How does a purist join the dots?

The answer is he doesn’t. And the enchanting power of the space in Le Corbusier’s enduring Dots wallcovering shows how - and why - simplicity endures

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If you know much about the Swiss-French designer Le Corbusier, big around 100 years ago, chances are it’s his buildings which resonate. The brutalist edges of his Villa Savoye in Poissy, or the sharp slopes of the roof on the Pavillon Le Corbusier in Zurich. Or maybe it’s his furniture, the tubular steel frames that encase his iconic chaise and the Grand Confort sofa. But what you might not know is that he was harnessing the mesmerising power of dots long before Damien Hirst took them as his own, and that the power of his seemingly simple design now lives on in the form of a series of wallcoverings made by Arte.

‘Le Corbusier was originally using cardboard with perforated holes as backing boards to make his designs on top of,’ says Frederik Decoopman, Arte’s design manager. ‘He became intrigued by the pattern of this background and used it as the inspiration for a series of wallcoverings with a company called Salubra.’ Dots originally came in two sizes, in nine different colours and ended up in many of Europe’s most fashionable buildings. ‘I’ve seen the original in a villa in Paris,’ Frederik says.

Then in 2013 the Fondation Le Corbusier approached Arte, the wallcoverings brand known for its eye-catching murals, textured fabric panels and a sense that wallpaper can be art, to see if it would take the licence on. ‘It’s not really our style,’ Frederik admits. ‘But we’ve managed to do it in such a high-end way that it’s become the wallcovering for architectural purists who think they just like paint.’ Arte created texture, raising the dots and making them in a high-gloss ink, a contrast to the background which is very, very matt. ‘This gives such a luxe effect,’ Frederik says. ‘And it plays with the light in just the same way that Le Corbusier buildings were famous for doing.’