This book presents a compact and compelling account of the life and work of Berthold Lubetkin (1901-1990), widely regarded as the outstanding architect of his generation to practise in England. It explores the key themes, achievements and setbacks of his career, drawing from the author’s twenty-year personal friendship with Lubetkin himself, from discussions with former colleagues, and from his direct experience of working with many of Lubetkin’s buildings as a conservation architect. The study reveals the significance of Lubetkin’s Russian origins and European travels, re-assesses his prime work of the 1930s and charts the extensive output of his often-overlooked post-war career. It also considers Lubetkin’s legacy in the later work of his key associates, several of whom became significant architects in their own right. Lubetkin is a legendary figure in architectural circles, while still remaining slightly mysterious and misunderstood. The author shines new light on the man and his ideas, and assesses his unique place in modern architectural history. Illustrations include original black & white images as well as high-quality colour studies of the buildings as they are now. A complete List of Works and published commentaries also provide a valuable source of reference.

In 1935, the Russian-born Jewish architect Berthold Lubetkin and his firm Tecton designed Highpoint, a block of flats in London, which Le Corbusier called ‘revolutionary’. Three years later, Lubetkin completed a companion design. Yet Highpoint II felt very different, and the sense that the ideals of modernism had been abandoned seemed hard to dispute. Had modern architecture failed to take root in England? This book challenges the belief that English architecture was on hiatus during the 1930s. Using Highpoint II as a springboard, Deborah Lewittes takes us on a journey through the defining moments of modern English architecture – the ‘high points’ of the period surrounding Highpoint II. Drawing on Lubetkin’s work and his writings, the book argues that he advanced influential, lasting theories which were rooted in his design for Highpoint II. Lubetkin’s work is explored within the context of wider Jewish emigration to London during the interwar years as well as the anti-Semitism that pervaded Britain during the 1930s. As Lewittes demonstrates, this decade was anything but quiet. Providing a new perspective on twentieth-century English architecture, this book is of interest to students and scholars in architectural history, urban studies, Jewish studies, and related fields.

'Lively . . . a joy to read' - The Times *Shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize* The bestselling author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is back in this hilarious, farcical, tender novel of modern issues and manners. North London in the twenty-first century: a place where a son will swiftly adopt an old lady and take her home from hospital to impersonate his dear departed mother, rather than lose the council flat. A time of golden job opportunities, though you might have to dress up as a coffee bean or work as an intern at an undertaker or put up with champagne and posh French dinners while your boss hits on you. A place rich in language - whether it's Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian, Swahili or buxom housing officers talking managementese. A place where husbands go absent without leave and councillors sacrifice cherry orchards at the altar of new builds. 'Laugh-out loud' Daily Express 'Insightful, witty and engaging, painting a picture of modern Britain that will be at once recognizable and enlightening' Stylist 'Entertaining and timely' Evening Standard

Drawing on the work and writings of Berthold Lubetkin, Deborah Lewittes explores the development of modernist architecture in England. The book also situates his work within the context of wider Jewish emigration to London during the interwar years.

In 1939 the influential architect Berthold Lubetkin abruptly left his thriving career in London and dropped out of sight, moving with his wife to a desolate farm in rural Glucestershire. Life in the house the Lubetkins named “World’s End was far from idyllic for their three children. Louise Kehoe and her siblings lived in an atmosphere of oppressive isolation, while their tyrannical father—at times charming and witty but usually a terrorist in a self-styled Stalinist hell—badgered and belittled them during his fits of self-loathing. Even his true identity remained an enigma. That secret was never divulged during her father’s lifetime, but Louise’s quest to unearth its origins—her relentless piecing together of the clues she found after his death—is a remarkable story, written with extraordinary grace, style, and imagination, of an identity and a heritage lost and found.

A revealing new look at modernist architecture, emphasizing its diversity, complexity, and broad inventiveness Usually associated with Mies and Le Corbusier, the Modern Movement was instrumental in advancing new technologies of construction in architecture, including the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete. Renowned historian Kenneth Frampton offers a bold look at this crucial period, focusing on architects less commonly associated with the movement in order to reveal the breadth and complexity of architectural modernism. The Other Modern Movement profiles nineteen architects, each of whom consciously contributed to the evolution of a new architectural typology through a key work realized between 1922 and 1962. Frampton's account offers new insights into iconic buildings like Eileen Gray's E-1027 House in France and Richard Neutra's Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, California, as well as lesser-known works such as Antonin Raymond's Tokyo Golf Club and Alejandro de la Sota's Maravillas School Gymnasium in Madrid. Foregrounding the ways that these diverse projects employed progressive models, advanced new methods in construction techniques, and displayed a new sociocultural awareness, Frampton shines a light on the rich legacy of the Modern Movement and the enduring potential of the unfinished modernist project.

Berthold Lubetkin and Ernö Goldfinger were two leading architects who designed high-rise council housing after the Second World War; a type of building that now holds a poor reputation.