Berthold Lubetkin

Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 — 23 October 1990) was a Russian émigré architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, 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 practiced in Paris in the 1920s in partnership with Jean ... more

Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 — 23 October 1990) was a Russian émigré architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, 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 practiced in Paris in the 1920s in partnership with Jean Ginsburg, with whom he designed an apartment building on the Avenue de Versailles. 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,... less