We were at The Isokon on Tuesday to celebrate its 90th anniversary.
To mark the occasion our chief executive, Patrick Franco, gave a speech and there was live music, drinks and a homage to the sandwich menu from the 1934 opening. There was also a chance to see the current exhibition of newly discovered photographs of the Isokon Flats’ construction, taken by Edith Tudor-Hart. The grandson of Jack and Molly Pritchard, who funded the project initially, also said a few words.
The history
The Isokon Flats opened on 9 July 1934. It was the UK’s first experiment in communal, high-density living and attracted an artistic clientele. Also known as the Lawn Road Flats, it was the creation of Jack and Molly Pritchard, alongside architect Wells Coates, and soon become a home to pioneering cultural and intellectual figures.
Residents included the likes of Agatha Christie and Bauhaus alumni Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. In 2018 the building was given a blue plaque to mark the trio of legendary designers who lived there.
We first became involved when we bought the building in 2002. By that time it had fallen into a state of disrepair and we worked with English Heritage and Avanti Architects on a complete restoration plan that took 18 months to complete. We maintained the modern and minimalist original design while we developed 35 homes for key workers.
It now has Grade 1 listed status and takes its rightful place among the UK’s most historically significant buildings.
What it means
To us it was about more than just restoring a building, it was about showing that any building, in any location, could become affordable housing for those who needed it – in this case providing shared ownership homes for people in vital roles.
It is something we continue to aspire to wherever possible, and even now we have 28 new apartments in restored Victorian buildings, less than a quarter of a mile from Buckingham Palace, available to shared owners. Just like we showed more than 20 years ago with the Isokon, we don’t believe living in affordable housing should prevent you from enjoying a quality home in a desirable location, or owning your own little piece of history. London should be for everyone – every part of it.
