Isokon
Encyclopedia
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...
-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
Wells Coates
Wells Wintemute Coates OBE was an architect, designer and writer. He was, for most of his life, an ex-patriate Canadian architect who is best known for his work in England...
and Partners, the name was changed in 1931 to Isokon, a name derived from Isometric Unit Construction, bearing an allusion to Constructivism
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
.
Unusually for a design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
company, its directors were a bacteriologist Molly Pritchard, a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
Frederick Graham-Maw, son of the founder of the law firm, Rowe and Maw, Frederick James Maw and an economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
Robert S Spicer. In actuality, the company was run by Molly's husband Jack Pritchard
Jack Pritchard
John Craven Pritchard was a British furniture designer, who was very influential between the First and Second World Wars...
whose initial involvement was to handle the economics, publicity
Publicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, but who later went on to hire designers and direct the company.
However Isokon was never commercially successful. But the end came when 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...
began and its supply of plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
was cut off. The Isokon Furniture Company ceased production in 1939.
Lawn Road flats
Isokon's key project was the Lawn Road Flats in HampsteadHampstead
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...
, sometimes called the Isokon building
Isokon building
The Isokon building in Lawn Road, Hampstead, London is a concrete block of 34 flats designed by architect Wells Coates for Molly and Jack Pritchard. They were built between 1933 and 1934 as an experiment in communal living. Most of the flats had very small kitchens as there was a large communal...
, which opened on 9 July 1934. Intended to be the last word in contemporary modernist living, the block of flats were aimed at the market of new young professionals of the 1930s and contained 22 single flats, four double flats, three studio flats, staff quarters, kitchens and a large garage. In 1937 a club, the Isobar, was added to the complex.
The flats and particularly the bar became famous as a centre for intellectual life in North London, famous residents included Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
, and regulars at the Isobar included Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
, Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
and Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
.
Bauhaus in London
In 1935, Walter GropiusWalter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
, the former head of the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
, became Controller of Design for Isokon. He arrived in England on 18 October 1934 and lived in one of the Lawn Road Flats until March 1937, when he and his wife left for USA. A month before he left for the USA, Gropius recommended Marcel Breuer
Marcel Breuer
Marcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
, a former colleague at the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
, as his replacement for Controller of Design. The furniture Breuer designed whilst at Isokon are highly influential pieces of the modernist movement, and included chairs, tables
Table (furniture)
A table is a form of furniture with a flat and satisfactory horizontal upper surface used to support objects of interest, for storage, show, and/or manipulation...
and the Long Chair.
László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
, another former Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
teacher, also became involved with Isokon when he arrived in Britain from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in May 1935 and designed promotional material, including sales leaflets, showcards and the logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
of Isokon firm itself, which was an outline of curved plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
chair.
Isokon revival
Jack PritchardJack Pritchard
John Craven Pritchard was a British furniture designer, who was very influential between the First and Second World Wars...
revived Isokon Furniture Company in 1963. However 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
Ernest Race
Ernest Race was a textile and furniture designer, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1913, and died in 1964. His best-known designs are the BA3 aluminium chair of 1945 and the Antelope, designed for the Festival of Britain in 1951. The BA3 won a Gold Medal at the 10th Milan Trienale in 1954, where the...
. In 1968, Pritchard licensed John Alan Designs to produce the Long Chair, Nesting Tables and the Penguin Donkey 2 which the company did until 1980.
Jack and Molly retired to their home designed by Jack's daughter Jennifer Jones and her husband Colin in 1966. The modern house called Isokon, turns heads to this day in Blythburgh
Blythburgh
Blythburgh is a small English village in an area known as the Sandlings, part of the Suffolk heritage coast. Located close to an area of flooded marshland and mud-flats, in 2007 its population was estimated to be 300. Blythburgh is best known for its church, Holy Trinity, internationally known as...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
In 1982, Chris McCourt of Windmill Furniture took over the license to manufacture Isokon pieces. Since 1999, this furniture has been sold through the retail arm of Windmill’s, Isokon Plus in Chiswick
Chiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...
, London.
