Step aboard for art deco inspired interiors at sea, with a suite named after the Isokon's most famous resident.

We visited www.bataheritagecentre.org.uk yesterday for their Open Day. The modernist industrial complex and workers estate, built from 1932 onwards by the Bata shoe company, are now part of a conservation zone. A fascinating walking tour and lecture by former Bata employees, and a wonderful display.

We’re still open until 4 pm, then from 6 pm to 9 pm today (24 April). 15% off ALL books in our shop. Don’t miss out!

Do you know which of these is a Gull and which a Pocket Bottleship? 🧵

Happy #EarthDay! Why not book a ticket for our upcoming talk on the #Passivhaus retrofit of two mid-century apartment blocks, bringing them from a state of near-dereliction to extreme energy efficiecy. Remember, the greenest building is the one that already exists.

We attended a superb talk at Burgh House by Ami Bouhassane of Farleys House & Gallery, about the life and work of her grandmother Lee Miller whose archive can be found at images.leemiller.co.uk. Here’s Lee Miller’s photo of Wells Coates, architect of the Isokon building.

We're open this Friday, 24 April, 11:00-16:00 and 18:00-21:00. with a 15% discount on all books in our shop!

Another opportunity to visit an Isokon minimum flat tomorrow, Sunday 19 April, from 1100 to 1300. First come first served; we ask for a donation of £10 per visitor.

Gary S Boyd’s fascinating talk last night about Egon Riss. A leading architect in “Red Vienna” before the Nazis took over. After the war he built ultra modern collieries in Scotland. The collieries are mostly gone, but many of his Viennese buildings are still in good condition.

Tomorrow evening at the Isokon Gallery. A fascinating talk by Gary A Boyd about the life and work of former Isokon resident, the intriguing architect and designer Egon Riss, best known for the iconic Penguin Donkey. Few tickets left. Get yours from Eventbrite 👇

Underground (and Surface). Paintings by Jock McFadyen with soundscape by Jem Finer. At the Guildhall Art Gallery.

Tickets still available. Tomorrow evening (14 April) at Burgh House in Hampstead, Ami Bouhassane will be speaking about her remarkable grandmother, Lee Miller, sharing personal insights and stories about her life and legacy.

Spot the difference. Drop into the Isokon Gallery this morning (we’re open from 11 am) and enjoy some glorious plywood furniture by Marcel Breuer, Egon Riss and more, then visit Alessandro Mendini at the Estorick collection in Highbury for something entirely different.

Fun fact: Denise Scott Brown was keen to work with Riss when she was about to graduate from the AA and visited him at his house in Edinburgh for an interview.

Visit our exhibition about the extraordinary life of Egon Riss, who designed the famous Gull and Penguin Donkey while living in the Isokon flats. We’re open until 4 pm today, and between 11 am and 4 pm tomorrow. See you soon!

A fascinating talk at the Isokon yesterday by Cindy Wong of Squire & Partners, and Younha Rhee of Atelier Ten about the renovation of Space House, the 1968 brutalist icon. The award-winning project was described by @c20society.bsky.social as ‘London’s coolest new building of 2024’

Modernist blue tit entering a modernist birdhouse and exiting after 7 seconds. (1/2)

Sun’s out! 🌞 Which reminds us: we’ve just had a cancellation, so there’s one ticket available for this talk on 30 April by @seasideferry.bsky.social which promises to be just the thing to get us all in the mood for summer. 🍦 ⛵️ 🏖️

For some reason we started thinking about these eggs. Do you remember them? Happy Easter! www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/how-...

Why not pop in to the Isokon Gallery this weekend? We’ll be on the lookout for your visit. Btw, this ever so de Stijl-ish birdhouse is available from the Isokon Gallery and from our online shop isokongallery.org/products/bir...

We’re open this bank holiday weekend, Saturday and Sunday, 4-5 April, 1100-1600. Come and see our exhibition about Egon Riss, designer of the Penguin Donkey Mark 1. On Sunday 5 April, from 1100-1300, you can also visit an Isokon minimum flat (first come first served, £10 donation per visitor).

How would you like to live in your very own Eames House?

Only 3 tickets left for this talk on Thursday 9 April at the Isokon Gallery. Project architect Cindy Wong and sustainability expert Younha Rhee will tell us about the award-winning restoration of Richard Seifert's iconic Space House. Book your place via Eventbrite 👇

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Britain’s most beautiful buildings are made from concrete 😉

The 9th International Congress of Construction History is going to be in #Turin #Torino 2027. I am hoping we get a guided tour of this famous building. Call for sessions has closed but the call for papers #CfP is expected soon. constructionhistorygroup.polito.it/icch/

We visited the former Fiat factory at Lingottto in Turin. Some pics we took of the test track and ramp, now part of the Agnelli Collection, with contemporary artworks installed.

