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53-560: The London-based Isokon firm was founded in 1929 by the English entrepreneur Jack Pritchard and the Canadian architect Wells Coates to design and construct modernist houses and flats, and furniture and fittings for them. Originally called Wells Coates and Partners, the name was changed in 1931 to Isokon, a name derived from Isometric Unit Construction, bearing an allusion to Russian Constructivism . In 1925, Pritchard had become employed as

106-458: A Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists . He also worked on interior schemes and furniture designs. Jacques Groag married textile designer Hilde Pick in 1937, who later changed her name to Jacqueline Groag . Jacques and Jacqueline first met in the 1930s at a Viennese masked ball ; they got engaged in 1931, but did not marry until 1937. Jacques was unable to devote himself to architecture until

159-455: A 21st birthday party for the building on its roof top terrace. Philip Harben returned to make the food, architectural writer Nikolaus Pevsner made a speech and letters from Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer were read out. Wells Coates and many pre-World War II residents attended the event, as well as designers Robin Day and Lucienne Day and architects Alison and Peter Smithson . The building

212-672: A Secret Room: A Portrait of Wells Coates. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN   978-1840146950 . Grieve, Alastair. 2004. Isokon: For Ease, For Ever. London: Isokon Plus. ISBN   0-9548676-0-2 . Powers, Alan. 2007. Modern: The Modern Movement in Britain . Merrill Wilcox House. ISBN   978-1858944050 . Darling, Elizabeth. 2012. Wells Coates . London: RIBA Enterprises. ISBN   978-1859464373 . Burke, David. 2014. The Lawn Road Flats: Spies, Writers and Artists. London: Boydell Press. ISBN   978-1843837831 . Daybelge, Leyla and Englund, Magnus. 2019. Isokon and

265-599: A decked outdoor area, was added to the building. Its second manager was Philip Harben , who after World War II became the first TV chef at the BBC. Jack Pritchard also set up a supper club called The Half Hundred Club, so named because it could have no more than 25 members who could bring 25 guests. They dined at the Isobar, at Pritchard's penthouse flat in Lawn Road Flats or at more exotic locations, such as London Zoo . The flats and

318-410: A large garage. Services included shoe cleaning, laundry, bed making and food sent up by a dumb waiter at the spine of the building. In 1937, a restaurant and bar designed by Marcel Breuer and Maxwell Fry named the Isobar – located on the ground floor with a decked outdoor area - was added to the complex. Its first manager was Philip Harben , who after World War II became the first TV celebrity chef at

371-413: A long campaign to save the building, it was sold to the housing association Notting Hill Housing Group in 2003, in a joint bid with the modernist building conservation firm Avanti Architects, headed up by architect John Allan, with the pledge that a museum would open in the building. It now contains 36 flats, most that are owned on equity sharing basis by key workers such as nurses and teachers. In July 2014,

424-752: A sales and marketing manager for the British company Venesta , a subsidiary of the large Estonian plywood manufacturer A. M. Luther, based in Tallinn. After having met in Paris, Pritchard hired the designer Charlotte Perriand through the architect firm of Le Corbusier to design a trade fair stand for Venesta at Olympia , London in 1929. Despite his involvement with Lawn Road Flats and the Isokon company, Jack Pritchard continued to work for Venesta until 1936. Pritchard used Venesta to make his Isokon plywood furniture. The Isokon company

477-551: A sales success due to the support of Allen Lane , the founder on Penguin Books . In 1982, Chris McCourt of Windmill Furniture was handed the baton by Jack Pritchard to manufacture the historical Isokon furniture pieces. The first furniture to be added to the collection since 1963 was designed by the duo BarberOsgerby . Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby had recently graduated from the Royal College of Art when they designed their first piece,

530-475: A speech and letters from Walter Gropius , Marcel Breuer and Agatha Christie were read out. Wells Coates as well as many pre-World War II residents attended the event. From 1966, Jack and Molly Pritchard increasingly spent their time at a new home in Blythburgh , Suffolk, designed by Jack's daughter Jennifer Jones (née Tudor-Hart) and her husband Colin, although they kept the penthouse at Lawn Road Flats until

583-434: A successful barrister, and a descendant of Andrew Pritchard , businessman and scientist. He was educated at Oundle School and Pembroke College, Cambridge . In 1924, Pritchard married Rosemary (Molly) Cooke, a psychiatrist (1900 - 1985); they had two sons, Jonathan and Jeremy, born in 1926 and 1928. Jack also had a daughter, Jennifer, with Beatrix Tudor Hart, a pioneering educator. For many years, he and his wife lived in

