Colors documentation and processing in graphic production for architectural heritage representation

The paper presents some preliminary outcomes of a number of research experiences focused on the one hand on the survey of colour as a specific field of architectural heritage documentation, and on the other on the representation of colour in digital views. These representations are processed through rendering software, allowing information to be transferred through digital elaborations able of rendering the chromatic features of surfaces in photorealistic visions. Within this survey and representation process, the role of the colour is crucial, mainly regarding the approach to colour documentation, assessment, elaboration and representation. The novelty regards the inclusion of this approach within the so-called “survey of the project” as a form of investigation through sources and documents as a starting point for critical analysis and representation. Among the main outcomes of this process, it is possible to highlight the digital reconstruction of buildings that no longer exist or have been deeply modified by interventions that have altered their original layout and chromatic configuration.