Design Museum reveals images of its new home

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 | By Angus Montgomery and Tom Banks

The Design Museum is set to leave its current Shad Thames home to move into the Grade II*-listed former Commonwealth Institute in Holland Park. Architect John Pawson is working to redesign the building’s interior.

The new Design Museum will have a space of around 10 000m2 split over five floors.

The main exhibition space will be located on the ground floor, together with the café, bookshop and design store.

The first floor will contain the administration and learning departments, design reference library and an open storage area.

The top floor will host an exhibition of the permanent collection, which will be designed by Studio Myerscough. There will also be a restaurant, event space and members’ room.

The basement will feature a second exhibition space, along with an auditorium, curatorial spaces, workshops, kitchens and back-of-house areas.

The newly released images show plans for a new entrance foyer as well as a mezzanine-level second-floor.

Pawson says, ‘Once inside, visitors will be naturally drawn up through the atrium space towards the hyperbolic paraboloid roof structure - the defining architectural gesture of the orginal design.’

The project will cost £80 million, of which £45 million will come from the Design Museum. The museum says it has already raised 60 per cent of this contribution.

The latest funding pledge comes from the Dr Mortimer & Theresa Sackler Foundation, which has provided a donation to create new learning resource the Sackler Library.

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