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636-741: Is made by Isokon Plus, formerly known as Windmill Furniture, with the approval of the Pritchard family. Isokon's key project was the Lawn Road Flats in Hampstead, since 1972 named Isokon Flats, which was formally opened on 9 July 1934. It was designed by the Canadian architect Wells Coates after a brief by Molly Pritchard, based on the Minimum Flat concept stated at the CIAM conference of 1929. In March 1931, Wells Coates , Jack Pritchard and Serge Chermayeff had visited Germany to view new housing developments, including

689-566: The Bauhaus in Dessau, which had a large influence. The building process of Lawn Road Flats and the opening event was photographed by Edith Tudor Hart who was educated at the Bauhaus school in Dessau. Intended to be the last word in contemporary modernist living, the block of flats was aimed at young professionals. It contained 22 single flats, four double flats, three studio flats, staff quarters, kitchens and

742-517: The Bauhaus school and the Törten Estate in Dessau , both designed by Walter Gropius , which possibly influenced the design of Lawn Road Flats. The building process and the opening event was photographed by Edith Tudor-Hart (née Edith Suschitzky) who was educated 1928-30 at the Bauhaus school in Dessau , but also a recruiter for Soviet intelligence. Intended to be the last word in contemporary living,

795-642: The modernist movement, and included chairs, tables and the Long and Short Chair. László Moholy-Nagy , another former Bauhaus teacher who also lived briefly in the building with his wife Sibyl Moholy-Nagy and daughter Hattula, became involved with Isokon when he arrived in Britain from Holland in May 1935. Moholy-Nagy designed promotional material for the Isokon Furniture Company, including sales leaflets, show cards and

848-402: The BBC. Pritchard also set up a supper club called The Half Hundred Club, so named because it could have no more than 25 members who could bring 25 guests. They dined either at the Isobar, at Pritchard's penthouse flat in the Isokon building or at more exotic locations, such as London Zoo. The flats and the Isobar became famous as a centre for intellectual life in north London. Residents included

901-479: The Bauhaus in Britain. London: Batsford. ISBN   978-1849944915 . Powers, Alan. 2019. Bauhaus Goes West. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN   978-0500519929 . MacCarthy, Fiona. 2019. Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN   978-0571295135 . Jack Pritchard Pritchard was born in Hampstead , London , the son of Clive Fleetwood Pritchard,

954-399: The Bauhaus in Britain. London: Batsford. ISBN   978-1849944915 . Powers, Alan. 2019. Bauhaus Goes West. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN   978-0500519929 . MacCarthy, Fiona. 2019. Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN   978-0571295135 . Jacques Groag Jacques Groag (5 February 1892 – 28 January 1962)

1007-490: The City of London. Pritchard had hired Charlotte Perriand through Le Corbusier to design a trade fair stand for the company at Olympia, London in 1929. Despite his involvement with Lawn Road Flats and the Isokon company, Pritchard continued to work for Venesta until 1936. The Isokon furniture was mainly manufactured at A M Luther in Tallinn, an Estonian company that owned 50% of Venesta and was Europe's largest plywood manufacturer in

1060-566: The Isobar became famous as a centre for intellectual life in north London. Residents included the novelist Agatha Christie and her husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan , the Soviet intelligence recruiter Arnold Deutsch who was the controller of the group of Cambridge educated Soviet spies who came to be known as the Cambridge Spy Ring , the German born economist and Communist Jürgen Kuczynski ,

1113-591: The Long Chair, Nesting Tables and the Isokon Penguin Donkey Mark 2 designed by Ernest Race, which the company did until 1980. The Isokon Penguin Donkey Mark 2 became a sales success due to the support of Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin Books. In 1982, Chris McCourt of Windmill Furniture was granted the license to manufacture the historical Isokon furniture pieces by Pritchard. From 1999, the Isokon furniture

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1166-573: The Long and Short Chair. László Moholy-Nagy , another former Bauhaus teacher who also lived briefly in the building with his wife Sibyl Moholy-Nagy, became involved with Isokon when he arrived in Britain from Germany in May 1935. Moholy-Nagy designed promotional material for the Isokon Furniture Company, including sales leaflets, showcards and the logo of the Isokon firm itself, which was an outline of curved plywood chair. He later formed The New Bauhaus in Chicago. The fourth Bauhaus teacher at Lawn Road Flats

