23 Facts About Berthold Lubetkin

Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin was a Russian-born British architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s.

Berthold Lubetkin's work includes the Highpoint housing complex, the Penguin Pool at London Zoo, Finsbury Health Centre and Spa Green Estate.

Berthold Lubetkin was born in 1901 in Tbilisi, then part of the Russian Empire, into a Jewish family.

Meanwhile, Berthold had spent much of his youth in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, where he lived with relatives and attended various private schools.

In 1917, Berthold Lubetkin enrolled at the Vkhutemas in Moscow and the Svomas in Petrograd, studying under Constructivist figures such as Alexander Rodchenko and Vladimir Tatlin.

Berthold Lubetkin witnessed and participated in the Russian Revolution of 1917, and between 1919 and 1920 served as a reservist for the Red Army in Moscow.

Berthold Lubetkin's parents remained in Warsaw until 1939, but are presumed to have been murdered in Auschwitz in 1940 during the Holocaust.

Later in life Berthold Lubetkin rarely spoke about his time in Warsaw, possibly due to personal and political reasons.

Berthold Lubetkin 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.

In 1947, Berthold Lubetkin was commissioned to be master planner and chief architect for the Peterlee new town, where he worked closely with Monica Felton.

Frustrated at the unresolved bureaucratic battles, Berthold Lubetkin resigned from the Peterlee project in spring 1950.

Berthold Lubetkin returned to Finsbury to complete his final project for the Borough, Bevin Court.

In defiance, Berthold Lubetkin buried his memorial to Lenin under the central core to his staircase.

Frustrated, Berthold Lubetkin spent increasing time at the Gloucestershire farm he had managed for the Beamish family since the start of World War II, before purchasing it for himself.

Berthold Lubetkin retired from architecture in 1952 and spent the following years, until 1959, managing a farm in Upper Kilcott, Gloucestershire.

Berthold Lubetkin ceased farming in 1969 and relocated to Bristol.

However, after Berthold Lubetkin's death, Louise found that he was born with the name, and was the son of a Jewish businessman.

Berthold Lubetkin continued to live in Clifton after Margaret's death in 1978.

Berthold Lubetkin died in Bristol on 23 October 1990 at the age of 88.

In 1982, Berthold Lubetkin was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal.

Berthold Lubetkin was the subject of a Design Museum exhibition in 2005.

The Berthold Lubetkin Theatre was officially opened by his daughter Sasha Berthold Lubetkin on 5 October 2009.

Berthold Lubetkin had such dreams for Peterlee, he wanted to turn it into the miners capital of the world.