Environmental color analysis and facade color design in a street rehabilitation: Adana, Kayalıbağ

Abstract Streets and buildings that become inactive within the historical texture of cities can be restored to the district through rehabilitation projects and color designs, which encourage urbanites to use them more actively. Such spaces are especially important for urban memory, yet they risk losing their integrity over time due to uncontrolled development. Therefore, making them available for urban use is important for socio‐cultural and economic development. This study involves the application, under a rehabilitation project, of a holistic approach to façade color design for buildings located on two streets in the center of Adana, a city in southern Turkey that dates back to the Common Era. The study began with collecting color samples from the area as part of environmental color analyses, after which the colors of the samples were measured. In line with the environmental characteristics that affect color perception, a range of colors with Munsell's equivalent value and hue contrast was considered appropriate for application to the facades of buildings in the Kayalıbağ neighborhood. In the color design, five different hues with high‐value (light) and low chroma were selected to increase the attractiveness of the historically and archeologically highly significant district. The aim of the color design was to increase the livability and attractiveness of the district, while not overshadowing the cultural qualities of the urban environment.