The Penthouse in the 1930s Wells Coates-designed Isokon Building in London NW3
A double whammy of a desirable building and the best bit of it. The Penthouse in the 1930s Wells Coates-designed Isokon Building in London NW3 is now up for sale.
It is described by the agent as an ‘exceedingly rare opportunity to acquire one of the most important penthouses in London’, although just the word ‘Isokon’ would get us hot under the collar.
But this is right at the top of the Isokon, one of the finest modern movement buildings in the UK, the work of Wells Coates and completed in 1934 and Grade I listed by English Heritage. It was also the first block ever to be built primarily using reinforced concrete.
Oh yes, a who’s who of former residents too, including Agatha Christie, Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus.
The Isokon Building has had mixed fortunes over the years, but is now back to its best following a restoration by Avanti Architects back in 2004, with this penthouse quite literally the cherry on top.
The apartment has its own south-facing roof terrace, which is ‘far larger than the Penthouse itself’. A dream of a space when the sun shines and someone shouts ‘party!’
But the inside is just as worthy of your attention. More so in fact. This one has been maintained and restored to a very high standard, described as ‘an immaculate re-imagining of its original design’. So birch-veneer panelling on the walls and honey-coloured timber floors arranged in a chequerboard pattern, for example, along with some lovely modernist interior pieces to set the place off. Although the majority of those items are unlikely to be staying.
In terms of the space, that’s made up of a large single living area taking in the dining and reception area, with glazed doors to that roof terrace. Across from the dining space is the bedroom with built-in wardrobes and panelled walls and finishing things off is the kitchen and bathroom, both sensitively updated as part of the Avanti Architects’ refurbishment.
Note that the Isokon Building a service charge, which is around £2,898.60 per annum right now. As for the asking price, that’s £950,000.
Images and details courtesy of The Modern House. For more details and to make an enquiry, please visit the website.
