Colors (Their Positions& meanings) in Islamic Architecture

Abstract

Colors are considered to be one of the complementary design elements in the process of architectural design of any building. Itcontributes in the presentation of the final and overall picture of the work which the designer intends to convey to the recipient.Islamic architecture was characterized by the distinguished use of colors which took part in achieving access to architectural models that have a high expressive abilityin delivering different interpretations to the recipients. In order to make use of the architectural and aesthetic heritage of colors in Islamic architecture, the details of using colors in Islamic architecture must be clear to be a guide for contemporary architects in the operations of utilizing colors in architecture. After considering a number of previous studies, the research problem can be stated as follows: (the lack of sufficient detailed theoretical knowledge about colors and their achieved meanings in Islamic architecture). Therefore the goal of research is to (identify the colors used in Islamic architecture and their meanings, along with knowing the correlation between the use of specific colors in specific locations within the Islamic building, and the meanings achieved in each use). In order to achieve the goal of research, the researcher employs an approach which includes: (1Building a theoretical framework which includes identifying the most frequently used colors in Islamic architecture, determine their meanings in the Quran and Islamic tradition, and finding out the color assortments used in Islamic architecture. (2Carrying out an analytical study to complete the information on the utilization of colors in Islamic architecture which includes the use of a set of images of Islamic architecture models to represent the samples of the target study. (3Analyzing the results of the analytical study. The research comes out with some conclusions, like the use of colors in two techniques:1) Representation of the natural environment,2) Counteraction with the environment. Key words: colors, meaning & semantics, Islamic Architecture