Iconic Encounters: London

Network Members' Meetup Report, November 3-4, 2024

The Iconic Houses Network celebrated a momentous milestone as member museums across the UK gathered for the first time at a special day event hosted by Dorich House Museum, in collaboration with Picker House and Isokon Gallery in London. We were thrilled to also meet in person and welcome the Project Director of The Hill House from Helensburgh, our newest member, alongside a Trustee of fellow Mackintosh masterpiece 78 Derngate from Northampton.

The event also provided an opportunity to connect with exciting new initiatives, fostering vibrant discussions about the future of architectural heritage. We eagerly anticipate welcoming more iconic houses into our network in the UK very soon!

Browse our photo report HERE.

Sunday, November 3rd

Isokon Gallery and private Isokon ‘Existenzminimum’ flat No 12
For this special occasion, Magnus Englund, Director of the Isokon Gallery Trust, opened the Isokon Gallery to our group on Sunday November 3rd, for a tour from 4-5pm. Architect John Allan, Chairman of the Isokon Gallery Trust welcomed the group with an introduction. In addition it was possible to visit one of the privately owned ‘Existenzminimum’ flats which is in pristine condition. While Wells Coates was the architect for the building (with no formal training in architecture, and Isokon Flats being his first building), it was the client Molly Pritchard who drew up the brief of the flats’ size, layout and function, directly influenced by the German concept of ‘Existenzeminimum’. Isokon Flats from 1934 is one of only two Grade I listed blocks of flats in England (Highpoint by Lubetkin being the other one) and it’s the very first block of flats (but not house) in the country built with reinforced concrete. We were extra privileged to be allowed by the current owner to take a look into the penthouse that Jack and Molly Pritchard lived in themselves.

Monday, November 4th

We started November 4th at Dorich House Museum at Kingston University for coffee and pastries at 9.30am. The morning included tours of Dorich House Museum (Kingston University) and the Network's newest London member, the Picker House (Stanley Picker Trust).

Dorich House Museum is the former studio-home of the sculptor Dora Gordine (1895-1991) and her husband the Hon. Richard Hare (1907-1966). The house was completed in 1936 to Gordine’s design and holds the largest international collection of her work. Gordine lived at Dorich House from 1936 until her death in 1991.
Fiona Fisher, Dorich House Museum's Curator and Researcher at Kingston University' School of Art, looks back at the day: “It was our pleasure to host the meet-up at Kingston University. We look forward to future opportunities to meet, exchange knowledge and share plans and aspirations for the special places and collections we all care for.”

The Picker House was designed by Surrey architect Kenneth Wood (1921-2015) for the businessman and philanthropist Stanley Picker (1913-1982), head of Gala Cosmetics, and was completed in 1968. The interiors are by Terence Conran’s companies Conran Contracts and Conran Design Group. The tour included Picker’s private gallery, added in the 1970s to accommodate his growing art collection.

Trust Manager Sofia Smith says this about the visit: “We were thrilled to be included in the most recent events that Iconic Houses and Dorich House Museum planned so meticulously in London and Kingston this year. We love telling the story of the Picker House and have a real passion for sharing it with others. We had the great pleasure of meeting many other people from across the UK who are already enriching our understanding of our own Iconic House, and have no doubt that the Network, so brilliantly managed by Natascha Drabbe and her team, will help us safeguard and future proof Picker House to be enjoyed for many years to come."

Lunch took place at Kingston University’s Town House Library, designed by Grafton Architects and winner of the 2021 Stirling Prize and the 2022 Mies van der Rohe Architecture Award and was followed by a tour of the building.
“It was brilliant to host the recent Iconic Houses meet-up at Dorich House Museum here at Kingston University, and to include visits to one of our newest members The Picker House, as well as the University’s award winning Town House Library and architect Takeshi Hayatsu’s exhibition at the Stanley Picker Gallery. We are especially pleased that our event attracted interest from organisations such as the wonderful Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, who will make a fantastic new addition to our network” says David Falkner, Director, Stanley Picker Gallery & Dorich House Museum at Kingston University.

Another positive outcome is that Liz Davidson, Project Director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed The Hill House, managed by The National Trust for Scotland, takes up the challenge and says she and her colleague really enjoyed the day and found it very useful and they would like to organise something similar in Helensburgh next year.

Stanley Picker Gallery
In the afternoon we visited Under Construction, a new architecture exhibition at Kingston’s University’s Stanley Picker Gallery, featuring work by architect Takeshi Hayatsu and collaborators where we had a curator’s tour and a chance to meet Takeshi and his students. The gallery’s show ‘Under Construction’ was featured in The Guardian newspaper’s design highlights of 2024 (16 December), chosen by Andrew Nairne, director of Kettle’s Yard our newest member house museum in the UK.

Reception and Film Screening in Dora Gordines's Former Atelier
We concluded the day with an early evening reception and screening of Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House, with a Q&A with Iconic Houses founder Natascha Drabbe, supported by the Netherlands Embassy in London, that supports cultural exchanges and collaborations between the Netherlands and the UK. Cultural Councilor Astrid de Vries reflects:
‘We were thrilled to partner with Iconic Houses and Dorich House at Kingston University, in organizing the reception and film screening [of Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House. This event provided a wonderful opportunity to promote Iconic Houses as an invaluable network, founded and based in the Netherlands, of house museums around the world. We’re thrilled that this event has resulted in new UK-based members, which will help the network grow and will enhance global knowledge sharing on iconic houses.’
 
Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House consists of five short thematic films exploring innovative, avant-garde residential architecture, featuring twenty iconic house museums from the Netherlands. The themes are: Health and Hygiene in the Modern Home, Palaces for the People, A Woman’s Place: Clients and Architects, Experiments with Space and Home as Self-Portrait: Architects’ Homes.
The film can also be streamed through our webshop and watched from the comfort of your home.

This event is supported by:

Posted December 20, 2024