Rae hoffenberg biography books

Grande Dame of The Docks

After moving to London in 1973, Rae discovered Docklands and her quest for space, light and panoramic views could be made possible in the abandoned wharves on the banks of the river Thames. She fought local bureaucrats for three years to change the use from commercial to residential, creating a precedent and opening the floodgates to Docklands development. She has been the pivotal figure in a multibillion metamorphosis taking place in London. Canary Wharf rises a scant distance from Rae Hoffenberg's window. Her restoration of a derelict terrace of Thames side wharves has attracted the great and the good, David Lean amongst them. He had led a peripatetic life until he saw Rae's wharf conversions. It's where he settled, worked on his film "Passage to India" and where he died. She has earned the praise of no less a stern critic of the "carbuncles" of modern architecture than Prince Charles. In his T.V. architecture programme the Prince singled out Mrs. Hoffenberg's conversions as having "more human scale" than much in Dockland Architecture.

Rae's properties in Docklands have often appeared in magazines and newspapers, for the original location and the interior design. An article in The Daily News 'A Rae of light in Docklands' states: 'One of the prime movers in the transformation of London's Docklands near the Tower Bridge into a very fashionable living area today, is former Durban interior designer Rae Hoffenberg.' The article in the Lifestyle section defends a British newspaper remark that Rae's flat is 'the most beautiful flat in London', arguing how she has combined open-plan interiors, flower-laden balconies, brick, steel and original timbers to enhance the beauty of a river front Victorian warehouse Extremely praised, she has been described in a variety of ways: 'legendary, brilliant, visionary, pioneering, avant garde, passionately involved, etc. She has ideatic capability, from a family in engineering, building and development.'

'Queen of the London Docklands', 'Rae of Hope' or 'Grande Dame of the Docks' she pioneered the development of Docklands, battling for planning permission over three years, she refuses to be labelled with only one style: 'In the 60's she dazzled Durban with her interior décor ideas, then becoming the toast of the Thames, an interior designer of note, an expert at warehouse conversions, someone who excels at turning the mundane into the magnificent'. 'Docklands is the Future' she once said to an Evening Standard reporter, visualising the opportunity she adamantly believed in. Her home photographed as example of her vast ambitions, open spaces and indoor gardens, a mix of modern and old, harmony.

In Harpers and Queens Rae's achievements are again celebrated: 'The princess of warehouse reawakeners, and arguably the best architect alive today, is Rae Hoffenberg, who created the precedent for warehouse conversions in Docklands when she bought some derelict tea warehouses on Narrow Street in Limehouse in 1973 and converted them into flats.' The article continues to describe her use of glass and windows to flood spaces with natural light. Rae Hoffenberg converted three warehouses into thirteen flats over eight years, by the time this article came out. Two years later, she had just finished a fourth conversion. Peter Turlick, Director for Industrial Development of the London Docklands Development Corporation at the time said 'Mrs Hoffenberg is recognised as being the sparkling light in Docklands'. Without her belief in the potential of these warehouses, they would have been demolished.