A Living Palette. Painted in Mineral.
- Apr 17
- 3 min read
At KEIM Australia’s warehouse, a raw concrete wall has been reimagined as a full-scale colour study using Design-Lasur. What was once a purely functional surface now operates as a working canvas. A place to explore tone, depth and material expression in real time.
This is not a decorative gesture. It is a demonstration of how mineral finishes behave on concrete, at scale, under changing light and across varying conditions.
Project Overview
Location: KEIM Australia Warehouse
Substrate: In-situ concrete wall
System: KEIM Design-Lasur
Application: Multi-panel colour study exploring opacity, layering and tonal variation
The Intent
Rather than relying on small sample cards or controlled showroom conditions, this installation brings colour testing into a real architectural context.
Each panel has been applied directly to concrete, allowing the mineral coating to interact with the substrate as it would on a project site. The result is a true read of colour. Not just hue, but depth, absorption and variation.
It gives architects, designers and applicators a clear understanding of how Design-Lasur performs beyond the sample stage.
Material in Action
Design-Lasur is not a conventional paint. It is a mineral-based lasur system designed to create translucent or semi-opaque finishes with visible depth.
Unlike acrylic coatings that sit on the surface, Design-Lasur bonds with mineral substrates through silicification. This creates a finish that becomes part of the material itself.
On this wall, that difference is immediately visible.
Some panels appear soft and clouded, with gentle movement across the surface. Others are more saturated, with sharper colour definition. The variation is intentional. It shows the range that can be achieved through dilution, layering and application technique.
This is where Design-Lasur comes into its own. Not as a flat, uniform coating, but as a tool for expression.
Colour as a System
The grid format allows each colour to be viewed in relation to the next. Warm tones sit against cool. Muted neutrals balance saturated pigments. Light and shadow move across the wall, changing the perception of each panel throughout the day.
It becomes more than a palette. It is a system for understanding how colour behaves on concrete.
For designers, this is critical. The same colour can read entirely differently depending on substrate, light and application method. This wall makes those variables visible.
Why It Matters
In architectural specification, there is often a gap between sample and outcome. Small swatches rarely tell the full story.
This installation closes that gap.
It provides a real-world reference for how a mineral finish will perform. How it will age. How it will sit within a material palette. And how it can be controlled to achieve different aesthetic outcomes.
It also reinforces a broader point. That material integrity matters.
Design-Lasur is formulated with naturally occurring minerals and pigments. No plastics. No film-forming layers. The finish remains breathable, durable and stable over time.
What you see is not a surface treatment. It is the material, expressed.
A Working Canvas
This wall will continue to evolve. New colours can be added. Techniques can be tested. Variations can be explored.
It is not a static display. It is an active tool for the KEIM team and the design community.
A place to test ideas. To compare outcomes. To see how mineral colour performs in the real world.
The Takeaway
Colour is never just colour. It is shaped by material, light and application.
This project makes that visible.
A warehouse wall, turned into a living reference for mineral finishes. Grounded in performance. Driven by curiosity. And built to show what is possible when colour is allowed to become part of the material itself.
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