£80m museum moving to new venue

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 26-01-2012

Plans have been unveiled for an £80 million museum of design and architecture at London’s Commonwealth Institute building.

The Design Museum is to move to the Kensington site in 2014 which is expected to double the number of visitors to half a million.

The new venue at the Grade 2 listed building, empty for more than 10 years, will enjoy three times the space as that available in the current museum. The interior was designed by John Pawson.

Praise for the move came from Mayor of London Boris Johnson who said the capital is the epicentre of design, thus deserved a world-class museum to celebrate "the amazing work being created here in the UK and around the world".

Mr Johnson said the new museum puts design in the spotlight and will become a must-see destination for visitors, designers and students, remarking that it would be housed in an iconic architectural landmark and offer state-of-the-art learning facilities.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey also praised the UK as leading the world in design and architecture, adding: "The new Design Museum will be a truly outstanding visitor attraction, learning resource and celebration of the best of British creativity."

Copyright Press Association 2012