Three questions for NIO Architects

The versatile Dutch architect Maurice Nio has made a design for the Novoperedelkino metro station in Moscow. Like in almost all his work, color plays an important role for Nio.

about: Can you say something about the atmosphere you want to achieve in your new Moscow metro station?

Maurice Nio: When you enter the Novoperedelkino metro station, you go from dark to light, from the below-street underpass to the platform area. A gradient of ten shades of black, grey and white tiles guides the public downwards. The lighting is designed according to this scheme: up-lighting toward the white ceilings and down-lightning toward the white platform. There is also extra functional lighting on the walls to guide the public up and down.

about: Your projects always have a narrative. What is it in this particular case?

Maurice Nio: Behind a dark cloud there is always a glimmer of light. That is the concept of this project. The design for the Novoperedelkino metro station is about hope. And about forgiveness, of course. If you were cynical, you could say that this theme, this thought, could be applied to all metro stations in Moscow, but that is not true. Especially in this unforgiving neighbourhood, the theme is entirely in place. This generic neighbourhood must be inspired. By someone other than an angel?

about: How was it to work with ChromaPlural for this project?

Maurice Nio: For our design for the Novoperedelkino metro station, we used the ten shades of the “Neutral” grey color range. With these ten shades, we can perfectly express the idea of descending to a bright space deep underground. In order to optimise the gradient effect, we used a small tile (10x10 cm). The design of the Novoperedelkino metro station is very “quiet”, but with the same new color code, you can also achieve a “loud” design.

Mix and match

The reason for color co-ordination is equally evident. By offering consistent ranges of colors within a clearly structured palette, ChromaPlural’s UNICOLOR color system guides designers towards chromatically and aesthetically balanced solutions. The color ranges are divided into six groups, each with two main colors as a basis for a series of different hues, levels of brightness and saturation: Warm, Earthy, Cool, Fresh and Sunny, circling around a subdued group of Neutral greys. Each group contains colors that can be easily mixed and matched, both within and between groups. This allows for consistent and harmonious atmospheres, even if different spaces contain colors from different groups. From the warm reds to the cool blues, the palette consists of sophisticated colors which are elegantly understated yet distinctively present, and applicable in a wide variety of conditions. Bright and fresh for swimming pools for instance, warm and comforting in a spa where tiles are the natural choice, but also in hospital environments where durability and hygiene are equally decisive factors when opting for tiles.

The Dutch color expert Rob van Maanen, who wrote a book about color in the city, made a distinction which is useful in this context. Van Maanen describes three categories of what he calls the color character: general, specific and manifest. The general color character of most places is often rarely noticed: the greys, greens and browns that form the backgrounds of many cities. The specific colors are those that define a particular region, city or even a neighbourhood within a city. To give one example, the ochres of Rome can be easily distinguished from the reds and browns of Amsterdam. In the places where they prevail, specific colors tend to be perceived as general ones, but they are distinctly different from the real general colors that are usually common in much larger areas.

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