Colour Collab: Greg Young | Architecture Now

What led you into the world of structure?

Greg Younger (GY): I took a pretty unorthodox method. I’d enrolled on the Victoria College Faculty of Structure however determined to achieve some expertise in the actual world and took a job in structural draughting whereas learning architectural draughting. I labored at various practices earlier than ending up at Warren and Mahoney in Christchurch, which is the place most of my coaching befell — whether or not they realised it or not. There, I used to be fortunate to be working alongside a number of the greatest architects within the nation. Now, my very own apply (began in 2003) relies in a Warren and Mahoney-designed constructing, proper beside 65 Cambridge Terrace. My drafting board overlooks Sir Miles’ backyard.

Inform us about the usage of color in your work.

GY: I select color very fastidiously in our designs, with an consciousness of a venture’s use, outlook, surroundings and inhabitants. Typically it’s a acutely aware choice to remain impartial and within the background whereas, at different instances, we’re utilizing color and sample for their very own particular magnificence. Heritage work could be very explicit and I discover that my use of color in different tasks is influenced by this, whether or not it’s vernacular colors of the previous or Mid-century fashionable colors, adjusted for native context. My most up-to-date color award was a Resene Whole Color Maestro Award final yr for the Dorset Road Flats (Heritage).

What influences your work?

GY: My early years had been the Nineties, which was not an excellent interval for structure and color. Mid-century structure actually appeals to me however I prefer to maintain a large mixture of tasks – it retains the studio invigorated and ensures we’re at all times studying, moderately than on ‘rinse and repeat’. In renovations and additions, I prefer to try to perceive what the unique intent of the architect was so any interventions we make will be referenced or are complementary not directly. I’m a giant fan of studying from the previous so I can perceive the ‘why’ of structure, and the way I can apply it to our present tasks. This is applicable to my use of color as nicely — by seeking to the previous, I can see what works and what doesn’t.

What was the considering behind your collab?

GY: Our current work on the heritage-listed Dorset Road Flats, designed by Sir Miles Warren in 1956, noticed us use color to intensify completely different parts of the constructing and to provide the constructing’s geometry an inventive edge. I wanted to scrape again many a long time of fiddling, in some circumstances, to search out the unique colors. Miles had been impressed by Le Corbusier’s vibrant Unité d’Habitation and the Finn Juhl Home at Ordrupgaard Museum. On the again of one of many Dorset Road Flats drawings, we discovered an elevation sketch of the Finn Juhl Home, so there’s no denying the place his inspiration lay for them. The colors and types of these flats lent themselves nicely to an inventive collab.

Inform us about your color choises. 

GY: The colors are largely these used within the restore, strengthening and revitalisation of the flats publish the Canterbury earthquakes. Resene Alabaster kinds the backdrop on the concrete block and Resene Baltic Sea references a number of the exterior and inside detailing. Resene Purple Oxide and Resene Siam had been used on exterior partitions and doorways, respectively, and Resene Corn playfully highlights structural metal bracing above the stair. Right here, it has been used to characterize the sunshine solid by the venture’s globe-shaped pendants at evening.

See extra from the Resene Color Collab sequence right here.

ArchitectureNow works with a spread of companions within the A&D provide sector to supply applicable content material for the location. This text has been supported by Resene.