The paper deals with the properties, quality and durability of the exposed concrete. The main part of this paper are characteristic of architectural (sometimes called visible or naked) concrete and the criterion of the quality evaluation of the performed work. This is mainly the colour balance of the subject area, the quantity and the size of the pores, the quality of the raw material and the surface structure. Achieving the quality of architectural concrete is considerably more technologically demanding compared with conventional concrete. This is reflected also in its cost. In conclusion, the problems of surface layers of architectural concrete are summarized. Especially environments can cause faster degradation, reducing the lifetime of the whole construction, but also pointing to one of the main problems in construction, which is technological discipline.