César Manrique’s Influence on Lanzarote’s Architectural Colour Palette

The Lanzarote Artist Who Celebrated the Island’s Traditional Architecture

A content creator has published a video on the social media platform TikTok, explaining the colours of the windows and doors of homes in Lanzarote, which are typically green inland and blue along the coast.

In this context, the TikToker emphasises that the choice of these colours “depends on César Manrique, and here in Lanzarote, we have it everywhere.” However, the multidisciplinary artist did not invent the use of these colours for windows and doors; he promoted the existing traditional architecture and conveyed to his fellow citizens the significance of Lanzarote’s unique urban legacy.

César Manrique, in his work Lanzarote. Arquitectura [in]édita (1974), highlighted the island’s traditional architecture, advocating the use of green, blue, and white in homes, as well as the inclusion of other features, like chimneys.

The use of colours such as green and blue is linked to Lanzarote’s historical relationship with the sea, as sailors would utilise leftover paint from their boats to complete doors and windows.

Additionally, the TikToker remarked that the artist is “once again teaching how things should be done, he just missed telling the islanders what time of day to relieve themselves and that if they are intimate with their partners, they must do so facing Timanfaya.”