The use of integral color in landscape design applications is becoming more and more popular among landscape architects throughout the country.

Granted, most landscape architects have used granite paving, marble and other expensive materials where the client’s desires have been coupled with a large budget. But, there are numbers of applications where these materials just do not fit – where a more suitable material, such as concrete, is the only alternative. In these cases, for aesthetic value, the use of integrally colored concrete is the answer!

One prominent Southern California example is the new Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Richard Carrasco, C.S.I., of the architectural firm The Blurock Partnership in Newport Beach, designers of the project, recently said that their use of colored concrete was due to economics. “The entire building was to be sheathed in granite, but cost restrictions precluded that, so granite was used to highlight some portions of the building – and parts of the hardscape surrounding the building – and colored concrete was the prime building material used.”

“We feel that it turned out perfectly,” Carrasco continued. “The pre-cast concrete structure, integralIy colored with Scofield’s Chromix Admixture, gave us the aesthetics we were seeking, at a much more economical cost.”

Aesthetics are an important factor in choosing any building material, whether it be for the prime structure or for the hardscape features in the landscape.

“Colored concrete was both more economical and more functional at the Ritz Cariton,” Hemry said. “We needed a smoother surface, slightly textured and scored for aesthetic value, but we wanted a more elegant look. We got what we were seeking from Scofield’s Lithochrome Color Hardener which was finished with a light broom texture and scored. We also used this material to achieve a pure look in the coping around the swimming pool.”

The driveway into the California Ritz Cariton is also colored concrete with a dark Chromix Admixture and Lithotex Top Surface Retarder for practicality,” Hemry admitted. “We wanted a quality material and concrete answered that decision, and we wanted a color which would not show tire marks and oil drippings. The answer to that color and the color we chose from among Scofield’s numerous selections matched the other materials in the hardscape to give us the elegant look we desired.”

“The hardscape, combined with softscape plantings of all types of flowers, exuded, in our opinion, a quiet, soft feeling in the landscape and, with the benches and quiet areas overlooking the ocean, we felt that we added to the guest’s enjoyment of the spectacular site on which the hotel is located.”

The combination of colored concrete and paving patterns at the Ritz Carlton is but one of The Peridian Group’s projects in which Scofield Chromix Admixture is used.

Another very interesting project on which The Peridian Group worked with color additives was The Ritz Cariton in Naples, Florida. In this case, the design demanded what Floridans call “Key Stone,” a natural material from the Florida Keys coral islands. The natu ral material was economically infeasible, so a manmade, exact, replica was necessary for the walkways, arcades and other hardscape, including ballustrades and wall caps. Colored concrete to the rescue!

In mentioning other projects in which colored concrete played a large part in the landscape design, Hemry cited the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami, several Palm Springs projects, Casa Marina at the restored Flagler Hotel in Key West, Florida, the Four-Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach and the Xerox Hotel in Key West, Florida, the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach and the Xerox Centre in Santa Ana, California. “We use colored concrete all the time. Another very important asset in using it is that, if the situation arises or demands it, the actual color can be changed at the last minute. You certainly can’t say that about many of the natural materials we use in our business.

The “economy factor” in using colored concrete rather than other materials is further enhanced by the actual costs (this can change due to location) of paving materials. According to Hemry’s figures, per square foot costs of marble range from $25 to $40; “economical stone” will run in the $10 to $12 range and colored concrete, even with texturing, is in the $2 to $5 range. ” If we can achieve the ‘look’ we want with colored concrete, it gives us more money to spend on other parts of the landscape and pleases the client greatly,” Hemry concluded.

Matching colored concrete in buildings is another advantage in using colored concrete in landscape applications, according to Denis Kurutz, senior vice president of Emmett Wemple & Associates of Los Angeles.

“Colored concrete used in an appropriate manner is wonderful!” Kurutz said. One project on which the firm used colored concrete to “match” the color of the building was at the Irvine Hilton Hotel in Irvine, California.

“We also had to take into consideration the additional weight which the travertine would add to our design for the hotel,” Black continued. “We worked very closely with Rockwin Corporation to identify not only the matrix color, but also the aggregate, so it would simulate the appearance of the travertine. We had the choice of using the Chromix Admixture colors and the end result was a color which matched the travertine and pleased the client greatly.”

From the Los Angeles office of Emmett Wemple & Associates, Denis Kurutz explained the firm’s use of colored concrete at the Getty Museum in Malibu. The original museum, an historical restoration of a Roman Villa in every detail, demanded that even the hardscape simulate the old Roman masonry and grouting colors,” Kurutz said. “We also used a specific color in the concrete to reproduce the Roman pathways around the building.”

He continued, “the Romans colored their walkways with aggregate and it became the prime color in the hardscape. We substituted brightly colored aggregate with colored concrete and accomplished the same colors.”

From the “Very” Old to the Very New!

The use of colored concrete is spreading throughout the country Concrete is still a quality material in almost every situation and, with the addition of color, it can be a most elegant material and one which will usually fit into the construction budget. The material will combine with other paving materials to form an interesting pattern and will, with texture added – as at the Ritz Cariton in Laguna Niguel – offer the landscape architect a most intelligent alternative to the use of much more expensive paving and other hardscape materials.