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Isokon Flats

Isokon Flats, also known as Lawn Road Flats and the Isokon building, on Lawn Road in the Belsize Park district of the London Borough of Camden, is a reinforced-concrete block of 36 flats (originally 32), designed by Canadian engineer Wells Coates for Molly and Jack Pritchard.[1]

The Isokon building

Pre-war years edit

Designs for the flats were developed between 1929–1932 and the complex opened on 9 July 1934[2] as an experiment in minimalist urban living. All of the "Existenzminimum" flats had very small kitchens as there was a communal kitchen for the preparation of meals, connected to the residential floors via a dumb waiter. Services, including laundry and shoe-polishing, were provided on site.

The building originally included 24 studio flats, eight one-bedroom flats, staff quarters, a kitchen and a large garage. The Pritchards lived in a one-bedroom penthouse flat at the top with their two sons Jeremy and Jonathan next door in a studio flat. Plywood was used extensively in the fittings of the apartments; Jack Pritchard was marketing manager for the Estonian plywood company Venesta between 1926 and 1936, while he also operated the Isokon Furniture Company, originally in partnership with Wells Coates.

Celebrated residents included: Bauhaus émigrés Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and László Moholy-Nagy; architects Egon Riss and Arthur Korn; Agatha Christie (between 1941 and 1947) and her husband Max Mallowan, art historian Adrian Stokes, the author Nicholas Monsarrat, the archaeologist V. Gordon Childe, modernist architect Jacques Groag and his wife, textile designer Jacqueline Groag. The communal kitchen was converted into the Isobar restaurant in 1937, to a design by Marcel Breuer and F. R. S. Yorke. The flats and particularly the Isobar became renowned as a centre for socialist intellectual and artistic life in Hampstead. Regular visitors to the Isobar included nearby residents Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson.

Espionage edit

A number of Isokon residents were later identified as Soviet agents and in the 1930s and Cold War period the building was subject to surveillance by the British security services[3] In the mid-1930s Flat 7 was occupied by Dr Arnold Deutsch,[4] the NKVD agent who recruited the Cambridge Five. Soviet spy Jürgen Kuczynski lived at Isokon while teaching economics at London University.[5]

Post-war years edit

The Isokon furniture company ceased trading at the outbreak of World War II but was restarted in 1963. The British architect Sir James Frazer Stirling was a resident during the early 1960s. In 1969 the building was sold to the New Statesman magazine and the Isobar was converted into flats. In 1972 the building was sold to Camden London Borough Council and gradually deteriorated until the 1990s when it was abandoned and lay derelict for several years.

Rescue and refurbishment edit

In 2003 the building was sympathetically refurbished by Avanti Architects,[6] a practice which specialises in the renovation of modernist buildings, for the Notting Hill Housing Association which purchased it from Camden London Borough Council. Notting Hill Housing Association remains the freeholder. During the comprehensive restoration, the services were completely renewed, heating and insulation discreetly upgraded and the later overcoat of render removed from the exterior. The building now has a smooth external finish and is the palest tint of pink in colour, as it was originally—not pure white as has been assumed from black and white historical photos. The building is now partly occupied by key workers under a shared-ownership scheme whilst the larger flats have been sold outright.

Isokon Gallery edit

As part of the refurbishment, an exhibition gallery was created in the former garage, run since 2014 wholly by volunteers as a non-profit micro-museum to tell the story of the building, the social and artistic life of its residents and Isokon furniture company.[7] The gallery is open weekends only, 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. from the beginning of March until the end of October. Flats in the Isokon building are private and cannot be visited, except during Open House in September each year.

Designation edit

The building was designated a Grade I listed structure in 1999, placing it amongst the most significant historic buildings in England. An English Heritage blue plaque was fixed in 2018 to commemorate the residence of the Bauhaus masters Gropius, Breuer and Moholy-Nagy.

 
English Heritage plaque

Publications edit

  • Buckley, Cheryl (1981). Isokon: Architecture, Furniture and Graphic Design, 1931-1939. University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  • Burke, David (2014). The Lawn Road Flats: Spies, Writers and Artists. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. ISBN 9781843837831. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  • Daybelge, Leyla; Englund, Magnus (2019). Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain. Pavilion Books. ISBN 9781849944915. Retrieved 9 March 2019.

References edit

  1. ^ Burke (2014) p.9
  2. ^ Burke (2014) p.41
  3. ^ David Burke, 2014, pages 1-4 et seq
  4. ^ Julie Wheelwright (May 2014) [2014-05-05]. "The Lawn Road Flats". History Today. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  5. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Document, Knowing Jurgen Kuczynski". Bbc.co.uk. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Avanti Architects · Architectural practice: London and Cork".
  7. ^ "Isokon Gallery".

