Spectrophotometers and Architecture

The colors in buildings have a great psychological effect on the people who use those buildings. At one university, a laboratory of the engineering department is researching the colors used in traditional architecture, and studying their relation to the colors used in modern buildings constructed after the Meijj period (after 1911). Recently, there was a chance to participate in the investigation of buildings which have been designated Important Cultural Assets. Evaluation of the colors used to be performed by comparing subjects and color cards by eye, this conformed to the JIS method for comparison of surface colors. However, this evaluation method requires a lot of labor and is inefficient, and it also needs controlled lighting to ensure even brightness. In addition, it is difficult to compare measurement data under the present method. Measurements are performed by recording the points measured with he Spectrophotometer on the projections of a the building, and also recording the specimen number for the Spectrophotometer measurement.