FROM DIGITAL COLOUR TO CIRCULAR COLOUR. The color of architectural surface in the circular economy. A review

Nowadays, circular economy principles have persuasively entered architectural design and façade covering, transforming their visibility. Previously, the facade was “covered” by paint or a flashy and super-colored digital screen; now, the final layer is neutral, typical of recycled materials. The facade has now lost its role as the superficial identity of the building, instead becoming a sacrifice surface for new experimentations. The aim of the paper is to describe the transformation of textures and colors of contemporary architecture, within the circular economy paradigm, through the analysis of some case studies of the last years and the perceptive and social repercussions. Where before the facade was "covered" by a bright and colorful digital screen, now the overlade of layers is neutral color, like the recycled materials. Today the façade is no longer considered an identifying surface of the building, but as a surface of sacrifice for new experiments. The new architectural façades therefore adopt green, grey, carbon-neutral solutions and more, with a focus to circularity and resilience of the contemporary construction system. At the same time, the new environmental demands of the circular economy are leading us to use technical elements made with recycled or natural materials, which completely change the perception of architectural surfaces, in this Era characterized by speed. The colors are the natural ones of the materials, which can then be recycled, or the neutral colors of recycled materials, maybe as 3D printed powder blends. With this new paradigm, do buildings lose their identity and look all the same or do they re-appropriate the identity of the original materials of the place? What is the impact of these new hypo-colored surfaces within urban landscapes? Will the genius loci [1] of urban spaces survive the changes due to the new circular paradigms?