The building of the Commonwealth Institute (until 1958 - the Imperial Institute) was built in 1962 by the RMJM workshop; the main distinguishing feature of the project is a roof clad with sheet copper of a complex hyperboloid - parabolic shape. The walls of the building are formed by panels of blue glass; its main volume hung over the brick base. Such an emphatically modern decision at that time was supposed to show the turn of Britain at the turn of the 1950s - 1960s. from imperial politics to the doctrine of the "Commonwealth", to democratic and just principles in relations with former colonies, dominions and dependent states. The historical role of the institute building made it the second most important London architectural monument of the modern period (after the Royal Festival Hall), and it received the status of a high - second level cultural heritage site.
At the same time, this did not protect the building from adversity. From 1962 to 2000, exhibitions and events dedicated to various aspects of the life of the countries of the Commonwealth were held there, and a large library of relevant topics was also functioning there. But the department responsible for the institute changed, and the building was closed to the public. In 2001, large-scale restoration work was carried out there with a budget of 3 million pounds, but then the institute in its then form was disbanded, and an application was even made to deprive its building of the status of a monument.
As a result, this building with its surrounding garden, located in a prestigious area of London, was sold to developers Chelsfield Partners, who decided to renovate it and add residential buildings. Apart from OMA, the architectural competition held by the developers was attended by Rafael Moneo, Rafael Vignoli, Make and Caruso St. John workshops.
So far, architects from Koolhaas' workshop have presented only a preliminary project for the reconstruction of the building. It includes the unification of its territory with the adjacent Holland Park, as well as - solving the problem of breaking the red line of the street, which the institute faces: it is pushed deep into the site in relation to Kensington High Street. Koolhaas, known for his interest in modernist buildings from the 1960s and 1970s, plans to "preserve the uniqueness" of the Institute building and "maximize the potential of its dynamic interior space." It has not yet been determined how the residential buildings of the future ensemble will look.
