Product Description

A spectacular study of architectural color palettes around the world, from San Francisco to Yemen.

From the chromatic delicacy of bamboo roofs in China to the tangy-hued house facades created from mineral pigments in African soils, the geography of color—a concept elaborated by Jean-Philippe and Dominique Lenclos—reveals a habitat's color and architectural character by examining its geology, climate, light, and the sociocultural behavior of its residents. 500 color photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #723789 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A fascinating book for architects, designers and urban planners, this volume uses more than 600 color photographs to demonstrate how "each country, each region, each city and village" employs a unique color palette for its buildings. According to the Lencloses, whose book Colors of France received the International Color Design Award of 1983-4, these colors are derived both from a region’s environment and its culture. Certainly, the visual argument for these conclusions is compelling: the chrome green house of Russia’s Suzdal are markedly different from the sand-colored dwellings of Alegria, and both of these areas eschew the ochre pinks of Rajasthan, India, and the blacks of New York’s Greenwich Village. Though the authors’ dense, jargon-filled captions will probably interest only specialists, their photographs should appeal to a wider audience.
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Review
From a stunning emerald-green cottage in Ireland to mosaicked walls of thatched-roof huts in South Africa…Serious source of color inspiration. -- Oregon Home

Glossy paperback with dynamic photographs displaying the brilliant diversity of…color. -- Lovin' Life After 50

[A] gorgeous design reference…[A]n armchair travel adventure through some of the world's most beautifully and unexpectedly colored environments. -- Fiberarts Magazine

About the Author
Jean-Philippe and Dominique Lenclos run the Atélier 3D Couleur in Paris.

Customer Reviews

Stunningly Beautiful-A Superb Collaboration
A Husband and Wife team bring their insights together in a book that exudes beauty and order in the natural and the built environments. The photos are meticulously color balanced, the natural hues in buildings are inspiring and life affirming. The book is so multi-faceted that it could have other titles as well, "Color in Geometry" and "Homes with Soul" would be appropriate. The book deserves a cloth cover, much like Christopher Alexanders opus "The Theory of Life. This is a book you will come back to when you need to recharge your soul with the beauty of man and nature in harmony. I smiled a lot while looking through the book. Give this book to your friends, it's that good!

A Photographic Journey Through Eleven Countries
"Windows framed in sculpted wood are particularly elaborate and often take on the appearance of finely worked lace accentuated with white, with blue frequently added as a counterpoint." ~ pg. 141

Through six hundred color photographs, Jean Philippe and Dominique Lenclos reveal the cultural significance of color in eleven countries. The pictures are from the United States, Guatemala, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Iran, Yemen, India and Japan.

I was surprised to notice some of the similarities in architectures in houses in Concarneau, France and Findochty, Scotland. The magical blue color of the houses in Jodhpur, India is stunning in beauty. The earth tones in Morocco contrast sharply with the bright mural covered homes in South Africa. The subdued grays and browns of Japan seem to reflect a meditative quality. The prettiest homes seem to be in Russia. The intricate designs on the window frames are especially beautiful.

While this book mostly focuses on houses there are some pictures of a graveyard and a few pictures of markets in public squares. Some of the pictures are enhanced by the residents standing or sitting outside their homes in colorful traditional clothing.

I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in architecture or color. This photographic journey through the world will leave you with a deeper understanding of culture and traditions. The authors explain why certain colors are used in various countries which makes this all the more fascinating.

~The Rebecca Review

Amazing Book!
I'm tired of the fluffy books about color. Here is some concrete studies on color use in different cultures with relation to architectural color choices. This information is the perfect addition to my thesis research for grad school on the topic of cultural differences in color perception. Plus, it is so beautiful to look at! Really beautiful.