Image credit: David Howard / Geograph Britain and Ireland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 2022-02-18 ↗
Highpoint I & II
Highgate · Highgate · Expansion route discovery
Story
In stark contrast to the surrounding Highgate with its older houses and Victorian Gothic architecture, Highpoint I and II are two modernist blocks by Berthold Lubetkin and Tecton, both considered radically innovative in the 1930s. Highpoint I, constructed between 1933 and 1935 with engineer Ove Arup, was conceived as a reinforced-concrete apartment block. Its clean, functionalist design drew the admiration of Le Corbusier when he visited in 1935, marking a significant moment in British residential architecture. Highpoint II, built between 1936 and 1938, was even more experimental. Its innovative box-frame construction anticipated structural solutions that would influence post-war housing, while the interiors of its flats featured double-height living rooms. A striking detail is the placement of copies of the Erechtheion caryatids at the entrance, an ironic and bold gesture that challenges the idea that modernism had to be an austere, white box devoid of historical references. Both buildings remain residential and are viewed from the outside. Together, these blocks transform Highgate into a laboratory for modern architecture, showing how a historic village could also become a centre for avant-garde experimentation.
What to look for
Notice the differences between Highpoint I, with its cleaner, white form, and Highpoint II, which features richer materials, distinctive entrance details, and the unexpected caryatids.
Secret detail
Highpoint II not only featured an experimental box-frame structure but also prominently displayed copies of classical caryatids at its entrance, a deliberately anachronistic touch for a modernist building.
Where exactly
On North Hill. View Highpoint I and Highpoint II as a pair from public space, without entering the residential grounds.
Orientation
Step back on North Hill far enough to see the full massing of both blocks and compare them, rather than focusing only on their entrances.
Why it matters
These two Grade I listed buildings reveal how Highgate, beyond its historic charm, became a crucial site for the experimentation and development of residential modernism in the UK.
Access & opening
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Accessibility
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