Colorbond roofing has been a staple in Melbourne and throughout Australia when it comes to residential and commercial roofing, whether it’s for avant garde architectural roofs or simply a quality metal roof replacement. Key to Colorbond’s success as a household name is their commitment to evolving alongside consumer needs and steadfastly continuing to reflect and adapt to Australia’s wide ranging environments. This is what has led to Colorbond introducing three new roofing colours to their collection.
Compass, Colours & Change: Colorbond’s Next Move
Late last month, Colorbond held their first Compass event. This brought together industry leaders to discuss the present and the future of the building and design industry, particularly when it comes to steel. As part of this event, they debuted three new Colorbond roof colours: Dover Mist, Bluegum and Southerly. These colours replace Cove, Mangrove and Terrain, and have been developed based on industry feedback and changing trends.
Why Were New Colours Needed?
With Colorbond roofing’s continued success as the go-to for metal roofing in Australia, it may seem odd that they would implement such a change in their palette. However, the Compass speakers outlined why it was crucial: how we build and interact with buildings is changing.
Over the last few years, it’s fair to say that the old model of ‘working in the CBD, living in the suburbs’ has been rewritten. Many people now work from home in some capacity, or expect more from commercial premises and office spaces. Bernard Salt AM, demographer and speaker at Compass, described how we’re moving towards the 20-minute city model. In essence, people are relocating to less concentrated areas, usually as part of a tree or sea change. But, they are wanting to still have access to all the facilities they may need, like supermarkets, office spaces and medical care. This presents a real challenge to the building industry to meet these demands through individual buildings and a collective environment.
These demands aren’t simply about functionality though. As a nation, we have high expectations for our buildings. They need to provide functionality, but also be aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, sustainability is becoming increasingly important, particularly for younger generations of Australians.
This is because while we’re used to Australia being a sometimes harsh environment, we have seen in recent years just how much of an issue climate and environmental change will be for everyone. In fact, it is already in effect in many Australian cities with the phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect.
The urban heat island effect, or urban heating, refers to how the close proximity of and materials used in urban buildings has led to the ambient temperature of cities to be raised by 5–10 degrees, as heat from the sun is absorbed. Obviously, this then has many flow-on effects from increased energy use to cool the building to even changes to local weather patterns and wildlife habitats.
Colorbond’s new selection of roofing colours, particularly Dover Mist and Southerly, offers a partial solution to the problem though. These lighter colours reflect heat away from the buildings, rather than absorbing it. This can then reduce the ambient temperature by 3–4 degrees, if not more. If this was then implemented on a wide scale, we could see Australian cities decrease their energy consumption by up to 40–50%.
Colorbond therefore posits that they offer a unique and tidy solution to the growing demand for functional, aesthetically pleasing and sustainable buildings. While they have always offered high-quality building materials that have been developed with Australia’s unique climate in mind, the introduction of these new colours positions them as an industry leader proactively meeting the changing demands of the industry and consumers.
Colour Theory at Work & in Practice
These colours weren’t only picked for their sustainability; there are also strategic design principles at play.
Put simply, colours can affect how people connect with and respond to buildings in their environment. For instance, they may be more accepting of and look favourably towards a new building whose colours blend into the surrounding landscape. Alternatively, colour choices that stand out may make everyday users more energised or excited to investigate the building and its purpose.
As part of this, choosing colours based on the array of environments present in Australia is key. Colorbond’s philosophy when choosing colours has always been to find inspiration in the landscape and look for inherent connections between colours. This is clearly reflected in their entire palette and the new additions continue this trend. They evoke coastal shores and chalky sand, distant hills, morning mist, and eucalypt forests and ghost gum bark.
These new colours also reflect current design trends which have been embracing neutrals and subtle hints of colours. Used across visual industries, colours like these accentuate feature items and create a restful space in a busy world. The three new colours are functional yet elegant and are highly compatible with a range of modern building materials, from concrete and recycled brick to dark or pale timbers.
The importance of this shift to neutrals was evidenced in the feedback Colorbond gathered from almost 200 key stakeholders across the country as part of creating this new roof colour collection. Industry leaders in building, architecture, shed manufacturing, fencing and government were consulted about how they use coloured steel and Colorbond. The data revealed that what users were looking for was not growth in the Colorbond range but an extension of its potential. Additionally, greys and neutrals were deemed as the most important colours as they were the most widely used. Therefore, this greatly influenced Colorbond’s decision to create Dover Mist, Southerly and Bluegum. Similarly, it prompted them to also retire Cove, Mangrove and Terrain. The latter three colours had been experiencing reduced demand, so it made sense to replace them with colours that increase Colorbond’s palette of complementary colours. Ultimately, while it’s hard to nail down what the most popular Colorbond roof colour is, we can expect to see these three new additions to quickly gain ground against the rest of the palette.
How Can You Get Your Hands on These New Colours?
When Colorbond started in 1966, they had a range of six colours. Now, with 22 colours available in Colorbond steel, they continue to dominate the roofing industry in Melbourne and throughout the country. As roofing specialists ourselves, we were excited to witness the reveal of the new colour range, along with the industry insights shared in the first Compass event. Seeing Colorbond’s continued dedication to raising the bar in quality roofing, we are happy to say we are equally committed. Similarly, we are pleased to offer you these great new colours as part of your Colorbond roof installation — all you need to do is get in touch with KC Roof Plumbing.