Why coloured concrete is having an architectural moment
There’s no need for concrete to come in 50 shades of grey. Leading architects show how it can be a real decorative talking point
We’re so used to thinking of concrete as a purely structural material, it’s hard to imagine it in anything other than its raw, industrial grey state. But some forward thinking designers and architects are starting to use concrete as a decorative device that allows spaces to remain clean and uncluttered yet filled with colour. On projects large and small, some are sticking to a soft, natural palette, while others are using it to make a dark, dramatic statement. Here are a few of our favourites to inspire you to think differently about concrete’s potential...
Rose-tinted view
Architecture practice Unknown Works transformed this dark north-London townhouse by introducing a stepped and terraced landscape of plaster-coloured surfaces that runs from the outdoors into the building’s interior. The palette was inspired by their clients’ travels in Mexico and Luis Barragán’s iconic use of pink. Now, the previously gloomy subterranean level is washed in a rosy glow year-round. unknown.works
Two-tone approach
A vibrant palette of hot pinks and reds lends Laal Kothi Residence – a house built by MSS Design in a village in Goa, India – a mood-boosting quality. Flanked by lush tropical greenery, the property appears as if it has emerged organically from the ground. @mssdesign.in
The dark side
In the hills of New South Wales stands this dramatic home by Australian studio Edition Office. It employed a combination of black-pigmented concrete and timber battens in the same gothic shade to create a building that is both a grounding sanctuary for its residents and a stark sculptural statement on the hillside. edition-office.com
Wrapped in colour
Studio Ben Allen found unlikely inspiration in the patterned brickwork of this house’s Victorian neighbours, which encouraged the architects to consider concrete as a material that could be both load-bearing and decorative. Used on the home’s exterior, it also adds colour internally, most notably in this emerald-green, hamman-style bathroom, where everything from the walls and floors to the bathtub and basin is cladin tinted concrete. studiobenallen.com
Nature’s palette
Demonstrating how concrete can create a calm, warm atmosphere in a domestic space, González Muchow’s Tejocote House in Mexico echoes the sandy colour of the local landscape. Used throughout the interior to bring a coherence to the rooms, the subtly textured concrete nods to the semi-desert topography and the vernacular architecture of the region, rooting the home in its surroundings. goma.haus
Inspired by place
Designed by Rye-based RX Architects, Seabreeze sits like a dusky-pink sandcastle on the dunes at Camber in East Sussex. The architects initially considered using unfinished grey concrete, but felt it would look far too serious for a holiday home. Instead, they tinted the microfibre-concrete exterior, giving the structure’s angular form a visual softness and playful feel that suits its beachside location. The practical finish helps the building withstand the elements but the colour is pure fun, reminiscent of traditional Mediterranean beach houses, with the pink tint popping on a sunny day and taking on a burnt-orange hue at sunset. rxarchitects.com
Colour blocking
Washed in buttercup yellow, the uncompromising form of Raem House, designed by Chilean architecture studio Pezo von Ellrichshausen, starts to resemble a child’s building block or a bar of gold. Surrounded by rocks and native plants in the mountains outside Santiago, the reinforced-concrete construction doesn’t try to blend into its surroundings, but rather adds something new and surprising to the scenery.
Artistic influences
Edward McCann Architecture worked with Conscious Forms, a fabricator that specialises in concrete works, on three fire surrounds for this home, which were based on Josef Albers’ Homage to the Square paintings. Part of the artist’s colour-theory experiments, these consisted of a series of concentric squares, each a different shade. The composition lends itself perfectly tothe stepped-concrete elements that frame the fire with complementary bands of colour. edwardmccann.studio
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