Discover the colour system
The architectural colours – Le Corbusier's Architectural Polychromy – is a masterpiece. The ideal tool for masterful architectural colour design. It offers 63 fascinating shades that Le Corbusier created in two colour collections – in 1931 and 1959. All shades are eminently architectural, naturally harmonious and can be combined in any way. Each hue has its relevance and embodies specific spatial and human effects.
The colour palette of 1931
43 Puristic Shades
The purist palette of 1931 includes 43 shades in 14 series. The series are composed of solid colours and masterfully graduated hues. The original coding of the Le Corbusier shades constantly starts with "32xxx" - the series are marked by the last three digits. For example, the ultramarine blue nuances carry the final digits "020 to 024". In order to recognize personal affinities and to select individual preferences, Le Corbusier also created different colour keyboards with moods that reflect specific functions of the colours.
The colour palette of 1959
20 more intensive shades
The second collection from 1959 completes the Architectural Polychromy with 20 other colours that are more powerful and dynamic. These shades are labeled "4320x" - from 4320A to 4320W. Here again, Le Corbusier designed an additional impressive colour keyboard. The combination of colourful and achromatic hues and different brightness values underlines the extraordinary experiences of Le Corbusier in architecture and as a painter, which form the foundation of the entire Architectural Polychromy.
"These Keyboards of Colour aim at stimulating personal selection, by placing the task of choosing on a sound systematic basis. In my opinion they offer a method of approach which is accurate and effective, one which makes it possible to plan, in the modern home, colour harmonies which are definitely architectural and yet suited to the natural taste and needs."
