Boston Red – How architect Luis Vidal created a new landmark at Monopol Color Lab
Color is more than just a visual stimulus – it is identity, orientation, and emotion. When internationally renowned architect Luis Vidal was awarded for the new Terminal E at Boston Logan International Airport, he faced a formidable challenge: how do you capture the soul of a city that is at once historic and forward-looking in a single building? He found the answer in Switzerland, at the Monopol Colors Color Lab.
Boston is a city of contrasts. It carries a deep historical heritage, while at the same time standing as a global powerhouse for technology and education. To architecturally unite this duality, the architecture firm luis vidal + architects pursued a clear vision: the new Terminal E should not be an isolated foreign body but should instead grow from within the city itself.
The search for Boston’s “chromatic soul”
Luis Vidal’s relationship with Boston dates back to 2012. During his many stays, he studied the city’s unmistakable character. He was particularly fascinated by the unique quality of the light — how it shapes the surroundings, softens colors, transforms them, and brings the city to life. Added to this was its unmistakable architectural DNA: “So much of Boston is embedded in red,” Vidal realized when looking at the city’s iconic brick facades.
To capture this “chromatic soul” of Boston and transfer it to the vast, sweeping roof of the new terminal, more than a standard color tone was needed. It required a color that breathes, changes, and tells a story. For this demanding task, Luis Vidal travelled to Switzerland – directly to the Monopol Colors Color Lab.
An extraordinary creative dialogue in the Color Lab
When Luis Vidal entered our lab, he brought sketches of the building design and a clear yet highly complex vision: he was looking for an iconic red deeply connected to Boston’s identity. What followed was an intense and extraordinary creative dialogue between the innovative architect and our color experts.
The challenge was as ambitious as the building itself. The terminal was meant not to overwhelm travellers, but to guide them through an intuitive architecture shaped by the compression and decompression of space. The roof color had to support this dynamic.
Over several days, the color was redesigned, mixed, and applied again and again in the lab by Luis Vidal until every detail was right.
The project’s magical moment culminated in Luis Vidal’s reaction as he looked at the final color sample: “That is exactly the color I was looking for.”
A living landmark for eternity
Today, “Boston Red” is a piece of captured city history, born in the Monopol Color Lab and protected for Luis Vidal.
The new Terminal E, with its widely visible red roof, has since become a dynamic and vibrant landmark of Boston. It reflects the spirit of the moment and the rhythm of nature. It is the first thing travellers see from the air when arriving in Boston, and the last when they leave the city again.
We at Monopol Colors are incredibly proud to have brought Luis Vidal’s vision to life with our color expertise. “Boston Red” once again proves this: when visionary architecture meets masterful color technology, landmarks are created that endure.
