380-780 nm

380 to 780 nanometers: Our eyes only perceive this range of electromagnetic radiation as “light”. If individual wavelengths are more represented than others in this spectrum, we see colors.

Colors create a feeling of well-being or aversion, shape memories and allow us to experience spaces. Their accidental or conscious use determines the effect of our living spaces. Colors are a central element of our designed environment – our building culture.

The exhibition “380-780 nm. Color in Architecture and City” at the Museum der Baukultur NRW focuses on color. It can be seen from May 26th to June 28th, 2024 in the hall at Hansaallee 190 in Düsseldorf. The exhibition opens on Sunday, May 26, 2024, 11 a.m.

There is hardly any design topic that we discuss as passionately and controversially as the use of color: it is at the center of our perception; it affects and affects everyone. The exhibition at the Museum der Baukultur NRW would like to encourage people to consciously examine the effect and function of colors. It's about "right" and "good" design, about "wrong" colors, perception phenomena and viewing habits, conflicts with colors, but also about virtual realities and artistic positions.

“380-780 nm” calls on us to take part in the question with a view to a climate-friendly building culture: What can color do for our spatial design in the future?

An overview of the exhibition
The documentary area shows projects in which color was at the center of a conflict or in which color was used as a means of resolution.
The “laboratory formats” play with perception, analysis, and awareness. Here the focus is on interaction.

Are there “good” and “correct” color designs? This is about finding objective criteria and rules that support the choice of color regardless of personal taste.

“Wrong Colors” puts our sense of color to the test, because our ideas about “correct” or “good” design are also based on viewing habits, cultural influences and previous knowledge.

The “color laboratory” is about color recipes, perception phenomena and the relationship between light and color.

The ten works presented in the area of “Virtual Reality” are the result of a cooperation between Baukultur NRW and the Peter Behrens School of Arts (Düsseldorf).

“Artistic Positions” illustrate the relationship between color and space.

Will future, climate-friendly construction and renovation also manifest itself aesthetically and in colors? Pioneering architects and offices take a look into the future for the exhibition.