The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the

European Museum of the Year Award The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) is presented each year by the European Museum Forum (European Museum Forum, EMF) under the auspices of the Council of Europe. The EMYA is considered the most important annual award in the European mu ...

. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generated by ticket sales aid the museum in curating new exhibitions.

History

The museum was founded in 1989 by

Sir Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989 The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran ...

, with Stephen Bayley was inaugural CEO, after the two men had collaboratively created the highly successful exhibition space known as The Boilerhouse at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

(V&A).

Shad Thames site

The museum was originally housed in a former 1940s banana warehouse on the south bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

in the

Shad Thames Shad Thames is a historic riverside street next to Tower Bridge in Bermondsey, London, England, and is also an informal name for the surrounding area. In the 19th century, the area included the largest warehouse complex in London. Location Th ...

area in SE1

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The conversion of this warehouse altered it beyond recognition, to resemble a building in the International

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

style of the 1930s. This was funded by many companies, designers and benefactors. The museum was principally designed by the Conran group, with exhibitions over two floors, and a “Design Museum Tank” exhibition space out by the waterfront. A large scale sculpture titled Head of Invention by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi was installed in the area between the museum and the Thames.

Kensington site

In June 2011, Sir Terence Conran donated £17.5 million to enable the museum to move in 2016 from the warehouse to a larger site which formerly housed the

Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust is a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pro ...

in west London. This landmark from the 1960s, a Grade II* listed building, designed by

Robert Matthew Sir Robert Hogg Matthew, OBE FRIBA FRSE (12 December 1906 – 2 June 1975) was a Scottish architect and a leading proponent of modernism. Early life & studies Robert Matthew was the son of John Fraser Matthew (1875–1955) (also an archite ...

/ Sir Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners architects that had stood vacant for over a decade, was developed by a design team led by

John Pawson John Ward Pawson , (born 1949, Halifax, England) is a British architect whose work is known for its minimalist aesthetic. Architectural Registration Board (ARB) of UK asked Dezeen magazine not to refer him as architect although this was criti ...

. Fit-out of the Design Museum's new home was carried out by

Willmott Dixon Willmott Dixon is a privately owned contracting, residential development and property support business. History The company was founded in 1852, by John Willmott.Swarovski Foundation Centre for Learning, 202-seat Bakala Auditorium and a dedicated gallery to display its permanent collection, accessible free of charge. The new building was the subject of a profile on the

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

programme ''

The Art of Architecture "The Art of Architecture" is a British factual documentary series broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Arts. It aired a first series in 2019, a second in 2021, and a third in 2022, as well as two specials in 2020. Each of its episodes makes a s ...

'' in 2019. The move brought the museum into Kensington's cultural quarter, joining the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

, V&A,

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

and Serpentine Gallery.

Deyan Sudjic Deyan Sudjic (born 6 September 1952) is a British writer and broadcaster, specialising in the fields of design and architecture. He was formerly the director of the Design Museum, London.LSE"Advisory board" retrieved 17 May 2013 Life and caree ...

succeeded Alice Rawsthorn as Director of the Design Museum in 2006. In 2016 Alice Black was appointed Co-Director. In 2019,

Tim Marlow Timothy John Marlow (born 1962) is a British writer, broadcaster and art historian who is the Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum,Hannah McGivern (October 7, 2019)Tim Marlow leaves Royal Academy of Arts to head London’s Design Mu ...

was appointed as Director and Chief Executive.

Galleries

The top-floor space under the museum roof houses a permanent display, Designer Maker User, with key objects from the museum's collection. A restaurant, members’ lounge, residency studio and an events and gallery space are also located on the top floor. On the first floor, a design and architecture reference library is a resource for students, educators, researchers and designers. It will also include archive material relating to the history of the museum. The Swarovski Foundation Centre for Learning is a suite of learning facilities including a Design Studio, Creative Workshop, two seminar rooms and a Common Room. The Design Museum offices and main reception, a meeting room and a film studio are also located on the first floor. On the ground floor, the largest gallery in the new Design Museum showcases a programme of temporary exhibitions. Accessible from both Kensington High Street and Holland Park, the atrium acts as an events space. A main staircase from the atrium gives access to all floors and offers views to the first and second floors and the hyperbolic paraboloid roof. A double-height space spanning the two lower levels, Gallery Two hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions dedicated to architecture, fashion, furniture, product and graphic design. The Bakala Auditorium seats 202 people and provide a purpose-designed space for a programme of talks, seminars, debates and public and private events throughout the year. The basement accommodates a collections store, exhibition preparation spaces and a locker area for visitors.

Award schemes

The Design Museum has an award scheme which Brit Insurance sponsored from 2003 until 2011.

Designers of the Year

*2003 Jony Ive *2004 Daniel Brown *2005 Hilary Cottam *2006 Jamie Hewlett *2009 Duarte Ferreira

Design of the Year

Designs produced over the previous twelve months worldwide are eligible. A number of design experts are invited to nominate up to five projects each, falling into the seven categories of Architecture, Transport, Graphics, Interactive, Product, Furniture and Fashion. Since 2015 there have been six categories: architecture, fashion, graphics, digital, product and transport. Beazley Insurance became exhibition sponsor in 2016. *2008 The ' One Laptop Per Child' project, designed by

Yves Béhar Yves Béhar (born 1967) is a Swiss-born American designer, entrepreneur, and educator. He is the founder and principal designer of Fuseproject, an industrial design and brand development firm. Béhar is also co-founder and Chief Creative Off ...

for Fuseproject *2009 Barack Obama poster designed by

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989 he designed the "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campai ...

*2010 Folding Plug designed by Min-Kyu Choi *2011 Plumen 001 lightbulb, designed by Samuel Wilkinson and Hulger *2012 The London 2012 Olympic Torch, designed by BarberOsgerby *2013 The website "

GOV.UK gov.uk (styled on the site as GOV.UK) is a United Kingdom public sector information website, created by the Government Digital Service to provide a single point of access to HM Government services. The site launched as a beta on 31 January 2012, ...

", designed by the

Government Digital Service The Government Digital Service is a unit of the Government of the United Kingdom's Cabinet Office tasked with transforming the provision of online public services. It was formed in April 2011 to implement the "Digital by Default" strategy prop ...

*2014 The

Heydar Aliyev Center The Heydar Aliyev Center is a building complex in Baku, Azerbaijan designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and noted for its distinctive architecture and flowing, curved style that eschews sharp angles. The center is named after Heydar Ali ...

in Baku, Azerbaijan designed by architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

*2015 Human-organs-on-Chips designed by Donald Ingber and Dan Dongeun Huh *2020 Teeter-Totter Wall, designed by California-based architects

Ronald Rael Ronald Rael (born 1971, Conejos County, Colorado) is an American artist known for architecture, human rights and environmental advocacy along the U.S - Mexico border, earthen architecture, and 3D printing. He works independently, and operates co ...

and

Virginia San Fratello Virginia San Fratello (b. 1971, Savannah, Georgia) is an American artist known for 3D printing, architecture, and ceramics. She attended North Carolina State University and Columbia University. She collaborates with Ronald Rael under the name ...

References

External links

* {{authority control 1989 establishments in England Art museums established in 1989 British design Charities based in London Design museums Museums in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Art museums and galleries in London Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Grade II* listed museum buildings