The Color in Structures and Enclosures: Applications in Contemporary Latin American Housing

Although the use of color can be employed to hide or disguise a specific characteristic, it can also be used to highlight them. Within the Latin American territory, we can observe that shades of red, green, and blue have predominated in residential architecture, aiming to integrate a language appropriate to the context in which it is implemented.

Applying color to structures and enclosures can enhance the aesthetics of their interior or exterior spaces. This application can be linked to technologies, construction methods, the surrounding landscape, and local materials, among other factors. By emphasizing specific structural elements, distinguishing spatial areas, or framing visuals and architectural features, the use of color offers a multitude of possibilities that encompass contrasting tones, complementary colors, as well as neutral or camouflaged shades in combination with other materials.

Below, we present a selection of residential projects in Latin America, including houses and apartments that use color both in their structures and in their interior and/or exterior carpentry, giving character to their spaces for various purposes.

Structures

Fonrouge Residence / Fabrizio Pugliese

Ghibli House / Nuevo Arquitetura

Itatiba House / 24 7 Arquitetura

Gama House / Studio ArquitetUras

Lapinha Studio / plano livre

ER House / Jobim Carlevaro Arquitetos

Elita House / Yemail Arquitectura

Cascada House / Ana Nuño de Buen + Luis Young

Enclosures

H – House Saul / Parada Cantilo Estudio

MOO House / Agustín Aguirre + FRAM arquitectos

House n.03 / Mana arquitetura

Casa Xilo / Estúdio Minke

Camburí House / Samir Riman – Arquitetura

Free House / Chip Studio

San Ignacio House / Amarillo Amate Arquitectura

Casa Georgina / Departamento del Distrito

House in Xalapa / Lopez Gonzalez Studio

Nakasone House / Escobedo Soliz

This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Color in Architecture presented by Sto.

Material, texture, sheen, and color are inseparable – the identity of a building becomes clear in an Architect’s choices of how these come together. Considering the lifecycle of a building from design, occupation, and legacy, we understand that achieving the right expression is tantamount to the success of a building. Sto’s innovative materials and data-driven color system complement design ambitions with technical knowledge and rigorous testing, to offer possibilities, accuracy, and longevity when Building in Color.

Produced by Sto, the short documentary ‘Building in Colour’ is a cinematic exploration into the role of materials and color in architecture, taking the work of Stirling Prize-winning architect Michael Wilford CBE (1938 – 2023) as its starting point.

Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about our ArchDaily Topics. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.