The Psychology of colors in Architecture Designs

Faber Birren, who is the considered the father of applied color psychology, once proclaimed: “The study of color is essentially a mental and psychological science, for the term color itself refers to sensation." No can disagree with the fact that color is an integral element of our world, not just in the natural environment but also in the man-made architectural environment. The role of colors in an architectural design are not (or should not be) limited to decoration alone, psychological influence (or what would be) of colors should be considered. 

Studies have proved that the reaction of humans in any of the architectural environment is to a large percentage is based on the sensory perception of color. The human response to color is total - it influences human beings psychologically and physiologically. The color designer involved in architectural process must understand how the reception of visual stimulation will process and evoke responses thereby creating best possibilities for the welfare of human beings. This is important because the psychology of colors play different tasks and function in different units such as hospitals, offices, production units & factories, educational institutes, homes for the elderly, correctional facilities, and so on. A classroom has a different function than a hospital ward; an office space is not a factory, etc.

What colors say?

Pastel yellow conveys the impression of Soft, sunny and friendly vibes. The interior space with this color is stimulating, brightness, coziness.

Red is arousing, passionate, fiery and aggressive. Therefore the message red conveys in the interior too is advancing, dominant and aggressive.

Green is balancing, natural, calm with the message of simplicity, security, balance.

The white being open, vast, neutral and sterile gives the message of purity, sterile, emptiness, and indecisiveness.

How to Make an Existing Building Green

There are ways to make your existing building 'green' without making major structural changes. One can take steps to reduce environmental impact by effectively managing the way a building uses water and energy. The mantra is - 'start with small changes, which can add up to a big impact'. Here are few steps one can take to make an existing building go green:

First thing you can do is to change existing light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use up to 75 percent less power. It is also green idea to put lights on a timer so they automatically shut off at night or when you are away. Make sure all building's lighting uses energy efficiently. You should also ensure that your heating and cooling systems are maintained regularly so they use energy efficiently and last longer.

Ensure your building is well insulated. This would prevent wastage of energy on heating or cooling. Similarly, there are numerous ways, which we all know, to reduce our building's electricity use. Put them to practice. 

Do not waste water. By fixing tiny issues one can not only preserve water but also save money. Use dual-flush toilets. Fix leaks and replace your existing fixtures with low-flow options. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, low-flow shower heads save over 7 gallons per minute!

Is there any link between 'Green' and 'Staff Productivity'?

The links between the environmental credentials of the workplace and staff productivity is generating interest these days. It is being talked about that corporates are shifting their focus away from space efficiencies and are asking questions with real estate consultants (when making strategic location decisions) about the environmental credentials of the space and how it will support the productivity of their staff.

According to a reserach, "green" office features, such as better ventilation, low toxicity materials and better daylighting are also good for the office worker's health, wellbeing and resulting productivity. Studies have linked improved ventilation and daylighting with up to 11 percent and 23 percent gains in productivity respectively. Jane Henley, CEO, World Green Building Council, in her article published in huffingtonpost.com writes, "there has been a recent explosion of interest in the impact of the office environment on staff health, productivity and overall wellbeing and happiness. The global real estate sector is now taking this issue really seriously. What's perhaps more surprising is that it is often the sustainability team within real estate services companies and developers who are leading this agenda as opposed to HR departments."

100 Years of Architectural Drawing

During this modern era of computer-generated architectural drawings, a design and architecture historian has come out with a book that speaks of hand sketches of architectural drawings. Titled '100 Years of Architectural Drawing', the book is authored by Neil Bingham who is the consulting curator of architectural drawings at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. The book highlights 300 architectural drawings from the 20th century that illustrate the evolution of the form.

“From our perspective today, in which the computer-aided design [CAD] drawing dominates,” Bingham writes, “the twentieth century appears as the golden age of traditional architectural hand-drawing.”

The book is divided into 5 chronological sections that are prefaced by short essays that highlight the trends and styles of that period. Each drawing is captioned with key information about the architect, the project, and the drawing.

“In this survey of architectural drawings, we can trace the historical visual narrative of 20th century architecture in design and draughtmanship,” Bingham writes. “One of tradition, experiment and beauty.” The book will appeal to all students and practitioners of architecture as well as anyone with an interest in the subject.

Why Build Green?

Good for environment, energy conservation and the world, green buildings are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout it's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. So, if we put into the practice of 'green' when we build or renovate any building, then we can significantly contribute to the health, wealth and well-being of our self, the families for whom we build, our community, and the world.

You'll be surprised to know that that worldwide, buildings consume nearly 40% of the world's energy, 25% of its wood, and 15% of its water! By adopting green building strategies, we can maximize both economic and environmental performance. Therefore, we make smarter choice when we decide to go green.

Benefits of green buildings

There are numerous Social, economic and environmental benefits for building green. Below we are highlighting only the economic benefits (compared with normal buildings):

• 88% reduction in lighting consumption

• 35% reduction in potable water use

• 20% of the building’s energy requirement is provided by photovoltaics

• 15-20% less load on AC thanks to aerated concrete blocks used in facades 

• 80% of materials used are either recycled or recyclable

• 90% of building daylit

• Zero water discharge building

• 75% of occupants have outside view

• 50% savings in overall energy consumption

Solar is Green: Where to put Photovoltaic Panels?

The new 'mantra' is to build "zero energy" homes or offices. This can be achieved by combining green-building techniques with active solar systems. A "zero energy" building is one that produces as much energy as it consumes over the course of a year. Making use of solar energy using Photovoltaic Panels is at the heart of sustainable building. But it is important to understand that where should these Photovoltaic Panels placed.

A small amount of shade covering the panel can reduce the panel performance by 80%. Therefore, the most important point to remember is that when choosing a location for your Array is shading obstacles.

