Domesticity in Colour
Colour as an design strategy in the Ronald McDonald House Utrecht
A. Wassenberg (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
J.S. Zeinstra – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
This booklet is a research of the role of colour as a design strategy in the Ronald McDonald House in Utrecht (1999), designed by Bosch & Haslett. This building is positioned next to the University Medical Center Utrecht and positions itself between the institutional environment, while creating a domestic atmosphere. The research into the broader developments of care architecture in the Netherlands after 1945 shows a shift from functional design principles to more humane environments. These are focused on the well-being of people and sensory experience. Ronald McDonald Houses are temporary homes for families of sick children. Here, light, materials, scale, and colour are very important for the well-being of the families.
A spatial analysis of the Ronald McDonald House Utrecht shows that colour is more than a decorative element and contributes to the spatial experience and domestic atmosphere. Colour defines volumes, connects the interior and exterior, and works together with light and materials. The landscape-like design of the building strengthens this effect by guiding movement and creating different spatial experiences. Finally, this research shows that colour plays a crucial role in creating a domestic feeling of a building.