1219-709: The Loop Coffee Table, in 1996. The bent plywood design was to be the first of several furniture pieces that the designers created for what is now named Isokon Plus. The most recent is the Bodleian Chair for the University of Oxford's historic Bodleian Libraries. Cantacuzino, Sherban. 1978. Wells Coates: a monograph . London: Gordon Fraser Gallery. ISBN   978-0900406591 . Pritchard, Jack. 1984. View From A Long Chair . Sydney: Law Book Co of Australasia. ISBN   978-0710202314 . Cohn, Laura. 1999. The Door to

1272-780: The Loop Table. The bent plywood design was to be the first of several furniture pieces that the designers created for Isokon Plus, the most recent the Bodleian Chair for the University of Oxford's historic Bodleian Libraries . J. Pritchard, View from a Long Chair - the Memoirs of Jack Pritchard , Sydney, Australia : Law Book Co of Australasia, 1984. ISBN   978-0710202314 Darling, Elizabeth. 2012. Wells Coates. London: RIBA Enterprises. ISBN   978-1859464373 . Burke, David. 2014. The Lawn Road Flats: Spies, Writers and Artists. London: Boydell Press. ISBN   978-1843837831 . Daybelge, Leyla and Englund, Magnus. 2019. Isokon and

1325-507: The Pritchard family. Isokon's key project was the Lawn Road Flats in Hampstead , called the Isokon building since 1972, which was formally opened on 9 July 1934. It was designed by Wells Coates after a brief by Molly Pritchard, based on the Minimum Flat concept presented at the CIAM (Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne) conference of 1929. In March 1931, Wells Coates , Jack Pritchard and Serge Chermayeff had visited Germany, including

1378-505: The United States after Gropius was offered the post of Professor of Architecture at Harvard University . A month before he left for the USA, Gropius recommended Marcel Breuer , a former colleague at the Bauhaus who had moved into flat 16 in the building in the autumn of 1935, as his replacement as Controller of Design. The furniture Breuer designed whilst at Isokon are highly influential pieces of

1431-466: The United States for Gropius to become Professor of Architecture at Harvard University. A month before he left for the US, Gropius recommended Marcel Breuer , a former colleague at the Bauhaus who had moved into flat 16 in the building in early 1935, as his replacement as Controller of Design. The furniture Breuer designed whilst at Isokon are highly influential pieces of modernism, and included chairs, tables and

1484-517: The United States where she moved in with Walter Gropius and his wife Ise, while the children attended a boarding school in Canada. The building was popular as a residence during the war due to being made out of reinforced concrete, and despite near bombs, survived the Blitz. It was repainted brown during the war as it was feared its white surface could serve as a guide for German bombers. In 1955, Pritchard staged

1537-506: The author Nicholas Monsarrat , ethnomusicologist Erich Moritz von Hornbostel , architect Jacques Groag and his textile designer wife Jacqueline Groag , architects Egon Riss and Arthur Korn and the author Adrian Stokes . The British architects Sir James Stirling and Alec Bright, later director of the Museo del Oro in Bogotá, Colombia were resident during the 1960s. Regulars at the Isobar included

1590-506: The author Adrian Stokes. The British architects Sir James Stirling and Alec Bright, later director of the Museo del Oro in Bogotá, Colombia were resident during the 1960s. Regulars at the Isobar included the sculptors Henry Moore , Barbara Hepworth and Naum Gabo and the painter Ben Nicholson as well as Sir Julian Huxley . Pritchard remained in London during World War II while Molly Pritchard and their children Jonathan and Jeremy left for

1643-413: The block of flats was aimed at young professionals. It contained 22 single flats, four double flats, three studio flats, staff quarters, kitchens and a large garage. Services included shoe cleaning, laundry, bed making and food sent up by a dumb waiter at the spine of the building. In 1937, a restaurant and bar designed by Marcel Breuer and F. R. S. Yorke named the Isobar, located on the ground floor with

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1696-707: The building's garage was converted into a gallery space with a permanent exhibition that tells the story of the building, its residents and the Isokon company. It is operated by the not-for-profit charitable Isokon Gallery Trust and is open 11am to 4 pm each Saturday and Sunday from early March until the end of October every year. In 1935, Walter Gropius , the founder of the Bauhaus , became Controller of Design for The Isokon Furniture Company. He had arrived in England on 18 October 1934 with his wife Ise Gropius, and later their adopted daughter Ati joined them. Gropius lived in flat 15 at Lawn Road Flats until March 1937, when they left for

