Concrete has long held a defining role in New Zealand architecture — at once structural and sculptural, robust and nuanced. Across many recent Home of the Year winners, the material emerges as a central part of the design language.
The vast range of Peter Fell colour options have enabled architects to push the expressive potential of concrete well beyond the utilitarian, into something far more atmospheric and enduring.
Light Catcher | Alt & Reno Home of the Year 2025
In Light Catcher by Jose Gutierrez, the Alt & Reno Home of the Year 2025, concrete is both counterpoint and anchor. On a Grey Lynn street of villas and bungalows, the intervention is subtle from the road, yet transformative within.
Against a light-filled addition sits a cuboid form of dark-coloured concrete: weighty, monolithic, and deliberate. Coloured with Peter Fell black oxide, the volume has already begun to patinate, settling quietly into its garden courtyard. Fronds creep across its surface; shadows and watery reflections animate its solidity. The effect is painterly — a study in light and permanence, where coloured concrete offers an intriguing depth.
Across the water, the kitchen and dining area is framed with the same dark-coloured concrete but here it gives way to an external timber screen that wraps high windows — a nod to the white picket fences of the area, and a decision by Jose that ensures this house lives up to its name: Light Catcher.
Onetangi Cliff House | Coastal Home of the Year 2025
On Waiheke Island, Onetangi Cliff House by Herbst Architects, the Coastal Home of the Year 2025, reveals concrete’s tactile spectrum. On a site defined by salt, wind and exposure, concrete becomes both shield and canvas — its colour and finish carefully calibrated to withstand and reflect the coastal environment.
The material palette of the house developed as a simple trio: board-formed concrete, timber, and a white PeterFell coloured concrete floor meeting suspended coloured concrete tiles in the lanai.
“We’ve counteracted the concrete with timber to create a softness; all the joinery and cabinetry is timber.”
Because the cliff rises immediately behind, the house opens on just one side — to the coast. To mitigate the deep, one-sided face, windows to the sky puncture the roof, and PeterFell SuperWhite Concrete was used for the floor — a measure, architect Lance Herbst says, to “bounce light around the space”.
Clifftops | City and Interior Home of the Year 2022
In the urban context of Takapuna, Clifftops by Bossley Architects, City & Interior Home of the Year 2022, demonstrates the luminous potential of white concrete. Using Peter Fell SuperWhite Plus, the project achieves a clarity that amplifies form and light.
Across nearly 1000 square metres of architectural gesture, the vibrancy of the concrete enhances spatial drama while maintaining precision. In darker recesses it reflects; in open areas it radiates. Here, coloured concrete becomes almost ethereal — a material traditionally associated with mass rendered unexpectedly buoyant.
Cliffs Road House | City Home of the Year 2023
In the City Home of the Year 2023, Cliffs Road House by Bell + Co Architecture and Todd Saunders Architecture, the spatial and sculptural power of dark grey coloured concrete, Peter Fell 677, is demonstrated. From the street, the twisting form takes a moment to resolve — cantilevering outward to capture shifting views of city and sea. It is architecture as gesture: dynamic, reaching, deliberate.
Originally conceived as a concrete base with two metal-clad storeys above, the design evolved into a singular, sculptural volume wrapped entirely in matte-black high-tech aluminium. Inside, however, concrete remains the conceptual and material anchor. An in situ dark grey coloured concrete wall extends across both storeys, forming the spine of the home above a matching exposed concrete floor.
The interiors expand and contract around this vibrant structural core. Owned by an avid art collector, the house is as eclectic as the works it holds — and the concrete becomes both backdrop and protagonist. Deeply toned and tactile, it absorbs light, intensifies shadow, and lends gravity to the art-lined spaces. In this home, coloured concrete is not simply structural; it is experiential, shaping movement, framing artwork, and reinforcing the home’s singular identity.
Black Quail House | Home of the Year 2021
In Central Otago, in Black Quail House by Bergendy Cooke, Home of the Year 2021, coloured concrete speaks of protection and permanence. Precast walls and polished floors in Peter Fell 698 respond to a harsh, exposed river-edge site. The result is a place of depth, defined by textural concrete that elegantly gives rise to an ever-changing palette of light and shadow in this environment of colour and extreme climatic conditions.
Enduring by Design
In the hands of New Zealand’s leading architects, coloured concrete continues to evolve. It enhances shadows and light; it absorbs landscape and memory. And, as these Home of the Year winners demonstrate, when paired with technical expertise and thoughtful detailing, it becomes something more than structure; a creator of atmosphere, identity, and lasting presence.
Across these projects — from urban to coastal and alpine settings — coloured concrete is a defining part of the design language. It is a medium through which architects articulate weight, light, rhythm and resilience.
Order your free coloured concrete samples at peterfell.co.nz
