Two willow house

2 willow road

Brief

This family home, designed by Erno Goldfinger for himself, is the most innovative and influential modernist home since 1939.

Ethos& influence

Goldfinger believed that the ‘new style’ of architecture should not be bound by false traditions and was more concerned with palaces built of steel, reinforced concrete and glass. Like the Brutalism that he would represent, he believed that the beauty of architecture should be “governed by the true expression of structure and material”. Concrete was Goldifnger’s main way of expressing the functionality and practicality of architecture.

In fact, his view of architecture was related between social requirements and conditions duing that period. His architecture were instrumental in the reconstruction of homes and the promotion of the modernist style after the Second World War.

Interior& furniture

It is also worth noting that the interior of the house is also fascinating and is particularly known for its innovative techniques for maximising the use of space. The open plan living created by the architects through moveable partition walls divides the space in a more flexible way.

In addition to this, much of the furniture in the house has been designed by goldfinger. This includes an innovative desk with horizontally rotating drawers, bookshelves and even door handles.

The pedstal desk, for example, measures 69.2 x 183 x 83.6 cm. The desk is made accessible by a clever design that allows the drawers to pivot on a pivot, which means that the backs of the drawers are more accessible.

I can sense from both the building’s subtle interior design and the desk that they contain a wealth of innovation from goldfinger, but without losing the attitude of the new architecture of his time that he was seeking – to focus more on function with simple structural supports. His series of designs also laid a good foundation for later solutions to the social housing problem, and did much to promote the modernist style.