The first furniture to be added to the Isokon portfolio in over fifty years was designed by BarberOsgerby
BarberOsgerby
BarberOsgerby is a furniture and industrial design studio established in 1996 by British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.- Biography :Edward Barber was born in Shrewsbury, England and studied interior design at Leeds Polytechnic...
. Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby had recently graduated from the Royal College of Art when they designed their first piece, the Loop Table, in 1996. The iconic bent plywood design was to be the first of several furniture pieces that the designers created for Isokon Plus.
Isokon furniture
- Isokon Stool (designer unknown, 1933)
- Isokon Book Units (designed by Wells CoatesWells CoatesWells Wintemute Coates OBE was an architect, designer and writer. He was, for most of his life, an ex-patriate Canadian architect who is best known for his work in England...
, 1933) - Desk made from Isokon Book Units (designed by Wells CoatesWells CoatesWells Wintemute Coates OBE was an architect, designer and writer. He was, for most of his life, an ex-patriate Canadian architect who is best known for his work in England...
, 1933) - Aluminium Waste Paper Basket (designed by Walter GropiusWalter GropiusWalter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
, 1935) - Side Table GT2 (designed by Walter GropiusWalter GropiusWalter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
, 1936) - Isokon Nesting Tables (designed by Marcel BreuerMarcel BreuerMarcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
, 1936) - Isokon Dining Table (designed by Marcel BreuerMarcel BreuerMarcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
, 1936) - Isokon Stacking Chairs (designed by Marcel BreuerMarcel BreuerMarcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
, 1936) - Isokon Long ChairIsokon Long ChairThe Isokon Long Chair is a chair designed by Marcel Breuer for the Isokon company in 1935-36. The chair is considered one of the most important pieces of furniture to emerge from the inter-war modern movement and it is in the permanent collections of several internationally renowned museums...
(designed by Marcel BreuerMarcel BreuerMarcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
, 1935-6) - The Pocket Bottleship (designed by Egon Riss, 1939)
- The Pocket Bottleship Mark 2 (designed by Ernest RaceErnest RaceErnest Race was a textile and furniture designer, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1913, and died in 1964. His best-known designs are the BA3 aluminium chair of 1945 and the Antelope, designed for the Festival of Britain in 1951. The BA3 won a Gold Medal at the 10th Milan Trienale in 1954, where the...
, 1963) - The Penguin Donkey (designer by Egon Riss, 1939)
- The Penguin Donkey Mark 2 (designed by Ernest RaceErnest RaceErnest Race was a textile and furniture designer, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1913, and died in 1964. His best-known designs are the BA3 aluminium chair of 1945 and the Antelope, designed for the Festival of Britain in 1951. The BA3 won a Gold Medal at the 10th Milan Trienale in 1954, where the...
, 1963) - Loop Table (designed by BarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerby is a furniture and industrial design studio established in 1996 by British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.- Biography :Edward Barber was born in Shrewsbury, England and studied interior design at Leeds Polytechnic...
, 1996) - Flight Stool (designed by BarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerby is a furniture and industrial design studio established in 1996 by British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.- Biography :Edward Barber was born in Shrewsbury, England and studied interior design at Leeds Polytechnic...
, 1998) - Home Table (designed by BarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerby is a furniture and industrial design studio established in 1996 by British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.- Biography :Edward Barber was born in Shrewsbury, England and studied interior design at Leeds Polytechnic...
, 2000) - Shell Table and Chair (designed by BarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerby is a furniture and industrial design studio established in 1996 by British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.- Biography :Edward Barber was born in Shrewsbury, England and studied interior design at Leeds Polytechnic...
, 2002) - Portsmouth Bench (designed by BarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerbyBarberOsgerby is a furniture and industrial design studio established in 1996 by British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.- Biography :Edward Barber was born in Shrewsbury, England and studied interior design at Leeds Polytechnic...
, 2002)
External links
- Jack Pritchard — The Pritchard Papers, UEA Norwich
- John Craven Pritchard (Jack) — Archives Hub
- Isokon at Blythburgh — Alan Mackley
- Isokon Designers — Isokon Plus
- BarberOsgerby — Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby