By the year 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. In anticipation of this, Amsterdam-based AkzoNobel, a chemical company that specializes in decorative paint and coatings, recently announced its Human Cities initiative as a way to highlight their commitment in “improving, energizing and regenerating urban communities across the world.”
One project part of the initiative is a partnership with leading architecture firm OMA, founded by Rem Koolhaas, to research the link between color and economic development of a city. The announcement was made at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
“We believe that our new research partnership with OMA will make a significant contribution to creating more ‘human’ urban environments for the world’s citizens,” says AkzoNobel CEO Ton Büchner. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Rem Koolhaas and OMA on this study.”
Archdaily reports that this is not the first time research has been done on the effects of color in economics. Back in 2001, research done in Brazilian favelas by Brazilian firm Jorge Mario Jáuregui Architects and published by Harvard University Press found that “Colors had been absent due to poverty, people work on the inside, but cannot afford to work on the outside. And when a new, planned building rises in the slum – be it a public toilet or a sewing co-operative – it immediately becomes a monument. It was conceived by an architect, it indicates things are changing: People understand they now have the right to what was only available in the so-called ‘formal city.’”
Related Stories
Architects | Jan 13, 2017
Best in Architecture: 23 projects win AIA 2017 Institute Honor Awards
The Shigeru Ban-designed Aspen Art Museum and the General Motors Design Auditorium by SmithGroupJJR are among the architecture, interior architecture, and urban design projects to win.
Designers | Jan 13, 2017
The mind’s eye: Five thoughts on cognitive neuroscience and designing spaces
Measuring how the human mind responds to buildings could improve design.
Building Materials | Jan 9, 2017
Architects and researchers are developing new techniques for building in space
As setting foot on Mars becomes a more realistic goal, the search for how to best develop Architecture for the Red Planet is heating up.
Architects | Jan 5, 2017
U.S. architects can now earn licenses to practice Down Under
NCARB finalizes reciprocal agreement with Australia and New Zealand.
Architects | Jan 4, 2017
The making of visible experts: A path for seller-doers in the AEC industry
Exceptional seller-doers have the ability to ask the right questions, and more importantly, listen.
Building Team | Jan 3, 2017
How does your firm’s hit rate stack up to the AEC competition?
If your firm is not converting at least a third of project proposals when competing for new work, it may be time to reassess your marketing tactics and processes.
Architects | Dec 9, 2016
Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects receives the 2017 AIA Architecture Firm Award
LMSA is the 54th AIA Architecture Firm Award recipient.
| Dec 8, 2016
Paul Revere Williams, FAIA, awarded 2017 AIA Gold Medal
The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.
Building Team | Dec 8, 2016
The NYC Public Design Commission recognizes 12 projects with its 2016 Excellence in Design Award
2016 marked the 34th year the Public Design Commission has handed out its Excellence in Design Awards.
Education Facilities | Dec 7, 2016
How corporate design keeps educational design relevant
Learning is a lot like working; it varies daily, ranges from individual to collaborative, formal to informal and from hands on to digital.