1749-626: The building's garage was converted into a permanent exhibition that tells the story of the building, its residents and the Isokon company. It is operated by the not-for-profit charitable Isokon Gallery Trust and is open 11 am to 4 pm each Saturday and Sunday from early March until the end of October every year. In 1935, Walter Gropius , the founder of the Bauhaus, became Controller of Design (effectively creative director) for The Isokon Furniture Company. He had arrived in England on 18 October 1934 with his wife Ise Gropius . They lived in flat 15 at Lawn Road Flats until March 1937, when they left for

1802-474: The company was run by Pritchard, whose initial involvement was to handle the economics, publicity and marketing, but who later went on to hire designers and direct the company after Coates left. Pritchard had become the British marketing manager for the large plywood company Venesta (short for veneer Estonia) in 1926, which had 5,000 employees and a factory and wharf in Silvertown, East London as well as offices in

1855-556: The famous Lawn Road Flats , also known as the Isokon Flats. They later retired to a house also named Isokon on Dunwich Road, Blythburgh , Suffolk , designed by Jennifer and her husband Colin Jones. Pritchard died in Blythburgh and is buried there. The London-based Isokon firm was founded in 1929 to design and construct modernist houses and flats, and subsequently furniture and fittings for them. Originally called Wells Coates and Partners,

1908-404: The first half of the 20th century. The Isokon company was never commercially successful. The end came with the outbreak of World War II when its supply of plywood from A M Luther was cut off due to the Soviet invasion of Estonia and A M Luther was confiscated. Isokon ceased production in 1939 but the company was restarted by Pritchard in 1963, now with production in Britain. Since 1982, the furniture

1961-524: The language difficulties, they mainly focused on their designs, later working for British design factories, including Gordon Russell 's. Jacques Groag began to devote a separate creation in the mid-1920s: he slowly started working independently, and at the same time began collaborating with Viennese architectural offices. He was trained as an architect in Vienna and later on joined Adolf Loos office; he set up his own practice in 1926, and in no time became one of

2014-634: The leading architects in Vienna for working on housing projects, public buildings and private houses. In 1939, after coming to the UK, he joined Gordon Russell's team designing utility furniture. Jacques and Jacqueline Groag's estate is housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Jacques produced designs for exhibitions including Britain Can Make It in 1946 and the Festival of Britain in 1951. In 1952, he became

2067-522: The logo of the Isokon firm itself, which was an outline of a curved plywood chair. He later founded The New Bauhaus in Chicago, soon renamed the IIT Institute of Design . The fourth Bauhaus resident at Lawn Road Flats was Naum Slutzky , a Russian born goldsmith who had taught at the Bauhaus school in Weimar. He remained in Britain until his death in 1965. On 9 July 2018, an English Heritage blue plaque for

2120-504: The mid 1970s. The modern bungalow, also called Isokon, is still owned by the Pritchard family. Pritchard sold Lawn Road Flats in 1969 to the magazine New Statesman , who demolished the Isobar and converted it into flats. They then sold the building to Camden Council in 1972 for twice the price. The building was listed Grade II in 1974 by English Heritage and listed Grade I in 1999. Despite this, it received poor maintenance from Camden Council and deteriorated badly. During this period, it

2173-427: The name was changed in 1931 to Isokon, a name derived from Isometric Unit Construction, bearing an allusion to Russian Constructivism. Unusually for a design company, its directors were the bacteriologist and later psychiatrist Molly Pritchard, the solicitor Frederick Graham-Maw, son of Frederick James Maw, the founder of the law firm Rowe and Maw, the economist Robert S Spicer, as well as Coates and Pritchard. In reality,

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2226-525: The novelist Agatha Christie and her husband, the archeologist Max Mallowan , the Soviet NKVD spy master Arnold Deutsch who recruited the Cambridge Five , the German born economist and Soviet spy Jürgen Kuczynski , the author Nicholas Monsarrat , ethnomusicologist Erich Moritz von Hornbostel, architect Jacques Groag and his wife, textile designer Jacqueline Groag, architects Egon Riss and Arthur Korn and

