Design Museum considers move to Commonwealth Institute

Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic says that the museum is exploring the possibility of taking over the Parabola, the previous site of the Commonwealth Institute, in Kensington High Street, London W8.

Negotiations are ongoing between both parties to ascertain the terms of this relationship, though this will be a ‘long, drawn out and complicated process’, according to Sudjic.

‘It’s a great building and we’d love to make use of it,’ he says. ‘It would be a unique chance to bring back to life this key building of the 1960s and be a natural home for a museum dedicated to design and architecture.’

The Design Museum, which was founded in the 1980s by Sir Terence Conran and design pundit Stephen Bayley, has for the past three years been seeking a suitable home to accommodate its expansion plans.

These include the creation of a permanent collection and an enhanced education programme.

Sites that have been previously under consideration include space within the planned Tate Modern extension on the South Bank and Potters Field next to City Hall and Tower Bridge.

Plans to move to the Parabola are still at an early stage, and further developments are not expected until next year.