STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
Latest editorial
Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain by Leyla Daybelge And Magnus Englund
Insightful exploration of an iconic building
Isokon Building, Hampstead
TOM STONE urges you to catch the last dates of a New York singer/songwriter, never afraid to challenge her audiences musically or politically
JAN WOOLF examines work that aims to give viewers a material experience of the environments in the polar north and Britain equally affected by the climate crisis
The bard recalls advice received 50 years ago from his TRB muse, and sorts out appropriate legislation for football club ownership
MICHAL BONCZA and MARIA DUARTE review Facing War, Kontinental ’25, Bugonia, and Relay
MAYER WAKEFIELD is frustrated by a production of Ibsen’s classic study of an anti-heroine that fails to elucidate her motivations
PETER MASON tunes his ear into the domestic affairs of a Carribbean couple with a troublesome son
IT IS easy to see why Isokon, otherwise known as the Lawn Road flats, in north London is an enduring modernist architectural icon.
Recently renovated to its original splendour, its immaculate proportions are an adventurous balance between the predominantly horizontal structure of counter-levered galleries and ingeniously angled stairs.
The vertical end block housing three double studios and the staircase to a single penthouse — lifts were too expensive when it was built — provide an elegant contrast.
Commissioned originally by furniture designers and would-be developers Molly and Jack Pritchard, it was launched to great fanfare in July 1934, with Ms Pritchard proudly trumpeting it as “a revolutionary idea for living.” Indeed it was, but strictly for professionals because rents were £150-£170, beyond the reach of most.
Similar stories
Peter Mitchell's photography reveals a poetic relationship with Leeds
The Morning Star sorts the good eggs from the rotten scoundrels of the year
Two new releases from Burkina Faso and Niger, one from French-based Afro Latin The Bongo Hop, and rare Mexican bootlegs