In wartime his experience in exhibition design and his political views came together, in several establishment initiatives to promote Anglo-Soviet friendship. Twenty-Five Years of Soviet Progress was designed by Goldfinger and shown at the Wallace Collection. It was opened by the president of the Royal Academy, Edwin Lutyens, and led to friendship and regular lunches. Unable to build, Goldfinger also became a prolific writer (although he failed to complete almost all of the books he began), expanding on his architectural credo and restating some well-established ideas. Architecture sprang from three factors: ‘functional needs (why it was made)’, ‘constructional means (the available technological resources)’ and ‘emotional effect (how it is experienced)’ – or, commodity, firmness and delight.