Berthold Lubetkin is among the most important figures of the Modern Movement in Britain. Born in Georgia in 1901, he studied in Berlin and Paris, before moving to London in 1931. The following year he founded the famous Tecton practice with the Architectural Association graduates Anthony Chitty, Lindsay Drake, Michael Dugdale, Valentine Harding, Godfrey Samuel and Francis Skinner.

Lubetkin and Tecton's buildings are among the most iconic of the period, and include the penguin pool at London Zoo (designed in conjunction with the engineer Ove Arup) and Finsbury Health Centre.

The Highpoint apartments, so-called because of their location on an elevated site, are one of the best examples of early International Style architecture in London. They were built in two phases: Highpoint I in 1935 and Highpoint II in 1938. Local opposition from the Highgate Preservation Committee ensured that Highpoint II was much smaller than its predecessor. It was originally intended to have 57 flats, but in the end contained only 12. This reduction, coupled with the spiralling cost, resulted in a strategy to design luxury apartments instead of flats. Lubetkin even designed himself a penthouse, where he lived until 1955. It had extraordinary views across London from the top of what was the highest building in the city at the time. Externally, Highpoint II has a dark-brick façade that contrasts with the gleaming white render of Highpoint I, with a pair of caryatids that prop up the entrance canopy.