Interaction between space and color: a comparative analysis of spatial organization concepts in the architecture of Mies van der Rohe and in the paintings of Kazimir Malevich

Abstract

The article reviews two concepts of space organization - three-dimensional in the architecture of Mies van der Rohe and two-dimensional in the paintings of Kazimir Malevich. Common spatial features were identified between the two concepts, which formed the basis of a competition project on interaction between space and color: Mies van der Rohe: Color Discourse. The key characteristics of architecture and painting thus combined resulted in a spatial experiment on interaction between color and space with reference to the synthesis of K. Malevich’s suprematism and Mies van der Rohe’s architecture. This experimental project became not only a response to utilitarian demands, i.e. provision for emergency evacuation requirements, functional filling, vital needs, etc., but also a presentation of a way to form a ‘colorspace’ as a specific type of substance and to explore some aspects of its formation. The project illustrates the process of their interaction with each other and the creation of new spatial properties and perceptions of the architectural object’s internal space.

Keywords

• space
• structure
• suprematism