ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the use of colour in modernity and its alternative expressions, as well as the way in which colour is intrinsically connected with the use of specific materials. It is, indeed, astonishing how few critical essays discuss the effect materials have on the chromatic configuration of an architectural project or the ways in which colour can be inherently connected with the use of a specific material and how it uniquely characterises an architectural work. It concludes with examples of architects whose work is characterised by the use of specific materials, and the colour palette these materials offer. Perhaps the most celebrated work of Luis Barragan is his own house and studio, the second that he built for himself in Francisco Ramirez Street, Tacubaya, Mexico City. Colour is one essential component of Barragan’s architecture. It is closely connected with the use of specific materials and textures, often mixed with the thick plaster and roughcast that the architect regularly used.