Find out which month has the least amount of sun on average. Determining this month is particularly important if you intend to use or constructing a system that will be used year-round. Similarly, if you want to use it for summer or winter, you will have to find month with least sun during months that you will use the system.

It is also very important to estimate the availability of sun and the cloud cover. Obtaining this information may be little difficult. Sometimes you can get this information on the web otherwise you may contact concerned authorities in you town/city.

You want to choose a location that is on or near the place where you loads will be. The array should be free of shade (during each month in use) from 9 am to 3 pm. This is the optimum time-frame a panel has to receive light and is called the “Solar Window".

Architecture is about teamwork!

Few days back while accepting the 'Woman Architect of the Year Award' at London’s Langham Hotel, the Dutch architect Francine Houben said, 'Architecture is about teamwork, about being supportive and visionary at the same time'. We, at Design Atelier, too strongly believe that architecture is about teamwork, about being visionary and supportive at the same time. 

Architecture is actually a teamwork. It is a group of people who are working towards single goal- the project. Working as a team, we have one common goal - to serve our community and clients through architecture. It is important to have contributions from everyone. And therefore, we value each other and need everybody's perspectives.

Design Atelier boasts of a highly qualified team whose expertise matches the project scope and consists of multidisciplinary staff and technical partners. We have highly qualified professionals in the areas of Architecture, Landscape, Urban & Environmental Design, Strategic Planning & Communication, Structural Engineering, Air Conditioning, Electrical Engineering, Civil and Public Health Engineering, Project & Construction Management.   

We continue to expand our multi-disciplinary teams and technical partners of over 50 professionals to solve design challenges.

Meet the people

Aashish V. Karode

Sushil L. Karer

Pawan Bangali

Jaspal Singh

Vivek K. Srivastava

Prosenjit Banerjee

Madhvi Gogia

(Read more at: www.architectsda.com/team.html)

We want to leave good marks on the earth and would like to measure our work by the pleasure of the lives lived in our buildings and projects.

The Benefits Of Adding Greenery To Your Home Or Office

The greenery in home or office interact with your body and mind in ways that enhance the quality of life or work. Greenery inside helps you breathe easier because adding plants to interior spaces can increase oxygen levels. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen while human bodies does just the opposite - takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide.

Plants release moisture vapor, which increases humidity of the air around them. Therefore, by placing many plants together you can increase the humidity of a room, which helps keeps respiratory distresses at bay.

Greenery purifies air. The plants have abilities to remove toxins from the atmosphere and therefore a green space will have pure air. Also, according to studies keeping green plants in hospital rooms speeds recovery rates of surgical patients. Patients in rooms with plants have lower heart rates and blood pressure, experience less pain, fatigue and anxiety, and are also released from the hospital sooner.

We share a picture below which explains the benefits of adding greenery inside!

India can be ahead of other countries in producing green electricity from sunlight

The solar energy potential in India is immense due to its convenient location near the Equator. Isn't this amazing that India receives solar energy that is equivalent to over 5000 trillion kWh/year, and this is far more than the total energy consumption of the country! It is also possible to use this solar energy for different types of applications. It can be used for both grid-connected and off-grid generation of power. Imagine if even 50 percent of this energy is utilized, then how much we can save on the total energy expenditure!

The amount of solar energy produced in India in 2007, according to wikipedia, was less than 1% of the total energy demand. The grid-interactive solar power in 2010 was merely 10 MW. In 2005, Government funded solar energy in India only accounted for approximately 6.4 MW-yr. However, India is ranked number one in terms of solar energy production per watt installed, with an insolation of 1,700 to 1,900 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak (kWh/KWp). By the end of March 2013 the installed grid connected photovoltaics had increased to 1686.44 MW and India expects to install an additional 10,000 MW by 2017, and a total of 20,000 MW by 2022.

Even the Indian Railways has plans to use solar power to supply electricity to air-conditioned coaches in some of the country's express trains.

The builders have also realized the the power of solar energy and have started installing photovoltaic systems in their buildings. Also known as solar electricity systems, these panels capture the sun's energy and convert the sunlight into electricity which can be used to run  appliances and lighting in homes or office buildings.

India can lead the world in energy efficiency construction

The emphasis on green buildings continues to gain momentum in India and all over the world. This is inspite of the fact that the green buildings are making up less than 5 percent of the booming Indian building market. Today developers, government and experts realize that there is a tremendous opportunity for expanding energy efficiency construction in India. During a congress held last year in India, the Chairman of the Indian Green Building Council, Dr. Prem Jain emphasized “India is going to lead the world in new construction. The opportunity is huge.” 

A green building is one which uses less water, optimizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for its inhabitants. And, therefore, the pressure to implement sustainable energy systems, use natural resources and source eco-friendly green products and services is overwhelming.

Currently there are only 2,204 green buildings, including hospitals, hotels, colleges and IT parks in the country. This number is expected to grow to about one lakh by 2025 across India, say estimates by the Indian Green Building Council. You'll be surprised to know that in the year 2001, there was only one green building in India.

Sustainable buildings experts say that green buildings are beneficial not just in energy conservation, but also in cost reduction. Green buildings can help save a lot of energy and reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health.

The Green Building Movement in India got a major impetus when Chimes building in Gurgaon was awarded LEED/IGBC Gold Rating. Designed by India's famous architectural firm Design Atelier, the building addresses issues of sustainability, sociability, making room for nature and program flexibility. The Architecture of the Chimes is about creating public spaces that are accessible and enable the experience of nature within the spaces of the building, symbolizing life inside the building. Chimes Building of Gurgaon was also awarded the "Green Project of the Year" by Construction Week Awards 2013.