01 Sep 2021

How To Make Monochromatic Architecture For Exterior Design

Architecture and the style of designing buildings is closely related and cannot be separated. Characteristics of architecture can be seen from the techniques used and the style of designing a building. One indicator that can distinguish architecture from another is the application of a theme to the building. Determination of the theme can be determined from the time the building was built, such as Classical, Traditional, Modern, or Neo vernacular. In addition, themes can also be chosen based on the use of the material, such as architectural brick, wood, etc., The main focus on this topic is building by applying Monochromatic Architecture. Monochromatic architecture is one of style in designing a building. Normally, this style uses a monochrome or similar material colouring as the main colour, for example the application of dark and light colours. On the outside part of the building or well known as the exterior, the use of this style has been widely applied for example the choice of material on the façade. Moreover, the application of this monochrome architecture is very suitable to give an elegant and calm impression to a building.

One of the reasons Monochromatic Architecture is in great demand is building owners will find it easier to find their character by choosing only one colour tone that suits them. Just as someone wants to have a house with a calming, healthy, simple yet elegant atmosphere, he or she can choose a brown colour tone as a basis for consideration to be applied to the exterior of his house. Somia Design always applies this style in designing residential, hospitality and other private buildings. We also have the principle not to use more than 2 colour tones in one building, the purpose is to maintain the consistency of the characteristics of the building itself. One of the other benefits of applying monochromatic architecture style to the exterior design is a long and more durable design life. It means the design will still look fresh and relate to the state of the building in the upcoming 10 to 20 years. This is due to the choice of monochrome colour which makes the design not look too much ornamentation, so it does not characterize the design of a period.

In addition, an architect must be able to provide the right design decisions so that the above benefits can be realized. There are several steps must be taken by an architect in designing the exterior with a monochromatic architecture style. First is preparing the mood board. Mood board is a collection of several image compositions or visual materials that you want to use in a design. Setting up a mood board must be done by determining what basic colours you want to use then, collect materials that match the basic colour. The next step is to put the collected materials in one place to see the compatibility between the prepared materials, and if there is material that is not suitable or match, it will be removed from the mood board. Some materials that need to be added to the mood board to design the exterior are; finishing materials that will be used on the building facade, material for hardscape, and selection of soft scape that matches the material that has been selected. From here it will be easier to apply a monochrome style to the exterior of the building. After analysing the mood board and also having the shape of the exterior design, so the material can be located on the mood board in the design. At this steps, it is important to pay attention to the material balance factor with dark, light and basic colours so that there is no inequality. As an architect, we can work around this by designing the macro part of the building first, such as the facade colouring which must be determined to use dark or light colours. After getting a match on the macro design, then we go to the micro section, which is the detail section such as ornaments that will be given a touch of dark and light play on colour. 

It can be concluded that the application of monochromatic architecture on the exterior of this design has several advantages and disadvantages. One of the weaknesses of this design is that it cannot apply many colours. On the other hands, there is an advantage that we will get, such as; applying one basic colour will create a building that has its own uniqueness, and it will be easier to arrange finishing materials on the exterior of the building, because we do not need to process many colours.

By : Junida Aryadi

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