COLOUR IN ARCHITECTURE refers to the use of special pigments to create colour effects in the appearance of a structure, whether applied purely as decoration, like paint, or built in as integral elements of the construction.
The range of available materials is wide. Bricks may be had in natural tones running from reds through the greys, whites, blacks and brown. Terra-cotta is burnt clay either unglazed or covered with coloured glazes fired on to the piece itself. Mosaic in glass, stone or marble, permits the widest range of tone and pattern, for it is frankly an application of small elements, each pure in colour, to a large composition on a flat or rounded surface. Marbles in every conceivable tone have always been favourite elements in the embellishment of buildings; the greenish lime stones so popular in Italy, the warm, golden-coloured stones of France, the rich Kato or Kasota stones of western America may also be mentioned here. The granites present blacks, greys, rich reds and purples; and glass can be obtained in all shades. Metals, such as zinc, lead, copper and gold combined with alloys, such as bronze, are fertile with possibilities. Woods, either stained to emphasize their natural colour, or painted, allow further latitude. Paint, either mixed with water as a wash, or combined with oil as a more permanent covering, has been the usual resource in finish ing a building. On roofs, the slates, brown, grey, green and purple, vie with tiles of baked earth.