Colour and Architecture: An Empirical Study of a New Paradigm of Painting of Residential Buildings and Ownership in Kumasi

Abstract

Colours have been classically used to inspire taste in architecture from antiquity. Colours provide ‘joie de vivre’ (joy of life). However, a cursory observation reveals a noticeable trend in Ghana where residential buildings are receiving paints and colour notations of multinational companies. This paper presents empirical research on colour through multiple methodological approaches and tactics. The research findings presented in this paper used Kumasi, the Capital of the Ashanti Region of Ghana as main case study area. The data analysis of findings revealed that about seventy-five percent of the houses painted in multinational companies’ colours along major arterial roads in Kumasi were approached for advertisement purposes. In addition, the owners of the sampled houses chose to paint with a particular colour for a mark of distinction and monetary reasons. This paper concludes that the companies’ objectives were adhoc and were not guided by any planned scheme as required to enhance the sensibility and aesthetic appeals through the use of colour for buildings and their genus loci in an urban environment. The paper recommends revisions to the current Ghana National Building Regulations of 1996 – The Legislative Instruments 1630 to recognize the importance of colour aesthetics in city environments.

Keywords: Company colour and paint, Architecture, Incentivization, Building regulations, Kumasi-Ashante