Erno Goldfinger's Sublime Towers

ernรถ goldfinger

a designer profile by ivan gilkes

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designer profile

Erno Goldfinger’s Sublime Towers

Ernö Goldfinger left a lasting impression on the city of London with his authoritative and commanding structures. His housing developments at Rowlett Street in East London and Edenham Street in Northwest London are incarnations of postwar city building theories, built as if by a mad scientist or the forts of a powerful king. These striking developments are somewhat of a surprise when compared to Goldfinger’s early work, specifically his own home at Two Willow Road.

One, Two and Three Willow Road, completed in 1939, in Hampstead, London is an interestingly British reaction to the white-box architecture being produced in the continent at the time. Goldfinger said, “I want to be remembered as a Classical architect, not a Kasbah architect” (Dunnett 9). The 2 storey building is built in historical brick, supported by columns and load-bearing beams in modernist fashion. This provides spatial freedom and a fluid plan. With this home and his own office at 45-46 Abermale Road, Goldfinger produced some of the most sensitive modern architecture in London’s historicist context (Dunnett 10).

Something must have occurred in Goldfingers process and theory, as after the war his architecture was no longer sensitive. Goldfinger’s new work was authoritative and controlling. His buildings represented “an extreme rejection of English traditions and the agglomerative character of London with emphasis on the street” (Dunnett 10).

Though Goldfinger did build an office complex in Elephant & Castle on London’s South Bank, this building – touted and praised at first – is now generally cited “as one of the worst examples of soulless post-war developments” (Design Museum 1). More interesting are his residential towers, built in the 1960s and 1970s. The Rowlett Street Development, including Balfron Tower, in Tower & Hamlets, London and completed in 1963 was a result of Goldfingers principles of architecture. They are as follows: 1. Functional needs (why it was built) 2. Constrcutional means (available technologies of construction) and 3. Emotional experience (how it is experienced) (Warburton 115).

The building’s design is a result of its functions and needs. The detached tower is a result of the moving of the elevator and services away so it would not be noisy, the elevators stop at every three floors out of the twenty-seven because of the design and lay out of the units – which lends to the floating walkways. The boiler units are cantilevered out at the top of the service tower as a result of the fact that Goldfinger realized more units needed to be added, and there was not enough space in the service tower’s floor plan to have them all without cantilevering it out.

These requirements led to the unique form of the tower. Nigel Warburton writes that the overall effect of the building aims for the sublime as opposed to beauty.

“There is nothing quaint or homey about the exterior” (Warburton 156). Residents of the development and tower appreciated it, save for the lack of adequate elevators, which Goldfinger took into account for his next development.

The Edenham Street Development, including Trellick Tower, in North Kensington, London and completed 1972 was Goldfinger’s last project for the London County Council and one of his last major works. The design is a more elegant version of Balfron with the addition of community space. The development includes a senior citizen’s center, a nursery, an arcade of shops, laundry facilities, hobby and activity rooms, and a doctor’s office. A pub was included in the design, but was replaced with Goldfinger’s own offices (Dunnett 83).

3 Trellick Tower was a success. It was “remarkable not just for its distinctive silhouette, which has turned it into something of a cultural icon, but more importantly from its tenants’ point of view, for its large rooms, excellent soundproofing between residences and stunning views” (Warburton 164). However, with the Ronan Point Disaster, in which a tower block collapsed, London moved away from residential tower developments. Goldfinger’s insistence to continue designing in this style essentially ended his career (Design Museum 3).

The fascination with his sublime towers continues today however; residences at Trellick Tower are highly sought after (Bayley). Goldfinger’s imagination cannot be denied in that these towers are some of Londons most inventive and unique buildings.

Bibliography:

____, “Ernö Goldfinger.” Design Museum. Design Museum + British Council. 24 Mar. 2008

<http://www.designmuseum.org/design/erno-goldfinger>.

Bayley, Stephen. “You Want the Brutal Truth? Concrete Can Be Beautiful.” The Observer 2 Mar. 2008.

24 Mar.

2008 <http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/architecture/story/0,,2261337,00.html>.

Dunnett, James and Gavin Stamp. Ernö Goldfinger. London: Architectural Association. 1983 Warburton, Nigel. Ernö Goldfinger – the Life of an Archiect. London: Routledge, 2004