New Design Museum

The Design Museum is now open in its spectacular new location on High Street Kensington. 

“It’s gone from looking like a piece by one of those New York artists who cut buildings in half. It’s gone from looking like the last days of Pompeii. And it’s now beginning to crystallise into a building.”

So says Deyan Sudjic, director of London’s Design Museum. On 30 June, the museum’s Shad Thames location will close; on 24 November, it will open again in the formerly derelict Commonwealth Institute in Holland Park. The new museum will have 10,000m2 total space, allowing for a permanent collection display alongside both major and smaller exhibitions.

This Clerkenwell Design Week, at the Vitra showroom, Sudjic appeared in conversation with Stephen Bayley, the museum’s first director. They told the institution’s tale from its inception to its future, along the way discussing their directorial aims and the considerations that come with opening a museum.

Disegno is delighted to present an edited and excerpted transcript of the conversation.

The Design Museum is consulting with audiences about its programmes for the new museum in Kensington. You would need to be available on Saturday 7 November between 10am and 12pm for an informal session. It is likely that the location will be in Kensington. Travel expenses will be reimbursed (up to £16) and light refreshments provided. If you are interested in taking part please complete the questionnaire.

Summer has finally arrived this week, as the Design Museum enters an exciting new phase in the creation of its new home. Willmott Dixon Interiors have begun fit-out work in the Grade II* listed former Commonwealth Institute building in Holland Park.

The £20 million fit-out contract will see the company deliver John Pawson’s design for the new museum which includes two temporary exhibition spaces, a permanent collection display, learning spaces, design workshops, a library, an auditorium, a museum shop, a café and restaurant. The museum is set to open in late 2016 and expects to attract over 500,000 visitors a year.

With major funding contributions from Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Sir Terence Conran, the move will give the museum three times more space to show a wider range of exhibitions and significantly extend its learning programme. It will also provide free access to its outstanding collection for the first time.

Design Museum Director, Deyan Sudjic said, ‘This is a truly exciting moment, as we take possession of this remarkable building and see it transformed into a museum for the twenty-first century. A huge amount of hard work has gone in to getting the museum to this stage and we are extremely grateful to all of our funders and supporters for their generosity.’

Willmott Dixon Interiors chief operating officer Mike Hart says, “This is a high-profile and prestigious project that will see the Design Museum become one of London’s biggest attractions when we complete the fit-out, with over 500,000 visitors expected annually. We are very proud to be delivering this last, important stage of the museum’s long-term plan for a bigger home, especially as we have a long track-record restoring listed buildings into modern spaces fit for the 21st century. We will be using our experience to deliver an exceptional home that will showcase our rich cultural heritage.”

The Design Museum is fortunate to have already raised over £42 million through generous commitments from major donors, trusts and foundations and corporate partners as well as donations from many individual donors and supporters, including all Design Museum Trustees. The Design Museum continues to fundraise to complete the campaign.

Spring is definitely in the air… and the Daffodils and Crocus’s aren’t the only things blossoming on Kensington High St. For the past few months, the custom glass cladding has been going up, wrapping our future home in a deep cloudy blue – which was painstakingly matched to the original glass colour installed in the 1960’s. The new (and watertight) glass will be complete in the coming days, in time for the museum to begin the next chapter – when we start our internal fit out in the next few weeks. The Museum is also over the moon to have received confirmation from the Arts Council England that we have been awarded £3M towards the construction of the Design Museum in Kensington, which brings our fundraising total to more than £45M. This is a great endorsement, showing the value and importance of design and architecture for all. 

Images courtesy of French + Tye

Steady progress continues to be made on the Design Museum’s new home with all the floor slabs now fully in place. As the internal spaces advance, we are also seeing the exterior of the building take shape. The past month has seen the start of the glass cladding installation, with the western elevation over half way complete.