Freshly painted!

Different countries, different colours - After 3 months work, our school in Nigeria is now freshly painted in beautiful, warm earth tones.
Unlike on the Northern Hemisphere, it's not a good idea to paint buildings in Nigeria white; the Holy Trinity School in Nigeria is a perfect example of this.

White is known to have a cooling effect and therefore seems ideal for hot countries. According to colour psychology, white also epitomises the values that are needed in a school; namely cleanliness, order, lightness, objectivity and clarity.

But the psychological effects of colour didn't reckon with the effects of Nigerian soil, which is mostly red or black. Even the country's emblem has black to represent "the good earth". But that makes it difficult to keep white buildings clean.

Holy Trinity School - Freshly painted! - Education in Nigeria
Holy Trinity School - Freshly painted! - Education in Nigeria

„Facelift“

It's been a few years, and it was time to give the school a facelift. From April to June, the school underwent renovation and the facade was freshly painted. The windows and doors were replaced, ceilings were renovated and furniture, such as chairs and tables, were also given a new lease of life.
Now the whole area looks almost as good as new again, with the beautiful, earthy red and ochre tones.

Holy Trinity School - Freshly painted! - Education in Nigeria
Holy Trinity School - Freshly painted! - Education in Nigeria
Holy Trinity School - Freshly painted! - Education in Nigeria

Did you know..?

...that not being able to paint a building white is the only disadvantage of the red-brown or black soil? Darker soil is generally better. It is either more fertile than lighter coloured soil because it contains more humus, or because it's rich in minerals. Soil with a red-brown colour contains more iron oxide, is well-draining, not overly wet, but fertile.