Founded in 1989 by renowned designer Terence Conran, the museum was located for 27 years in an old banana warehouse on the south bank of the Thames River. In addition to showcasing design objects, the museum has presented small yet significant architecture exhibitions.
In 2011, Sir Terence Conran donated € 20.7 million for the museum’s move to a larger building: the old Commonwealth Institute in Kensington, once home to a permanent exhibition extolling life in the former British colonies. The imposing construction from 1962, with its swooping concrete roof, revealed its shortcomings early on: the roof was leaky, and buckets set out to catch rainwater often detracted from the items on exhibit. Nevertheless, the building by RMJM architects was historically listed, and stood vacant from 2002 onwards.
Its condition was appropriately desolate when in 2008, a competition was announced to redevelop the complex; OMA and West 8 were the winners. To cover the difficult and costly restoration and renovation of the central building, the local council partnered with a private investor, who was allowed to demolish the remaining buildings on site and replace them with three luxury apartment blocks.
A later competition was held for the museum’s interior design, with the winning plans going to John Pawson.
In 2011, Sir Terence Conran donated € 20.7 million for the museum’s move to a larger building: the old Commonwealth Institute in Kensington, once home to a permanent exhibition extolling life in the former British colonies. The imposing construction from 1962, with its swooping concrete roof, revealed its shortcomings early on: the roof was leaky, and buckets set out to catch rainwater often detracted from the items on exhibit. Nevertheless, the building by RMJM architects was historically listed, and stood vacant from 2002 onwards.
Its condition was appropriately desolate when in 2008, a competition was announced to redevelop the complex; OMA and West 8 were the winners. To cover the difficult and costly restoration and renovation of the central building, the local council partnered with a private investor, who was allowed to demolish the remaining buildings on site and replace them with three luxury apartment blocks.
A later competition was held for the museum’s interior design, with the winning plans going to John Pawson.