Following a long search for larger premises to expand its activities, in 2008 the Design Museum selected the former Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington High Street, West London, as its new home.
This unique landmark from the 1960s, a Grade II* listed building that had stood vacant for over a decade, will be transformed by a design team led by John Pawson who will make the building fit for a 21st century museum, whilst at the same time retaining its unique spatial quality.
The move will give the museum three times more space than in its current location at Shad Thames, with vastly improved learning facilities and a dedicated gallery to display its permanent collection, which will be accessible free of charge. It will bring the museum into Kensington’s cultural quarter, where it will join the Royal College of Art, V&A, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and Serpentine Gallery.
