When the Bauhaus came to London
For a few years, from 1934 to 1937, three of the leading lights of the Bauhaus lived in this London apartment block after leaving Nazi Germany.
The Lawn Road Flats in Belsize Park, now known as the Isokon Flats, were the product of a collaboration between the owners Jack and Molly Pritchard, and the architect Wells Coates. This was the first modernist reinforced concrete apartment block ever built in Britain. Completed in 1934, its design was influenced by that of the Bauhaus in Dessau, which the Pritchards and Wells Coates had visited.
When Walter Gropius, the former head of the Bauhaus, left Germany in 1934, he was able to move England with the help of his friends and supporters, and moved into the Lawn Road flats. He was joined shortly afterwards by his colleagues Marcel Breuer and László Moholy-Nagy. Here they became part of a community which included designers, intellectuals and writers.
Jack Pritchard created the Isokon Furniture Company, for which Wells Coates, as well as several Isokon residents, produced designs. Some of the best known of these include the Isokon Donkey by Egon Riss and the Isokon Long and Short Chairs by Marcel Breuer.
Among the people who lived here was the crime novelist Agatha Christie. The Isokon residents also included, it was later discovered, several Soviet spies, including Arnold Deutsch, who recruited the “Cambridge Five”
After the Second World War, the Pritchards moved out and sold the building. It went into a period of serious decline and was at risk at one time of being demolished, but was listed Grade I, and following a successful bid by Notting Hill Hoiusing Trust and Avanti Architects, it was restored. The restoration was completed in 2004, and the building the apartments were once again occupied by residents.
In 2014, the Isokon Gallery opened in the building’s former garage. It tells the fascinating story of the Isokon flats, its design and architecture, and its residents. There’s also an excellent shop which sells books and other design-oriented gifts. It’s open from March to November on weekends, and on the last Friday of the month. Admission is free. Do come and visit us. I’m one of the Trustees, and I can assure you it’ll be worth your while.
Lawn Road, London NW3 2XD
