Wellington turns a ‘dull’ shade of grey
A prominent architect says the sea of grey roofs in suburban developments is ‘‘frightening’’.
Wellington architect Roger Walker said a reluctance to express individuality meant the distinctive colour palette of grey, blue-grey and charcoal was beginning to dominate rooflines across the country.
‘‘There’s a sort of joylessness to those colours. It’s quite frightening because I always thought people wanted to express their differences. It worries me as an architect. It’s all part of the removal of colour from our lives.’’
People were increasingly seeing their houses as assets and not as places that typified how they wanted to live.
‘‘It’s the biggest investment in someone’s life. [They think] a dull-coloured roof will sell more easily.’’
People were losing confidence to stand out and be different, said Walker.
While not all homes had to be grand architectural statements, people should let their homes reflect their personalities.
‘‘Otherwise we end up with rows of beige houses with grey roofs. We’re becoming a bit like our favourite animal, the sheep.’’
He first noticed the trend about 15 years ago when developers began offering ‘‘house and land packages’’ in greater numbers. Such packages had contributed to the homogenisation of styles and colours of houses in New Zealand.
Angie Silbery-Dee, of roofing manufacturer Silbery Roofing, said about 70 per cent of the roofs her company sold were grey.
Roof colours tended to fall in and out of popularity every few years – blue, brown and black had all had recent flourishes of popularity.
She thought the grey roofing fad was connected with the palette of colours in which houses were being painted.
Kiwis had moved on from painting their houses white and were much more attuned to coordinating the colours of the cladding and roofs.