Erno Goldfinger
Encyclopedia
Ernő Goldfinger was a Hungarian
-born Jewish architect
and designer of furniture
, and a key member of the architectural Modern Movement after he had moved to the United Kingdom
.
. The family business was forestry and saw-mills, which led Goldfinger to consider a career in engineering until he became interested in architecture after reading Hermann Muthesius
's Das englische Haus, a description of English domestic architecture around the turn of the twentieth century. He continued to recommend the book for most of his life.
In 1921, Goldfinger moved to Paris
after the collapse, following World War I
, of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1923 he went to study at the École nationale supérieure des beaux arts in the atelier of Léon Jaussely
, and in the following years got to know many other Paris based architects including Auguste Perret
, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier
. In 1929, before finishing his studies, Goldfinger established a partnership and worked on a number of interior designs and an extension to a holiday home at Le Touquet.
He was strongly influenced by the publication of Le Corbusier's Vers une architecture, and became a fervent admirer of Le Corbusier's former mentor, Auguste Perret
, an expert in designing reinforced concrete structures and an inspiration for Goldfinger when designing his own home. In the early 1930s Goldfinger met and married Ursula Blackwell, heiress to the Crosse & Blackwell
fortune. The remainder of his career would be based in the UK.
In 1934, Ernő and Ursula Goldfinger moved to a flat in Highpoint I
, London. Before World War II
, Goldfinger built three houses (including his own) at 1-3 Willow Road in Hampstead
, North London
, and another at Broxted
, Essex
. His own house, 2 Willow Road
, is now in the care of the National Trust
.
. He also built Alexander Fleming House in south-east London for the Ministry of Health
. In the 1950s, he designed two London primary schools from prefabricated pre-cast concrete with brick infill for the London County Council
in Putney. One of these buildings was damaged and then demolished by a rogue developer who was prosecuted in 2008.
, in which nearly 4 million houses had been destroyed or damaged, the British Government began to see high-rise buildings as a solution, and Goldfinger rose to prominence in England as a designer of tower blocks.
Among his most notable buildings of the period were the 27-floor Balfron Tower
and the adjacent eleven-storey Carradale House in the East End London Borough of Tower Hamlets
, which served as models for the similar 31-floor Trellick Tower
in North Kensington
(started 1968, completed 1972).
A discussion about Ernő with Ursula Goldfinger's cousin on a golf course prompted Ian Fleming
to name the James Bond
adversary and villain Auric Goldfinger
after Ernő. (Fleming had previously been among the objectors to the pre-war demolition of the cottages in Hampstead that were removed to make way for Goldfinger's house at 2 Willow Road
.) Goldfinger consulted his lawyers when Goldfinger was published in 1959, which prompted Fleming to threaten to rename the character 'Goldprick', but eventually decided not to sue; Fleming's publishers agreed to pay his costs and gave him six free copies of the book.
Goldfinger died on November 15, 1987, at the age of 85, and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium
where his ashes remain.
architects. Towards the end of the 20th century Goldfinger's work became more appreciated. Trellick Tower is now a Grade II* listed building and has become something of a design icon, appearing on t-shirts, paintings and in the lyrics of a song by Blur
. The few privately owned flats within fetch high prices at sale. Balfron Tower and Carradale House are also listed Grade II, while an adjacent building by Goldfinger's studio, the 14-storey Glenkerry House
, is run as a housing co-operative and is regarded as a model for management of buildings of the type.
In 2000, Ernö Goldfinger's estate generously endowed a sum of money in order to foster links between Hungary and the UK by sponsoring young Hungarian architectural students to study, travel or work in the UK. Their intention was to honour Ernö's achievements, his commitment to his profession, and his life-long support for his compatriots. The RIBA Goldfinger Travel Scholarships have been awarded since 2002.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-born Jewish architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and designer of furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, and a key member of the architectural Modern Movement after he had moved to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Biography
Goldfinger was born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. The family business was forestry and saw-mills, which led Goldfinger to consider a career in engineering until he became interested in architecture after reading Hermann Muthesius
Hermann Muthesius
Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius , known as Hermann Muthesius, was a German architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the English Arts and Crafts movement within Germany and for his subsequent influence on early pioneers of German architectural modernism...
