The Architectonic Colour - 010 Publishers

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Preface Polychromy is an essential ornamental component of architecture. Polychromy is concerned with neither the choice of structural system nor the ordering of spaces, but involves the treatment of the surfaces that are exposed to everyday use. In present-day architecture, this often relates to the choice and ordering of the materials. The origin of the debate on modern architectonic polychromy lies in the nineteenth century, and the true centre of gravity lies in post-Revolution France. The idea of polychromous architecture arose at the moment that the classical ideal of architecture, the Greek temple and the accompanying architectonic orders became hackneyed. Opposing this universal, eternal monolithic model of architecture, archaeological research had indicated that a constructive skeleton had been coated with a layer of stucco bearing expressive ornamentation and decorations. It had not been a monolithic structure but a polylithic one, and not a radiant monochrome architecture but one rich in polychromy. The term ‘polychromy’ acquired a polemical charge. The architects involved in this concept-forming included Henri Labrouste, Léon Vaudoyer, Félix Duban, Jacques Ignace Hittorff, and Gottfried Semper. On the basis of this division into construction and cladding, the last-mentioned architect developed an architectural theory in which cladding fulfilled a dominant role. At the opposite extremity, there arose the idea of an evolution of architecture which took the history of building techniques as its starting point, the work of Auguste Choisy being a classic example in this context. The discovery of traces of paint on the walls of the construction elements of the antique temples induced Labrouste and his fellows to draw far-reaching conclusions. Their reconstructions of the antique temples were equipped with richly painted polychromous decoration. The work of these architects also often displayed coloured use of materials and also painted polychromous decorations. The work of Le Corbusier also conforms to this tradition, from his earliest work right down to his last. The polychromy of his Purist architecture, dating approximately from 1922 to 1927, represents an exceptional period in his oeuvre. From 1918 onward, Le Corbusier worked as a painter and the experiences he thus gained led him to formulate a radical change in his notions of polychromy. His buildings were painted in their entirety in various colours, comparable to the way in which he assigned colour to the forms in his paintings. The polychromy of his architecture in this stage of his work can be regarded as a play of colours. The effect of this painting was one of total dematerialization, of pure reduction to architectonic form and colour. Hittorff thought that a polychromous system had existed for the Greek temples just as it had done for architecture. Much of the literature on the polychromy of Le Corbusier’s Purist architecture assumed a similar system. In his post-war work in particular, a certain systematic use of colour is immediately conspicuous. However, this book presents the view indicate that the system of poly- 6
chromy in Purist architecture only referred to the palette of colours. In the thirties, this extraordinary position was abandoned and his architectonic polychromy acquired a more regular character; in other words, he devoted attention not only to painted polychromy but also to the natural polychromy of the materials. The extent to which Le Corbusier was acquainted with this (ancient) history is not known. But he was deeply aware of the fact that polychromy is an aspect of architecture, even in its purely painted form. This book is not a historical study of the relationship between colour and architecture in general nor is it a historical study of architectonic polychromy. Rather, it represents a reconstruction of a working method and of the considerations that led to this working method. It is the reconstruction of the architectonic polychromy that Le Corbusier developed for his Purist architecture. This reconstruction investigates the relationship between Purist painting and Purist architecture, with the emphasis on the relationship between form and colour. Research into the origins of the various constituent components of Purist polychromy has given this book a certain kaleidoscopic character. As far as possible, an analysis is performed on the polychromy of Le Corbusier’s projects from the twenties. Much attention is paid to the way in which he applied the colours in his architecture during a ‘promenade architecturale’. A critical analysis of Le Corbusier’s article entitled ‘Polychromy architecturale’ forms a concluding evaluation of the study. Finally, as a contrast to the ‘unsystematic’ polychromy from the twenties, a chapter on the systematic use of colour in his architecture from the fifties has been added. This book was originally published in Dutch. The English edition contains several small improvements. 7
Page 1 and 2: The Architectonic Colour Polychromy
Page 3: Exterior and interior 94 The associ
Page 7 and 8: 1 Introduction The review of the ar
Page 9 and 10: 11 Fernand Léger, Pierre Jeanneret
Page 11 and 12: et-Coli. However, much use was made
Page 13: 15 Amédée Ozenfant, colour scheme

The Architectonic Colour - 010 Publishers

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