The role of color in the urban and social image regeneration. From the Zukunftskathedrale to Street art

The paper proposes a critical analysis and discusses the relationship between colours and their role in increasing the quality of built space. The research takes its cue from the theorised principles of the German architect Bruno Taut to get to the contemporary Street art projects, and it highlights the role of colours in the regeneration intervention and the social impact in local communities. The poetic rationalised in the Modern Style design principles, and their application in architectural and urban-scale projects – e.g. the housing projects in Magdeburg – are a reference for design activities involving colours as a primary conceptual driver. In particular, the paper proposes two case studies – the Dutch studio Haas&Hahn's Philly Painting, community-driven art project, in Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia, and the work of the painter Edi Rama in Tirana – to underline the strategic role of colour in the participated and co-designed process of urban regeneration.