This block of flats in Lawn Road has fascinated me for years. Its construction in the 1930s was supervised by Walter Grobius, founder of the Bauhaus movement. The 34 flats were occupied by writers, artists, architects and intellectuals interested in “progressive urban living”. This sounded so appealing and, intellectual shortcomings aside, I’ve always had a yearning to live in the Isokon. Ultimately, the radical Bauhaus-inspired concept failed and the flats stood derelict for years. But they’ve now been restored to their original modernist splendour with a gallery on the ground floor charting the building’s history. I went there yesterday and asked, hypothetically, whether I could add my name to the waiting list for a flat. Yes, as long as I was a “key worker”. Ah. So I’d have to become a useful and selfless member of society, rather than a useless and selfish one. Never going to happen, is it?
To the Isokon Building in Belsize Park.

- There are ver...27th Oct 2013
- I know this m...26th Oct 2013
- My career as ...25th Oct 2013
- Finally finis...24th Oct 2013
- Who'd have th...23rd Oct 2013
- You may not h...22nd Oct 2013
- Feck....shoot...21st Oct 2013
- Everyone has ...20th Oct 2013
- Ladies and ge...19th Oct 2013
- My mate Brian...18th Oct 2013
- I was told it...17th Oct 2013
- All hail Mr. ...16th Oct 2013
- Should there ...15th Oct 2013
- In praise of ...14th Oct 2013
- Why are rock ...13th Oct 2013 prev next