Housing in Southern Africa August 2015

ore architects around the world have lost their

fear of coloured concrete and there is a definite lo-

cal trend towards greater acceptance of coloured

concrete. Interestingly, the use of pigment always has a

correlation to the developmental stage of a particular

country.

Thomas Pfeiffer, Vice President Marketing and Sales,

EMEA Lanxness Inorganic Pigments says, “We have ob-

served that when people reach a certain income status,

they seek out beauty in addition to functionality. This

often takes the form of using appealing and consistently

high quality colours.”

Lanxness pigments distributor, Chryso Southern Africa

is geared up to accommodate the growing trend towards

colour adoption in buildings and infrastructure. Pfeiffer

points out, “Coloured concrete products have, in fact,

been available for several decades. Simply consider the

use of coloured roof tiles and concrete paving blocks. It’s

the way that colour is used that is significant. Notably,

South Africa at present echoes the trend towards black,

variations of black shades and red that is so apparent in

countries like Germany.”

■

Creating

colourful

finishes

Colour pigments are becoming increasingly

popular across a broad spectrum of products in

the built environment where colour is required

for enhanced aesthetic appeal. Applications are

diverse and include the precast industry, roof tile

manufacturers, civils contractors and construction

companies.