An architect working with Ambitec
When an architect specifies a material once, it can be a matter of circumstance. When they return to it across multiple projects, and ultimately choose it for their own home, it says something more.
Ambitec polished plaster has been specified by architects across a range of residential projects, from new builds and major renovations to their own homes. What draws them to it is the ability to develop the finish around the architecture — refining colour, texture and polish to work with the materials, light and atmosphere of each space.
Master Bedroom - Wawata House, designed by architect Julian Guthrie for his family. Image by Simon Devitt.
Architect Julian Guthrie has worked with Ambitec across several residential projects, including Pacific House, Pauanui Beach House and Dune House. He chose Ambitec again for Wawata, his own family home on Waiheke Island.
For architects, specifying materials for their own homes is perhaps the greatest endorsement, and Ambitec polished plaster continues to be the finish of choice for those seeking exceptional texture, craftsmanship and longevity.
A material to work with, not simply specify
Polished plaster offers architects an opportunity to consider the wall as a material in its own right, rather than simply as a surface to be painted. Its colour, texture and degree of polish can be developed alongside timber, stone, concrete, metalwork and other materials within the scheme.
Julian describes Ambitec’s approach as artisan, with custom samples and an interior-only focus. This allows the finish to be explored and refined before it reaches the wall, taking into account how colour, texture, polish, natural light and neighbouring materials will work together.
Julian works with Jill Goacher of Intext Design to select Ambitec colours, ensuring they work with the complete material palette.
“We love the custom combinations of both colours and textures, and giving walls character and texture.”
Pauanui House - featuring a two-tone Suave poilshed plaster. Image by Simon Devitt
Dune House - featuring SuaveStone polished plaster. Image by Ambitec
Wawata: Choosing Ambitec for home
There is a difference between specifying a material for a client and choosing to live with it yourself. At home, the finish is experienced every day — through changing light, alongside furniture and other materials, and simply as part of daily life.
At Wawata House, Julian worked closely with Ambitec to develop a finish that complemented the home's palette of concrete, timber and stone. Used throughout the upper-level entrance, bedrooms and bathroom, the plaster adds subtle depth and texture without competing with the architecture.
“We love the subtle colour and textural depth, which changes with varying light conditions and works well with all the other materials in the house.”
Living with the material has also given Julian a perspective beyond its appearance. He describes the finish as “easy to live with and hard wearing too relative to a plain painted wall.”
Entrance - Wawata House, designed by architect Julian Guthrie for his family. Image by Simon Devitt.
Different architecture, different expression
The projects where Ambitec polished plaster have been specified are not defined by a single aesthetic.
Julian's work demonstrates this particularly clearly. Pacific House combines board-formed concrete, extensive glazing, limestone and bleached oak. Pauanui Beach House retains its original concrete structure alongside oiled cedar, while Dune House combines Moroccan limestone, oiled cedar, corten steel and blue.
Wawata takes a different direction again, bringing concrete, timber and stone together within a home designed around its coastal setting.
Across these projects, Ambitec polished plaster has been adapted to the architecture rather than imposing a predetermined style. The finish can be quiet and restrained, or more expressive, depending on the combination of colour, texture and polish developed for the space. Collaboration from specification to installation
The quality of a finished plaster surface depends on more than the material itself. Preparation, application and finishing all contribute to the result, making the relationship between the design team and installer an important part of the process.
Beach views and Soft Suave walls feature in Pacific House. Image by Ambitec
Clerestory window and Ambitec Suave walls feature in Pacific House. Image by Ambitec
More than a finish
For architects, the appeal of Ambitec polished plaster goes beyond what is applied to the wall. It is the opportunity to develop a finish alongside the architecture, refine it through sampling, and see how it evolves once it becomes part of a lived space.
Julian Guthrie's decision to work with Ambitec in his own family home speaks to that relationship. These are not simply materials specified for clients, but finishes chosen to be lived with every day.
Perhaps that is the real measure of a finish: not simply how it looks when a project is photographed, but how it performs as part of the architecture and how it feels to live with over time.
Julian-Guthrie.com