Publisher: Birkhauser Verlag 2016 Author: Arthur Ruegg (ed.) ISBN: 9783035606614 Format: Hardcover, 174pp, 270x215mm

Le Corbusier designed two colour collections for the Salubra wallpaper company: the 'Clavier de couleurs' of 1931 with 43 colours, and the 1959 collection with 20. Not content with this mere colour selection – drawn from his experience as an architect and painter – he also organised the tones on 12 sample cards in such a manner that, by using a slider, three or five colours could be varyingly isolated or combined. Each card contained a different color scheme which, when applied, created a particular spatial effect. This would become not only a useful tool but also a kind of testament of the purist colour theory – essential groundwork and a valuable instrument for all those who deal with colour in theory or practice.

This set of three volumes is packaged in a stunning cloth-bound slip case. In the first volume, Arthur Ruegg – the renowned Le Corbusier expert – explores the significance of the Salubra collections in the history of modern architecture, and in the epilogue to this third edition, presents the specialist research conclusions from the past two decades. Volume three consists of 63 full-page colour sample sheets, also printed using the screen printing method. This is an invaluable tool for architects, interior designers, and graphic designers. With the original mineral pigments used by Le Corbusier, Le Corbusier: Polychromie Architecturale is a standard reference for contemporary design practice.