2279-600: The sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth , the painter Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo , all who lived locally, as well as Sir Julian Huxley , secretary of the Zoological Society of London 1935–1942. Pritchard remained in London during World War II while Molly Pritchard and their children Jonathan and Jeremy left for America where the children were put in a boarding school in Canada while Molly moved in with Walter and Ise Gropius in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Lawn Road Flats

2332-522: The three Bauhauslers Walter Gropius , Marcel Breuer and László Moholy-Nagy was unveiled on the building. Pritchard revived the Isokon Furniture Company in 1963. Pritchard hired Ernest Race , former furniture designer for the Festival of Britain . In 1968, Pritchard licensed John Alan Designs, based in Camden, London to produce the Long Chair, Nesting Tables and the Isokon Penguin Donkey Mark 2 designed by Ernest Race . The Isokon Penguin Donkey Mark 2 became

2385-605: The town, introduced him to the Groags. When Margaret Wittgenstein decided to build a home in Vienna, Engelmann was contacted and he brought along in the project Jacques Groag. However as Ludwig Wittgenstein became deeply involved in the work Jacques pulled out. Jacques and Jacqueline Groag fled to Prague in 1938; after the Anschluss of Austria , they could not stay long in Prague. Forced to leave, they decided to move to London. Despite all

2438-535: Was Naum Slutzky , a Russian born goldsmith who had worked at the school in Weimar. He remained in Britain for the rest of his life. Pritchard revived the Isokon company in 1963 after his retirement. Changes in the manufacture of plywood meant a redesign of some of the key pieces in the Isokon portfolio, for which Pritchard hired Ernest Race, former furniture designer for the Festival of Britain. In 1968, Pritchard licensed John Alan Designs, based in Camden, London to produce

2491-524: Was an architect and an interior designer, originally from Moravia . Jacques Groag was born in 1892 in Olomouc to a well known Jewish family who lived in a malt house : his notable relatives included his brother Emanuel "Emo" Groag, who was a draftsman and a cartoonist, cousin Heinrich Groag, an acclaimed lawyer who also worked on the domestic and international scene as a pacifist, and nephew Willi Groag, who

2544-468: Was chiefly used to house single men with drug, alcohol and mental health problems. After a long campaign to save the building, it was sold to the housing association Notting Hill Housing Group in 2003, in a joint bid with Avanti Architects , headed up by architect John Allan, with the pledge that a museum would open in the building. It now contains 36 flats, most that are owned on Equity sharing basis by key workers such as nurses and teachers. In July 2014,

2597-538: Was known for his humanitarian work during World War II . Groag studied at the German grammar school in Olomouc, and later graduated from German secondary school in Manchester. After completing military service, he went to Vienna to study architecture in 1910 with Adolf Loos , a well-known Austrian architect of Moravian origin. Ludwig Wittgenstein was sent for his military training in Olomouc and Paul Engelmann, native from

2650-481: Was never commercially successful. The end came with the outbreak of World War II when its supply of plywood from Estonia was cut off due to the Soviet invasion of the Baltic countries when the A. M. Luther company in Tallinn was confiscated. The Isokon Furniture Company ceased trading in 1939 but was restarted in 1963. Since 1982, the furniture is made by Isokon Plus, formerly known as Windmill Furniture, under licence from

2703-436: Was popular as a residence during the war due to being made out of reinforced concrete, and despite near bombs, survived the Blitz. It was repainted brown during the war as it was feared its white surface would serve as a navigation aid for German bombers. In 1955, Pritchard staged a 21st-birthday party for the building on its roof top terrace. Philip Harben returned to make the food, architectural writer Nikolaus Pevsner made

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2756-482: Was sold by Pritchard in 1969 to the magazine New Statesman , who demolished the Isobar and made it into flats. They then sold the building on to Camden Council in 1972 for twice the price. The building was listed Grade II in 1974 by English Heritage and listed Grade I in 1999. Despite this, it received very poor maintenance from Camden Council and deteriorated badly. During this period it was partly used to house single men with drug, alcohol and mental health problems. After

2809-604: Was sold through his renamed company Isokon Plus, first based in Chiswick, West London and from 2014 in Hackney Wick, East London. The company was later sold to VG&P, which retained the Isokon Plus brand. The first furniture to be added to the Isokon portfolio since 1963 was designed by the duo Barber Osgerby in 1996. Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby had recently graduated from the Royal College of Art when they designed their first piece,

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