Prof. Buether, in the first part of our interview, you began to talk about the topic of color home. Does our color origin last a lifetime?
Axel Buether: It remains, but is enriched thanks to the experiences we have in the course of our lives – with other people or regions. They transform the perception of color. Anyone who travels a lot or spends a long time in foreign countries will discover and appreciate new color cultures. But childhood colors always remain special colors. Those who open themselves to other impressions also become more open to new color tones. We are also able to be enriched by other cultures, our interests, travels, magazines, books or films. For example, we might adopt Provencal, Indian or Tuscan color schemes. These changes happen all the time – and that’s how it should be.
In addition to regional color preferences, are you also talking about temporal color preferences?
Axel Buether: Every era has its own color palette. For example, we associate the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s with very specific colors that are linked to fashions, trends, and so on. Today, this trend is evolving at a faster pace. Marketing acts as a catalyst. Color collections and fashion trends change more rapidly. This also highlights the outstanding importance of color: a fashion brand devotes 70 to 80 percent of its energy to its color selection. Product designs remain comparatively more stable than colors. This also reflects our behavior as consumers: People buy something new because they feel
that the old colors no longer suit them—not so much because the old items are worn out. Colors are a huge driving force for change—this is true even today for expensive consumer goods such as cars and home furnishings.
Does this mean that a change of color is also good for senior living areas from time to time?
Axel Buether: For these reasons, it is generally advisable to paint more often than necessary. Incidentally, the color concept includes not only ceilings and walls, but also furniture, floors, doors, windows and lighting. In nursing and retirement homes, the color renewal is very interesting at least for the reception area, which is also used by the general public, relatives and employees. At this interface with society as a whole, where trends and fashions come from, it is particularly clear that you cannot avoid fashion: Trying to do so is a mistake – a neutral reception area tends to look sterile. Conversely, moving with the times has a positive effect. Striving for timeless design looks distant and impersonal, like someone who wants to escape. My advice is to learn to understand that you will always be categorized anyway: There is basically no such thing as a neutral color scheme. What the philosopher Paul Watzlawick says about communication in general also applies to color design: “Everything we see is made up of colors. ” We therefore cannot communicate with colors.”
Let’s talk about the effect of colors in medical and health terms. What do we know about it today?
Axel Buether: Because colors affect our physical and emotional state, they also have an impact on our well-being. Hormonal balance, metabolism, breathing, digestion, appetite, mood, and motivation—and they can affect these in either a positive or negative way. This makes it clear that colors have a very strong and direct effect on our health—including, for example, our recovery time.
However, these effects should not be viewed in absolute terms but depend on the historical context: In the 1920s, for instance, hospitals were predominantly decorated in sterile white. At that time, the color white was attributed a different quality than it is today—and accordingly, its effect was different. White stood for hygiene; it conveyed the assurance that everything was clean, and was therefore viewed positively in a hospital setting. Today, the preferences of the elderly and the sick have shifted. Everyone knows today that you can’t see germs anyway. So white can no longer convey hygiene to us—for that, a generally well-maintained appearance is more important, for example. An anonymous or sterile color scheme, on the other hand—one that feels alien to us and contradicts our preferences—will provoke resistance and slow down recovery. The esoteric idea that one can heal directly with colors is nonsensical—but conversely, colors can certainly make people sick. Those who are already weakened benefit from a familiar environment with positive emotional associations. Facilities for the elderly, the sick, and the dying must not come across as anonymous, sterile, and neutral transit stations or storage facilities; rather, they must provide all residents with an atmosphere that builds trust, encourages communication, and fosters well-being and recovery.
Many nursing homes work with interior designers and even also with color designers. This is about old people – and As we get older, our perception of color changes. What is the current state of affairs here?
Axel Buether: From a physiological standpoint, visual acuity—the sharpness of vision—declines. But orientation is also affected. Clearly visible color contrasts on walls, ceilings, and floors can help here, as can contrasts in passageways such as doors or in guiding elements such as hallways and stairwells. Residents’ rooms, dining rooms, and floors can convey varying degrees of identity and thus aid in orientation. One advantage of color is that it is visible even from a distance and is therefore better suited for identifying rooms than signs.
Children organize their world by color, as colors are easier to distinguish than shapes, letters, and numbers. This simple and immediately understandable form of organization also gains importance as we age. In cases of dementia, colors help preserve independence where all other orientation systems fail.
The underlying cause of vision deterioration in old age is less a decline in mental abilities than a deterioration in the eyes’ optical function. Since the cells in the eye’s lens do not regenerate, they are among the oldest parts of our body. The lens hardens and becomes cloudy. While the loss of flexibility can be corrected with glasses, the effects of clouding can only be reversed through invasive procedures such as surgical lens replacement. Aging lenses filter out certain parts of the spectrum, which is why older people perceive warm red and orange tones less intensely. As a result, the environment appears increasingly cooler. To retain warmth, older people therefore increasingly seek out reddish browns and beiges and prefer warm natural materials such as wood, sand, clay, and brick.
What about the differentiation between wall, ceiling and floor?
Axel Buether: Color also plays a role here for safety, for the feeling of being able to move safely in a room. For example, if the floor is lighter in color than the ceiling and walls, it will appear unfamiliar, irritating and no longer safe. The floor should convey a sense of security, especially for the elderly and dementia patients, and should therefore be darker in color. Blue or vegetable green should be avoided at all costs. For walls, the situation is more differentiated. Clear color tones create clear boundaries, light tones can expand narrow spaces, green and blue have an opening effect towards the outside.
You deal with planning strategies in connection with with colors. Are there generally applicable rules that can be derived from the what has been said so far for the design of a nursing home for the elderly? can be derived?
Axel Buether: I believe it’s essential to recognize that one-size-fits-all color concepts or color design formulas don’t work and make no sense for anyone involved. Instead, what’s needed is a nuanced usage concept in which color design plays a central role from the very beginning. To achieve this, it’s important to gain as clear a picture as possible of the users early on—that is, to learn as much as possible about them.
For example, staff need environments that are completely different from those of the residents for their own relaxation and work. Break rooms should also be distinguished from the other rooms by their color scheme and offer a change of pace from the daily routine of care. Rooms where family members meet with residents look different again—the atmosphere of these rooms must convey that their parents, grandparents, etc., are doing well here. Other colors, in turn, are well-suited for rooms intended for medical procedures, sports activities, and so on. The key to all of this is to talk to the people involved as much as possible. It is crucial to recognize that all surfaces—walls, ceilings, floors, and furnishings—as well as the lighting must be taken into account. Since every shade of color changes significantly depending on the contrast with its neighboring colors, color design is one of the most complex tasks in architecture and interior design. Today, the subject of color is no longer part of the standard curriculum for architects and interior designers. The ability to create high-quality and sustainably effective color designs can therefore no longer be taken for granted. This requires extensive training spanning several years, which must include practical application. It is therefore advisable to consult a specialized color designer for every construction project. A well-thought-out and nuanced color concept contributes decisively to the success of an investment in a building.
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