Why So Many Control Rooms Were Seafoam Green

The Color Theory Behind Industrial Seafoam Green

When I lived in Nashville, my girlfriends and I would take ourselves on “field trips” across the state. In the summer of 2017, we went on a trip to the National Park’s Manhattan Project Site in Oak Ridge, TN. In 1942, Oak Ridge was chosen as the site for a plutonium and uranium enrichment plant as part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret WWII effort to develop the first atomic bomb.

Alongside the population growth, enormously complex buildings were built. Our first stop on the tour was the X-10 Graphite Reactor room and its control panel room. What caught my eye as a designer, besides the knobs and buttons, was the use of a very specific seafoam green on the reactor’s walls and in the control panel room.

The Work of Faber Birren

This path led me to the work of color theorist Faber Birren. In 1933, he became a self-appointed color consultant, approaching major corporations to sell the idea that appropriate use of color could boost sales and efficiency. Soon, a number of industries hired Faber to bring color theory into their work, including the leading chemical and wartime contract company, DuPont, who designed the Manhattan Project buildings.

Industrial Color Coding

With the increase in wartime production, Birren and DuPont created a master color safety code for the industrial plant industry, aiming to reduce accidents and increase efficiency. These color codes were approved by the National Safety Council in 1944:

• Fire Red: All fire protection and emergency stop buttons.
• Solar Yellow: Signifies caution and physical hazards.
• Alert Orange: Hazardous parts of machinery.
• Safety Green: Indicates safety features like first-aid equipment.
• Caution Blue: Non-safety information or out-of-order signage.
• Light Green: Used on walls to reduce visual fatigue.

The Science of the Shade

In Birren’s 1963 book Color for Interiors, he writes about research undertaken to measure eye fatigue in the industrial workplace. He states that the proper use of color hues can reduce accidents and improve labor morale.

Looking at the interiors of the Manhattan Project control rooms, the broad use of Light Green makes sense. One mistake and mass devastation could have occurred. Birren writes, “Green is a restful and natural-looking color for average factory interiors. Light Green with Medium Green is suggested.” Color was functional, not merely decorative.