2 Willow Road is part of a terrace of
three houses in Hampstead
London designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger and completed in 1939. It has been
managed by the National Trust since 1995 and is open to the public.
It was one of the first modernist buildings acquired by the Trust,
giving rise to some controversy. Goldfinger lived there with his wife Ursula
and their children until his death in 1987.
1–3 Willow Road was constructed using concrete and a facing of
red brick. A number of cottages were demolished to allow for the construction,
which was strongly opposed by a number of local residents including novelist Ian Fleming (this was said to be his inspiration
for the name of the James Bond villain Auric Goldfinger)
and the future Conservative Home Secretary Henry Brooke. No. 2, which Goldfinger
designed specifically as his own family home, is the largest of the three
houses and features a spiral staircase designed by Danish engineer Ove Arup at its core. The building is supported
by a concrete frame, part of which is external, leaving room for a spacious
uncluttered interior, perhaps inspired by theRaumplan ideas of modernist architect Adolf Loos.
Goldfinger himself designed much of the furniture in No. 2, and
the house also contains a significant collection of 20th-century art by Bridget Riley, Marcel Duchamp, Henry Moore and Max Ernst.
Entry is by timed ticket, and facilities are very limited. Nos.
1 and 3 remain private homes.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/2-willow-road/
