23/01/2026
Most people's understanding of concrete slabs still remains limited to the grey concrete in the style of Tadao Ando. However, in China, colored concrete is rarely produced.
1️⃣ From the analysis of raw materials
In different countries, cement also has different color preferences. For example, domestic cement is generally dark bluish-gray, which may cause the entire product to appear bluish. While Thai cement is generally reddish, so the pink facade of Shanghai Port Huiheng Hong Kong Plaza was imported from Thailand. This type of cement has an insufficiently "pure" color and insufficient whiteness, resulting in poorer subsequent coloring effects. The solution we adopted to address this problem was to spend a higher cost to purchase special white cement from abroad. Moreover, our white degree is 92, while the white degree of ordinary precast concrete is 89.
2️⃣ Color Accuracy Challenge
If you have been involved in colored concrete projects, you will fully understand what I'm saying about this point. When using concrete to achieve colors, it's not difficult to create simple colors. The most challenging part is to create colors with very "ambiguous" hues. In the factory, we often have intense discussions because the actual color that the client wants could be either a mottled pink or a uniform pink...
3️⃣ The demand for colored projects in China is low.
The upstream demand determines the production direction of downstream manufacturers. For example, we started by only producing simple white, black, and gray plain concrete. Later, due to more opportunities and the accumulation of sufficient projects to gain experience and lessons, as well as some technical support from industry experts, we have a better understanding of colored concrete than many of our domestic counterparts. However, most Chinese concrete manufacturers do not have as many opportunities as us to conduct such research and accumulate project experience.
