What is recorded here
Dorich House was completed in 1936 as sculptor Dora Gordine's purpose-designed home, studio and gallery. Its tall workrooms, strong brick and concrete structure and upper living rooms followed her needs from the inside out; Kingston University later restored it as a museum.
Why it was built
Dora Gordine needed unusually tall, well-lit rooms for modelling and showing sculpture as well as a home shared with her husband Richard Hare.
People and work
Gordine made the original design in 1935 and worked with Henry Ivor Cole on working drawings; she produced and displayed sculpture in the completed house.
How it changed
After Gordine's death in 1991, Kingston University acquired and repaired the building, opening its working and domestic rooms as a museum.
What survives
Engineering-brick walls, concrete floors and roof, large metal windows, double-height studios, gallery and upper living rooms retain her inside-out plan.
Why it mattered
Dorich House is a rare modern studio-home substantially designed by the woman artist who used it, making her working method visible through its architecture.
Sources for this account
- Saved source: OpenStreetMap contributors
- Dorich House Museum: museum and collection
- Dorich House Museum: the original design
Sources checked 16 August 2026.
From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) w1315748829
Places near here
Photo credits
- David Anstiss, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- JThomas, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Derek Harper, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Hugh Venables, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Stefan Czapski, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- N Chadwick, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- David Howard, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Christine Johnstone, Wikimedia Commons
- Marathon, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Noel Foster, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
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