Decorative concrete injects life and personality into New Zealand’s urban landscape

From abstract patterns depicting New Zealand’s native wildlife to vibrant, colourful skate parks, decorative concrete has opened up a world of creative possibilities for urban designers. Over the thirty-plus years since Brian O’Keeffe founded Permacolour, he’s seen the rise, fall, and subsequent rise of decorative concrete in the urban design zeitgeist.

“When we first started the business in 1992, there was a lot of imprint and stencil concrete in all sorts of colours. Then exposed aggregate came in, and everyone was doing that, so decorative concrete took a back seat. Now, it’s coming back, and people are thinking outside the box — even refurbishing old concrete to give it a new lease on life.”

The return of decorative concrete has been influenced, in large part, by social media. Finding inspiration in the work of architects and designers both locally and overseas, New Zealand firms are pushing the envelope.

“Architects have a better understanding of decorative concrete now, too,” says Permacolour Operations Manager, Daniel O’Keeffe. “They’re finding ways to incorporate it into their designs in new ways, inspired by the projects they’re seeing overseas. With the technology we have now, the possibilities are endless. They can draw up something outrageous, and we can make it happen.”

The aforementioned skate park was a significant project for Daniel, showcasing the way decorative concrete can completely transform a space.

“I’ve always known skate parks to be grey and boring — just plain concrete. Seeing how people use our coloured concrete to create a really vibrant park is exciting. There are a few companies using overlay products to spruce up the older parks, and we’ve worked on a few similar projects with swimming pools, too.”

Unfazed by the high foot traffic and general wear urban spaces are subject to, all products in Permacolour’s decorative concrete range can be used in these projects. With maintenance and resealing every few years, the concrete will continue to look as good as it did on day one — giving designers peace of mind that their design will retain its integrity and appeal well into the future.

Decorative concrete isn’t just transforming our public squares and parks, but the buildings that surround them, too.

“We’re contracted for a lot of commercial and residential projects, which could include anything from colour matching to stains and decorative overlays,” Brian explains. “We did a project where we created colours going into pre-cast coloured panels for a student accommodation building facade in the Auckland CBD. The architects came up with the colours they wanted, and Concretec Precast asked Permacolour to match them. The whole building was covered in these panels with a few variations in colour to create an interesting design.”

For every project, but specifically those with custom colours, the Permacolour team works alongside the architects and designers to translate their vision into a real-world application.

“For custom colours, we typically start with a swatch or Pantone colour and go from there. It can take a bit of time to find the right pigment combination, but we usually end up with a very close match.”

Once the design, products, and colours are finalised, Permacolour are on hand to offer any further assistance required.

“We offer support where they need it, and plenty of advice on which products are suitable for their applications and how to care for the concrete during installation and afterwards. We have teams based in Auckland, New Plymouth, and Christchurch, and salespeople across the country who are always available to help with project ideas and provide specification advice.”

Learn more about Permacolour.