Synopses & Reviews
Berthold Lubetkin: Architecture and the Tradition of Progress is the definitive account of the life and works of Berthold Lubetkin (1901-1990), Britain's leading Modernist architect. He was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture and he is believed to have more listed buildings to his credit than any other twentieth century architect in Britain. Following a 20-year friendship, author and architect John Allan documents unpublished drawings, photographs, and extracts of writing in this richly illustrated study. Allan sets Lubetkin's work in the wider historical, social and political environment of the time. From Lubetkin's early work in Paris in the 1920s, when he was acquainted with renowned architects such as August Perret and Le Corbusier through to the work of his practice Tecton, the book provides a comprehensive account of his landmark buildings for London Zoo, Finsbury Borough Council and the famous Highpoint apartments. His post-war work, including the troubled project to build Peterlee New Town, is also fully covered.
Originally published in 1992 by RIBA Publications, this updated and comprehensive study is an essential book for students of architecture and the modern period, practitioners of architecture and design alike, as well as anyone with an interest in one of the great figures in twentieth century architecture.
Review
"...through numerous sketches, plans, sections, and graphic analyses of elevations, the author deepens our understanding of Lubetkin's contributions." Library Journal, September 2013
Review
"John Allan's masterly monograph on Lubetkin was originally published just after Lubetkin's death. Twenty years later, it has been given a well-deserved overhaul with the hope of bringing Lubetkin's enduring oeuvre to the attention of new eyes." Wallpaper, July 2013
Synopsis
Berthold Lubetkin (1901-1990) is widely regarded as the most outstanding architect of his generation to have practiced in England. Almost all his surviving buildings have been landmarked, and his work and ideas continue to feature in architectural discourse and education. Lubetkin's designs are characterized by clear geometric figures, technical ingenuity, and a functional resolution that show modernism at its most poetic and powerful.
Famous works such as the Penguin Pool at London Zoo, with its interlocking spiral ramps, and Highpoint One, an elegantly planned eight-story apartment block in north London, brought Lubetkin and his firm international recognition and praise from Le Corbusier.
With text by architect, author, and Lubetkin expert John Allan, and stunning new photographs by Morley von Sternberg, this study provides a fresh account of this key twentieth-century architect, and has an immediacy and accessibility that reveals Lubetkin and his work to a new audience.
About the Author
John Allan lives and works in London, he has been Director of Avanti Architects (since 1983) and has worked on conservation projects on many of Lubetkins buildings. He was elected councillor of ARCUK for ten years (1976&mdash86), a Project Enabler for CABE for six years from its inception, the first Chairman of DoCoMoMo-UK, 1989&mdash1991 and is a member of the Advisory Committee and London Advisory Committee of English Heritage. He is also on the editorial board of The Journal of Architecture. Allan has lectured and published internationally on the subject of conservation and renewal.