's Das englische Haus, a description of English domestic architecture around the turn of the twentieth century. He continued to recommend the book for most of his life.
In 1921, Goldfinger moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
after the collapse, following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1923 he went to study at the École nationale supérieure des beaux arts in the atelier of Léon Jaussely
Léon Jaussely
Léon Jaussely was a French architect and urban planner.Born in Toulouse, Jaussely studied at the local fine arts school, then to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the ateliers of Honoré Daumet and Pierre Esquié...
, and in the following years got to know many other Paris based architects including Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret was a French architect and a world leader and specialist in reinforced concrete construction. In 2005 his post-WWII reconstruction of Le Havre was declared by UNESCO one of the World Heritage Sites....
, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
. In 1929, before finishing his studies, Goldfinger established a partnership and worked on a number of interior designs and an extension to a holiday home at Le Touquet.
He was strongly influenced by the publication of Le Corbusier's Vers une architecture, and became a fervent admirer of Le Corbusier's former mentor, Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret was a French architect and a world leader and specialist in reinforced concrete construction. In 2005 his post-WWII reconstruction of Le Havre was declared by UNESCO one of the World Heritage Sites....
, an expert in designing reinforced concrete structures and an inspiration for Goldfinger when designing his own home. In the early 1930s Goldfinger met and married Ursula Blackwell, heiress to the Crosse & Blackwell
Crosse & Blackwell
Crosse & Blackwell is a food production brand which has been in existence since 1706.Originally trading under the Jackson brand and then West and Wyatt, the company was purchased in 1830 by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell...
fortune. The remainder of his career would be based in the UK.
Modernist in London
Highpoint I
Highpoint I was the first of two apartment blocks erected in the 1930s on one of the highest points in London, England at Highgate. The architectural design was by Russian-born architect Berthold Lubetkin, the structural design by Danish engineer Ove Arup and the construction by Kier.Highpoint I...
, London. Before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Goldfinger built three houses (including his own) at 1-3 Willow Road in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, North London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and another at Broxted
Broxted
Broxted is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district, in the county of Essex, England. It is located northeast of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire and is northwest from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Uttlesford and in the parliamentary constituency...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. His own house, 2 Willow Road
2 Willow Road
2 Willow Road is part of a terrace of three houses in Hampstead, London designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger and built in 1938. It has been managed by the National Trust since 1995 and is open to the public. It was one of the first modernist buildings acquired by the Trust, giving rise to some...
, is now in the care of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Post WWII era
After the war, Goldfinger was commissioned to build new offices for the Daily Worker newspaper and the headquarters of the British Communist PartyCommunist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
. He also built Alexander Fleming House in south-east London for the Ministry of Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
. In the 1950s, he designed two London primary schools from prefabricated pre-cast concrete with brick infill for the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
in Putney. One of these buildings was damaged and then demolished by a rogue developer who was prosecuted in 2008.
Rise of the high rise
In an attempt to solve the huge shortage of housing in the country following World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in which nearly 4 million houses had been destroyed or damaged, the British Government began to see high-rise buildings as a solution, and Goldfinger rose to prominence in England as a designer of tower blocks.
Among his most notable buildings of the period were the 27-floor Balfron Tower
Balfron Tower
Balfron Tower is a 27-storey housing block in Poplar, a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, UK. It forms part of the Brownfield Estate, an area of social housing between Chrisp Street Market and the A12 northern approach to the Blackwall Tunnel...
and the adjacent eleven-storey Carradale House in the East End London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
, which served as models for the similar 31-floor Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower is a 31-storey block of flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. It was designed in the Brutalist style by architect Ernő Goldfinger, after a commission from the Greater London Council in 1966, and completed in 1972...
in North Kensington
North Kensington
North Kensington is an area of west London lying north of Notting Hill Gate and south of Harrow Road.North Kensington is the key neighbourhood of Notting Hill...