External links edit

51°33′06.63″N 00°09′43.50″W / 51.5518417°N 0.1620833°W / 51.5518417; -0.1620833

  • Isokon Trust (archive), University of East Anglia
  • Wells Coates site
  • Avanti Architects project page

isokon, flats, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Isokon Flats news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Isokon Flats also known as Lawn Road Flats and the Isokon building on Lawn Road in the Belsize Park district of the London Borough of Camden is a reinforced concrete block of 36 flats originally 32 designed by Canadian engineer Wells Coates for Molly and Jack Pritchard 1 The Isokon building Contents 1 Pre war years 2 Espionage 3 Post war years 4 Rescue and refurbishment 5 Isokon Gallery 6 Designation 7 Publications 8 References 9 External linksPre war years editDesigns for the flats were developed between 1929 1932 and the complex opened on 9 July 1934 2 as an experiment in minimalist urban living All of the Existenzminimum flats had very small kitchens as there was a communal kitchen for the preparation of meals connected to the residential floors via a dumb waiter Services including laundry and shoe polishing were provided on site The building originally included 24 studio flats eight one bedroom flats staff quarters a kitchen and a large garage The Pritchards lived in a one bedroom penthouse flat at the top with their two sons Jeremy and Jonathan next door in a studio flat Plywood was used extensively in the fittings of the apartments Jack Pritchard was marketing manager for the Estonian plywood company Venesta between 1926 and 1936 while he also operated the Isokon Furniture Company originally in partnership with Wells Coates Celebrated residents included Bauhaus emigres Walter Gropius Marcel Breuer and Laszlo Moholy Nagy architects Egon Riss and Arthur Korn Agatha Christie between 1941 and 1947 and her husband Max Mallowan art historian Adrian Stokes the author Nicholas Monsarrat the archaeologist V Gordon Childe modernist architect Jacques Groag and his wife textile designer Jacqueline Groag The communal kitchen was converted into the Isobar restaurant in 1937 to a design by Marcel Breuer and F R S Yorke The flats and particularly the Isobar became renowned as a centre for socialist intellectual and artistic life in Hampstead Regular visitors to the Isobar included nearby residents Henry Moore Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson Espionage editA number of Isokon residents were later identified as Soviet agents and in the 1930s and Cold War period the building was subject to surveillance by the British security services 3 In the mid 1930s Flat 7 was occupied by Dr Arnold Deutsch 4 the NKVD agent who recruited the Cambridge Five Soviet spy Jurgen Kuczynski lived at Isokon while teaching economics at London University 5 Post war years editThe Isokon furniture company ceased trading at the outbreak of World War II but was restarted in 1963 The British architect Sir James Frazer Stirling was a resident during the early 1960s In 1969 the building was sold to the New Statesman magazine and the Isobar was converted into flats In 1972 the building was sold to Camden London Borough Council and gradually deteriorated until the 1990s when it was abandoned and lay derelict for several years Rescue and refurbishment editIn 2003 the building was sympathetically refurbished by Avanti Architects 6 a practice which specialises in the renovation of modernist buildings for the Notting Hill Housing Association which purchased it from Camden London Borough Council Notting Hill Housing Association remains the freeholder During the comprehensive restoration the services were completely renewed heating and insulation discreetly upgraded and the later overcoat of render removed from the exterior The building now has a smooth external finish and is the palest tint of pink in colour as it was originally not pure white as has been assumed from black and white historical photos The building is now partly occupied by key workers under a shared ownership scheme whilst the larger flats have been sold outright Isokon Gallery editAs part of the refurbishment an exhibition gallery was created in the former garage run since 2014 wholly by volunteers as a non profit micro museum to tell the story of the building the social and artistic life of its residents and Isokon furniture company 7 The gallery is open weekends only 11 00 a m to 4 00 p m from the beginning of March until the end of October Flats in the Isokon building are private and cannot be visited except during Open House in September each year Designation editThe building was designated a Grade I listed structure in 1999 placing it amongst the most significant historic buildings in England An English Heritage blue plaque was fixed in 2018 to commemorate the residence of the Bauhaus masters Gropius Breuer and Moholy Nagy nbsp English Heritage plaquePublications editBuckley Cheryl 1981 Isokon Architecture Furniture and Graphic Design 1931 1939 University of Newcastle upon Tyne Retrieved 9 March 2019 Burke David 2014 The Lawn Road Flats Spies Writers and Artists Boydell amp Brewer Ltd ISBN 9781843837831 Retrieved 9 March 2019 Daybelge Leyla Englund Magnus 2019 Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain Pavilion Books ISBN 9781849944915 Retrieved 9 March 2019 References edit Burke 2014 p 9 Burke 2014 p 41 David Burke 2014 pages 1 4 et seq Julie Wheelwright May 2014 2014 05 05 The Lawn Road Flats History Today Retrieved 29 April 2018 BBC Radio 4 Document Knowing Jurgen Kuczynski Bbc co uk 11 April 2017 Retrieved 29 April 2018 Avanti Architects Architectural practice London and Cork Isokon Gallery External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Isokon building Isokon Gallery Page on the site from the Open University Camden listed building information Historic England Details from listed building database 1379280 National Heritage List for England Jack Pritchard The Pritchard Papers University of East Anglia51 33 06 63 N 00 09 43 50 W 51 5518417 N 0 1620833 W 51 5518417 0 1620833 Isokon Trust archive University of East Anglia Wells Coates site Avanti Architects project page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Isokon Flats amp oldid 1147787001, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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