3 mood board printed and delivered, allowing them to share their professional designs with colleagues, clients or building users.
In conclusion, when designing for education environments, architects must work closely with the client to determine what the space will be used for and who it will be used by. This will help them to identify the right tones that will evoke the desired emotional response from students and help increase productivity and wellbeing.
Dawn Scott is senior colour designer at Dulux Trade (part of AkzoNobel)