Highpoint I was the first of two apartment blocks erected in the 1930s on one of the highest points in Highgate. The architectural design was by architect Berthold Lubetkin, the structural design by the Anglo-Danish engineer Ove Arup and the construction by Kier. Highpoint I was built in 1935 for the entrepreneur Sigmund Gestetner, but was never used for its intended purpose of housing Gestetner company staff. One of the best examples of early International style architecture in London, this block of 64 flats was very innovative in its day. When the building was completed, it became widely renowned as the finest example of this form of construction for residential purposes. When Corbusier himself visited Highpoint in 1935 he said, "This beautiful building …. at Highgate is an achievement of the first rank." And the American critic Henry Russell Hitchcock called it, "One of the finest, if not absolutely the finest, middle-class housing projects in the world." In 1970 this reputation gained official recognition when both Highpoint blocks were classified Grade I within the historic buildings listing programme.
| Image Details: | |
| Image File: | GSMI-0074-0001 |
| Caption: | Oblique view of main elevation showing cantilevered entrance portico with caryatids. Highpoint, Highgate, United Kingdom. Architect: Berthold Lubetkin, 1935. |
| Property Release: | No |
| Model Release: | N/A |
| Dimensions in PX: | 5014 x 3346 pixels |
| Date of Photograph: | 29/07/2019 |
| Restriction: | No Restriction |
| Credit: | Grant Smith/VIEW |
| Building Details: | |
| View Project Number: | 61305 |
| Building Name: | Highpoint |
| Headline: | Highpoint, Highgate, United Kingdom. Architect: Berthold Lubetkin, 1935. |
| City: | Highgate |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Architect: | Berthold Lubetkin |
| Architect Website: | |
| Category: | Housing |
| Building Type: | Apartments Flats |
| Year of Completion: | 1935 |
| Collection: | VIEW Architecture |
| Public Notes: | Highpoint I was the first of two apartment blocks erected in the 1930s on one of the highest points in Highgate. The architectural design was by architect Berthold Lubetkin, the structural design by the Anglo-Danish engineer Ove Arup and the construction by Kier. Highpoint I was built in 1935 for the entrepreneur Sigmund Gestetner, but was never used for its intended purpose of housing Gestetner company staff. One of the best examples of early International style architecture in London, this block of 64 flats was very innovative in its day. When the building was completed, it became widely renowned as the finest example of this form of construction for residential purposes. When Corbusier himself visited Highpoint in 1935 he said, "This beautiful building …. at Highgate is an achievement of the first rank." And the American critic Henry Russell Hitchcock called it, "One of the finest, if not absolutely the finest, middle-class housing projects in the world." In 1970 this reputation gained official recognition when both Highpoint blocks were classified Grade I within the historic buildings listing programme. |
| Keywords: | Highpoint; architecture; apartment; flat; accommodation; Europe; United Kingdom; Greater London; Highgate; North Hill; 1935; 20th Century; Berthold Lubetkin; Nobody; Full Frame; general view; day; exterior; Ove Arup; engineering; block of flats; residential block; middle-class housing; Grade I* listed; architectural landmark; Modernist; modernism; residence; exterior facade; perspective; glass brick; contrast; sunlit; mature tree; approach; entrance |
| Orientation: | H |
| Type: | Apartments Flats |
| B/W or Colour: | Colour |
| Number of People: | Nobody |
| Technique: | Full Frame |
| People Incidental: | N/A |
| Point of View: | General view |
| Time of Day: | Day |
| Interior or Exterior: | Exterior |
| Photographer: | Grant Smith |
| Source File Name: | GSMI-0074-0001.jpg |
| Copyright Info URL: | www.viewpictures.co.uk |