Goldfinger's modernist dream home

Architect Erno Goldfinger is probably best known for designing the Trellick Tower residential skyscraper in North Kensington. Somewhat controversially, that monolithic building is now Grade ll listed. But Goldfinger is also represented in Hampstead in the terrace of modern houses at 1-3 Willow Road which are now owned by the National Trust.

Born in Budapest in 1902, Goldfinger trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1921, and joined the atelier of the progressive architect Auguste Perret in 1925. He fled his native Hungary and arrived in Hampstead where he designed and built the Willow Road homes.

With his wife Ursula Blackwel,l he lived at No. 2 from 1939 until he died in 1987 and the National Trust bought the property after Ursula died in 1991. The home is open to the public and there is nowhere else where you can see such an example of a modernist house that was actually lived in by the designer and his family. Much of the furniture in the house was designed by Goldfinger and many distinguished artists are also represented there including Henry Moore and Max Ernst.

Some existing cottages had to be demolished so that Goldfinger could accomplish his vision and there was much opposition to this at the time from conservative Hampstead residents.

One of the leading voices raised against Goldfinger was that of Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond books. Goldfinger eventually got his way, but Fleming was so embittered by the building of the modernist homes that he took the architect's name for the principal villain in his book 'Goldfinger'. Though at least he changed his first name to Auric.

You can visit the house at -

2 Willow Road
Hampstead
London

from 30th March to 3rd November:
Thur, Fri & Sat; entry by guided tour only. Tours every 45 mins, 12.15-4.
Booking is not possible for these afternoons.

Cost: £4.30; child £2.15.
No parking at house. Limited on-street parking. East Heath Road municipal car park (100m), open intermittently. Joint ticket with Fenton House £6.30

MyVillage, 04th May