Meeting with interiors leader

Surprise meeting today! got an email when I woke up this morning which had come yesterday saying could we all meet and 11.30 so I scampered in to uni and met everyone and our interiors leader.
We went round the group and each talked about our research so far, which I was nervous about at first because I felt that I was behind, but it seems we're all at a similar stage.

I spoke about my research this week and how I had found my initial research very scientific and more to do with how we see colour (which was really interesting so I got a bit too involved!) than how it actually affects us.
However over the last week I've found a few books which have been really useful and have more examples of how colour can actually be used in the context of interior design.
I'm still considering what area I want to focus on, and was thinking last week that it would be education and I looked at Peckham Library by Alsop Architects which I visited in my 2nd year of the BA:

The building has a multi coloured glass facade which means that areas of different coloured light are formed inside. I liked the idea that you can choose which colour you want to be immersed in while reading or studying. Colour's links to emotions are very subjective and so I think choice and personalise-ability will be key in this project.
I also looked at the Montessori school in aachen by Kasper-Klever and Friedrick Schmuck:

I thought this would be a good source to look out but it turned out to be a bit of a dead end! I found it in the book "Color: communication in architectural space" by Gerhard Meerwein, Bettina Rodeck, Frank H. Mahnke, but could only see the online version so I'll have to wait for it to be ordered to the campus until i can read it properly (all the important pages are missing online!)
I read some interesting information about reflected colour in "Dimensional Color" by Lois Swirnoff. 

I thought that this could be an interesting idea to use, as only a relatively small area would have to be changed to change the colour of the whole wall (or whatever surface) and natural light could still be used (I had thought about coloured light but worried about the extra use of electricity and lack of healthy natural light) I will definately consider this as a method of colouring space. For example, in a white room up-lights (or upward pointing natural light reflectors) could be used to light a coloured panel around the ceiling and this would reflect out onto the white walls giving them a tint of the original colour.
(I think the most successful image is the bottom left one where you can't see the colour source at all, so this is what I will aim for if I use this idea)


As i research more, i find that I'm increasingly interested in how colour affects people's well being in terms of health and recovery, I think I'm moving towards designing for a healthcare environment.
Peter, our interiors leader, told me about Disability Challengers http://www.disability-challengers.org/ which is a centre which has been designed specially for children and young people with disabilities, he showed me some images of the interiors which was really interesting. He also told me about Maggie's Centres http://www.maggiescentres.org/ which are hospices started up by Charles Jenkes who's wife (Maggie) had cancer and he was unhappy about the institutional-ness of the hospice she was cared for in. They are designed to be more pleasant and homely places to be. I think they will become a good inspiration and source for me to look at too.

I learnt a few key facts in my research today:
- Seeing yellow (including as an after image from seeing purple) increases the chances of vomiting if you are feeling nauseous, so both these colours should be avoided in places where people are likely to be nauseous.
- Yellow also makes you look more ill - whereas orange (which has the same affects as red - increase of heart rate and so encouragement of activity) compliments most skin tones and so makes you look more well which has a good effect on patients.
-Colours can be used to affect the other senses. Warm colours can make a cold space seem warmer (and visa versa) and taste/smell associated colours can be used to enhance or subdue a particular smell or taste (the example used in "Color in three-dimensional design" by Jeanne Kopacz is workers in a chocolate factory - if the factory is painted greens and blues then the sickly smell of the environment can be lessened)
That's all for now - on with the reading!