MARGO SAGOV
PROJECT: 2 WILLOW ROAD NW3 - ERNO GOLDFINGER
ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHITECTURE 18.10.09
First week at college after 30 years, has been a bit of a sharp learning curve to say the least. And blog writing is a new skill for me too! Have chosen Erno Goldfinger's 2 Willow Rd NW3 as my first project, concentrating on climate change measures. Am in the throes of assembling images and drawings of the house. To this end I have contacted Philip Boyle from Docomomo, who has kindly offered to copy a number of photos and articles he has on Goldfinger. The best books are all out of print, but he says the RIBA library has some detail drawings. I have also discovered that Avanti Architects did the conservation of the house a few years ago and I am hoping to make contact with John Allen who oversaw the work. Erno Goldfinger was a weird and difficult character by all accounts, famous for sacking staff and conducting public feuds, although other accounts paint a more nuanced picture of a loyal friend, supporter of artists and bon viveur. One of his greatest enemies was the author Ian Fleming who opposed the Willow Road scheme as a member of a local Hampstead Conservation Group. Fleming named his famous villain Goldfinger, but was obliged, by law, to refer to the evil mastermind of the James Bond novel at all times as 'Auric Goldfinger' (to avoid confusion with 'Erno' I presume). This photo is of Erno and his wife Ursula in front of the fireplace. I have been preparing the materials for the initial presentation on 21st October...scanning drawings from a 1939 magazine article and putting them into Vectorworks to read to scale. The closer I examine and discover details, the more I appreciate the ingenuity of his design.
