Highpoint I and II, the pair of white modernist apartment blocks on Highgate Hill, are more than architectural curiosities; they are long-running engines for Highgate’s quiet arts and heritage culture. Completed in 1935 and 1938 for Sigmund Gestetner’s firm and designed by émigré architect Berthold Lubetkin with structural engineer Ove Arup, they introduced an unprecedented kind of collective living to north London, one that has consistently attracted residents involved in ar

Highpoint II wasn’t just Lubetkin’s masterpiece from the outside - his own penthouse proves he could make Modernism sing from floor to ceiling. Health care centres, high rises and even penguin pools; Berthold Lubetkin left an enduring legacy across London.  But the Modernist  architect’s own Highgate apartment is where he really shone. Lubetkin designed the Highpoint housing complex for local entrepreneur Sigmund Gestetner. The two glistening early International Style structu

Perched on Highgate Ridge, the modernist landmark Highpoint I earns its Grade I status by melding architectural innovation, social ambition and rare preservation into a nationally significant masterpiece. In the United Kingdom, the process of “listing” buildings serves as a formal means of recognising and protecting structures that are of significant architectural or historic interest. The current statutory basis for listing is found in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Cons

Domenic Cole discovers an extensive but resolutely old-fashioned Clarence Elliott garden in a modernist setting in Highgate Two blocks of flats in North Road, Highgate, sit on the Highgate Ridge at one of the highest points in north London. They command stunning views across the city and are considered a highly desirable address. The architect, Berthold Lubetkin, chose to build six storeys in a virtually rural setting. Rather than conform to a maximum of three storeys to fit

Highpoint exemplifies Lubetkin’s belief that architecture can elevate human life, blending social purpose, innovative design, and philosophical rigour. Berthold Lubetkin was not just an architect; he was a visionary who saw buildings as instruments of social transformation. Arriving in London in 1931 after years of study and practice across Europe, Lubetkin brought a rare combination of technical expertise and political conviction. His exposure to the modernist housing develo

J.G. Ballard's dystopian novel High-Rise delves into the complex interplay between modernist architecture, social class, and the...