Berthold Lubetkin
| Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Бертольд Романович Любеткин December 14, 1901 Tbilisi, Georgia, Russian Empire |
| Died | October 23, 1990 (aged 88) Bristol, UK |
| Nationality | Russian-British |
| Alma mater | VKhUTEMAS |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | RIBA Royal Gold Medal (1982) |
| Practice | Tecton |
Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 – 23 October 1990) was a Georgian-born émigré architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint housing complex, London Zoo penguin pool, Finsbury Health Centre and Spa Green Estate.
Although certificates exist stating that his birth was in Warsaw in 1903, Lubetkin described these as false documents which he had used to conceal time spent in the Red Army. It is believed he was born in Tbilisi, (now the capital of Georgia), into a Jewish family. His father, Roman (Reuben) Aronovich Lubetkin (1885, St. Petersburg – 1942, Auschwitz), was a civil engineer for the railroad. Lubetkin studied in Moscow and Leningrad where he witnessed the Russian Revolution of 1917 and absorbed elements of Constructivism, both as a participant in street festivals and as a student at VKhUTEMAS.
Lubetkin practised in Paris in the 1920s in partnership with Jean Ginsburg, with whom he designed an apartment building on the Avenue de Versailles (number 25). In Paris, he associated with the leading figures of the European Avant Garde including Le Corbusier. He continued to participate in the debates of Constructivism, designing a trade pavilion for the USSR in Bordeaux and participating in the Palace of the Soviets competition, for which his entry was shortlisted.
Emigrating to London in 1931, Lubetkin set up the architectural practice Tecton. The first projects of Tecton included landmark buildings for London Zoo, the gorilla house and a penguin pool (clearly showing the influence of Naum Gabo). Lubetkin and Tecton set up the Architects and Technicians Organisation in 1936.
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