Did you think that Passivhaus technology was only for new builds? Come and hear James Traynor of ECD Architects explain how it can be used to retrofit mid-century high rise blocks. At the Isokon Gallery, 21 May 2026, 18:30. Tickets from Eventbrite 👇

New in the Gallery: the Cut-Out chair. Designed in 1936 by Marcel Breuer for the Isokon but never produced until now. You can try one out for yourself when you visit us this weekend from 11:00 - 16:00. isokongallery.org/products/iso...

We’re open today! (And on the last Friday of each month). From 11:00-16:00 and from 18:00-21:00. Visit us and explore the wide-ranging life and work of the Isokon’s most enigmatic resident, architect and designer Egon Riss.

Daria Santini speaking to a full house, with @stewartpurvis.bsky.social , about her new book, “A Woman named Edith”, a biography of photographer and Soviet spy Edith Tudor-Hart. All copies at the Gallery were sold, but a few are available from our online shop isokongallery.org/collections/...

Visit us this Friday! The Isokon Gallery is open on the last Friday of each month until the end of November, from 11:00-16:00 and 18:00-21:00.

Tickets for A Woman Named Edith are now sold out. Tickets are still available for other upcoming talks on Space House, Egon Riss and Seaside Architecture, but they are selling fast. Book your tickets on Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.com/o/10598755560

Your chance to visit an Isokon minimum flat: Sunday 22 March, 11:00-13:00. First come first served. We ask for a donation of £10 per visitor.

Only a few tickets left for this talk and book signing in one week’s time on 25 March. If you’d like to attend, now’s the time to book your place to avoid disappointment.

New in our shop: this elegant hand-printed Bauhaus card by local architect and printmaker Charis Tsang. Many of our products are created by women designer/makers, so by buying from us you can support the Isokon Gallery *and* women-led enterprise. 🏆

A Polish visitor told us about the modernist WuWA estate (Wohnungs- und Werkraumausstellung, or Exhibition of Dwellings and Workplaces) established in 1929 in Wrocław. It was one of six similar housing developments in Europe at the, along with others in Stuttgart, Brno, Zurich, Prague and Vienna.

Happy Mother’s Day! Need a last minute present? Drop in at our Gallery where we also have a lovely gift shop. These bird houses are ever so de Stijl-ish, and just the thing for the coming nesting season.

New for 2026! A Marcel Breuer side table, donated by the family of the late John Craddock, Camden Council’s caretaker for Isokon in the 1970’s. Tasked with clearing a flat, he couldn’t bring himself to throw away an original Isokon piece so it was much loved and used until his death in March 2025.

Our new exhibition explores the life and work of the architect and designer Egon Riss. Just like our permanent collection, admission is completely free so you can visit as often as you like. isokongallery.org/blogs/exhibi...

We’re delighted that sustainability expert Younha Rhee of Atelier Ten will be joining project architect Cindy Wong to talk about the restoration of Space House, Richard Seifert’s 1960s icon. The retrofit set a new benchmark for sustainability. Join us on 9 April. Tickets via Eventbrite👇(going fast).

A film about what happens when the architect's purist vision meets reality in the form of bureaucracy, cost, and the client's demands. Watched it inflight, but much better on the big screen, I think.

We have lots of great talks coming up this season at the Isokon. Topics include: Edith Tudor-Hart, the restoration of Space House, Egon Riss, and Seaside Architecture between the Wars. Follow us on Eventbrite www.eventbrite.com/o/10598755560 so you don’t miss out.

You can see an Isokon Minimum Flat tomorrow, Sunday 8 March, from 11 am to 1 pm. First come, first served; we ask for a £10 donation per visitor.

More reflections by Katja Hojer, here on the Berlin Olympic Stadium: "To tear it down and rebuild something new, would have erased a physical reminder of how architecture can serve tyranny. On the other hand, preserving it without commentary or alteration would risk aestheticising that tyranny."

‘The question we should ask isn’t “erase or preserve?” but “how do we handle traces of dictatorships responsibly?”’ … ‘Conservation and reinterpretation can allow former sites of power to become spaces of reflection. History, however painful, deserves its place in the present’

This sounds great! Definitely one for fans of #ArtDeco Kathryn will also be giving a talk at the Isokon Gallery on 30 April. Follow us on www.eventbrite.com/o/10598755560 for alerts when tickets go on sale.

We’re opening for the new season this Saturday, and on Sunday 1 March, you have the opportunity to visit an Isokon minimum flat from 11 am to 1 pm. First come, first served; we ask for a donation of £10 per visitor.

Coming up next, our first event for this year. Daria Santini discusses her new book about Edith Tudor-Hart, photographer and Soviet agent, with Stuart Purvis on 25 March at the Isokon Gallery. Tickets via Eventbrite👇

Around the time the Isokon flats were being designed, László Hudec was bringing modernism to Shanghai (after escaping from a Siberian prison camp).