The Design Museum opened in London in 1989 - on the banks of the Thames, in a warehouse for ripening bananas. The modest premises and not the most convenient location significantly limited the development and popularity of the institution, however, it became possible to seriously think about the new building only recently. At the end of last year, the museum opened in the reconstructed Institute of the Commonwealth of the RMJM bureau of the 1960s - a monument of modernism, notable for its unique gipar roof (1960–62). The area of the museum has tripled to 10,000 m2, and the move to Kensington, near Holland Park, made it much more accessible, so in the first month of operation in the new location, 100,000 people visited it - half the annual rate in the old building.
The £ 83m project was implemented as part of a construction plan around the Commonwealth Institute
residential complex OMA and Allies & Morrison. The developer could not demolish the high status II *, but empty monument, and he was advised to find a tenant for it, for example, an art gallery. The conversion of the building into a museum was handled by John Pawson, and the restoration was carried out by OMA, Allies & Morrison and Arup, for whom this work was an important experience in the revalorization of the legacy of modernism. Only the roof and its supports had a conservation status, they were completely preserved (during the work they were supported by temporary columns), while the facades were completely replaced with new ones, made of fritted glass, generally retaining their appearance and characteristic blue color: now in the interior gets more sunlight and insulation is improved. A glazed entrance to the museum appeared in the lower part of the building, in front of it there was a square with fountains designed by West 8. Interfloor ceilings were also dismantled, and Pawson's key idea was implemented - an atrium was created that allows you to see the spectacular roof from almost anywhere in the building.
The appearance of the atrium is determined by the stairs, partly serving and for rest. The light colors of the interior are given by the widely used oak wood, which is combined on the ground and underground levels with terrazzo floors. Pawson used lighting to emphasize the horizontal and diagonal lines of the space. The original pieces retain the Keith New stained glass windows, as well as the marble wall of panels left over from the earlier Victorian Commonwealth Institute building, then called the Imperial Institute.
Temporary exhibition halls are located on the ground and underground floors. Also in the basement there is a storeroom, where you can look through a special window, and a hall for 200 spectators, and on the ground floor there is a museum store. The second tier is occupied by the educational center, archive and library. Above, there is a permanent exhibition hall, free of charge, with almost 1,000 exhibits, from a 1: 1 scale model of the new London Underground train to a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Also on the third floor is the Parabola restaurant, a room for membership card holders, a small hall for exhibitions and various events. There you can also see up close and even touch the roof, look around both the entire interior of the museum and Holland Park outside the window.
