Isokon Building and Gallery win Docomomo International Award

Avanti Architects have won the prestigious Docomomo International Rehabilitation Award (DRAW) 2021 in the Conservation Through Activism category for its ‘outstanding renovation’ of the Isokon and Isokon Gallery.

Avanti was the only UK winner in a distinguished field that included Sydney Opera House (architect Jørn Utzon), a cluster of significant Modern buildings by Mies van de Rohe, Le Corbusier’s Parisian apartment and the Bauhaus, Dessau by Walter Gropius.

John Allan, former Avanti director and Chairman of the Isokon Gallery Trust, said this international recognition would be most gratifying for everyone who has been involved with the rescue and beneficial reuse of these unique buildings. The previously ruinous Isokon (Lawn Road Flats) is now a flourishing community run by Notting Hill Genesis, while the Isokon Gallery has become a well-known venue on the MoMo architectural scene, having attracted over 25,000 visitors since its opening in 2014.