(started 1968, completed 1972).
Personal life
Goldfinger was known as a humourless man given to notorious rages. He sometimes fired his assistants if they were inappropriately jocular, and once forcibly ejected two prospective clients for imposing restrictions on his design.A discussion about Ernő with Ursula Goldfinger's cousin on a golf course prompted Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
to name the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
adversary and villain Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
after Ernő. (Fleming had previously been among the objectors to the pre-war demolition of the cottages in Hampstead that were removed to make way for Goldfinger's house at 2 Willow Road
2 Willow Road
2 Willow Road is part of a terrace of three houses in Hampstead, London designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger and built in 1938. It has been managed by the National Trust since 1995 and is open to the public. It was one of the first modernist buildings acquired by the Trust, giving rise to some...
.) Goldfinger consulted his lawyers when Goldfinger was published in 1959, which prompted Fleming to threaten to rename the character 'Goldprick', but eventually decided not to sue; Fleming's publishers agreed to pay his costs and gave him six free copies of the book.
Goldfinger died on November 15, 1987, at the age of 85, and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
where his ashes remain.
Legacy
Although Goldfinger enjoyed living in his own buildings, they were unpopular among both the public and many post-modernistPostmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
architects. Towards the end of the 20th century Goldfinger's work became more appreciated. Trellick Tower is now a Grade II* listed building and has become something of a design icon, appearing on t-shirts, paintings and in the lyrics of a song by Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
. The few privately owned flats within fetch high prices at sale. Balfron Tower and Carradale House are also listed Grade II, while an adjacent building by Goldfinger's studio, the 14-storey Glenkerry House
Glenkerry House
Glenkerry House is a housing block on the Brownfield Estate in Poplar, London designed by the studio of the controversial Brutalist architect Ernő Goldfinger. 14 storeys high, it stands in proximity to and complements the appearance of Balfron Tower and Carradale House, which were designed by...
, is run as a housing co-operative and is regarded as a model for management of buildings of the type.
In 2000, Ernö Goldfinger's estate generously endowed a sum of money in order to foster links between Hungary and the UK by sponsoring young Hungarian architectural students to study, travel or work in the UK. Their intention was to honour Ernö's achievements, his commitment to his profession, and his life-long support for his compatriots. The RIBA Goldfinger Travel Scholarships have been awarded since 2002.
Buildings by Ernő Goldfinger
- 2 Willow Road2 Willow Road2 Willow Road is part of a terrace of three houses in Hampstead, London designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger and built in 1938. It has been managed by the National Trust since 1995 and is open to the public. It was one of the first modernist buildings acquired by the Trust, giving rise to some...
- Alexander Fleming House (Metro Central Heights)
- Balfron TowerBalfron TowerBalfron Tower is a 27-storey housing block in Poplar, a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, UK. It forms part of the Brownfield Estate, an area of social housing between Chrisp Street Market and the A12 northern approach to the Blackwall Tunnel...
and Carradale House - Trellick TowerTrellick TowerTrellick Tower is a 31-storey block of flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. It was designed in the Brutalist style by architect Ernő Goldfinger, after a commission from the Greater London Council in 1966, and completed in 1972...
and the surrounding Cheltenham Estate / Edenham Way - Fulton House, on the campus of Swansea UniversitySwansea UniversitySwansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
- Greenside School
- Haggerston School
- Brandlehow School and the attached caretaker's cottage
- Weiss shop - 2/2a Golders GreenGolders GreenGolders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Although having some earlier history, it is essentially a 19th century suburban development situated about 5.3 miles north west of Charing Cross and centred on the crossroads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.In the...
Road (1935) - Hille House, Watford
Sources
- Nigel Warburton, Ernő Goldfinger: The Life of an Architect. Routledge, London, 2004. ISBN 978-0415379458.