The Commonwealth Education Trust is a
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ch ...
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 products and services to achieve both a beneficial and a financial reward to fund future charitable initiatives.
History
The Commonwealth Institute was an educational and cultural organisation promoting the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
that was based in
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, London. It was established, as the Imperial Institute, by
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
from
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
in 1888 on Imperial Institute Road (now
Imperial College Road
Imperial College Road is a tree-lined road in South Kensington, London, England. It runs east–west with Queen's Gate to the west and Exhibition Road to the east.
The road forms part of the boundary between Royal Borough of Kensington and C ...
). Its name was changed to the Commonwealth Institute in 1958 and it moved to
Kensington High Street
Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...
in 1962. By statute, the operations were the responsibility of a Minister of State from 1902 to 2003 and the property occupied for the purposes of the Institute, and of the same name, was held separately by Trustees as a charity asset. In 1999, prior to the end of the statutory regime, arrangements were made for both the property and the operations to be transferred to a company limited by guarantee also called the Commonwealth Institute. The members were the representatives to the United Kingdom of all countries of the Commonwealth, the
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
on behalf of Her Majesty's Government (HMG), the
Commonwealth Secretary-General
The Commonwealth secretary-general is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commo ...
, and four independent British citizens.
The organisation in corporate form proved not to be viable and in 2002 the members resolved to close the operations and sell the property which was too costly for the charity to maintain. Following this it was put into liquidation and the net proceeds were vested by the members of the company in a successor registered charity, The Commonwealth Education Trust which is now based at
New Zealand House
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
. The property on Kensington High Street closed in 2004 and the name ''Commonwealth Institute'' is no longer associated with it. After an £80 million redevelopment the site became the home of the
Design Museum
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 museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...
, opening in late 2016.
The Imperial Institute
![1911 Britannica-Architecture-Imperial Institute](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/1911_Britannica-Architecture-Imperial_Institute.png)
The Imperial Institute was established in 1888 to hold and apply the property and assets arising from the contributions given almost exclusively by private citizens from across the Empire in a nationwide collection conceived by the then
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
in 1886 to celebrate the
Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria
The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...
in 1887. No funding was given by Her Majesty's Government (HMG). It had defined purposes which had a primary emphasis on the exhibition of collections to showcase the various countries' industrial and commercial products and development; and included industrial intelligence gathering and dissemination; the promotion of technical and commercial education; and the furtherance of colonization.
The Imperial Institute building was opened in 1893 by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
. The Institute's early activities are detailed in its journals. It had a department of commercial intelligence and an active scientific and practical research department from 1895 which was principally engaged in research that supported the industrial and commercial development of the natural products and resources of the dominions and colonies.
The building proved too large for the institute's needs and when HMG wished to find a home for the University of London, a transfer of leases was agreed in 1899 under which the institute assigned its 999-year lease (with the consent of the landlord) to the Commissioners of Works, who contemporaneously sub-let back to it approximately half of the building, free of rent and rates and with the benefit of various communal services including maintenance, heating and lighting. The transaction also included a capital payment and in later years was portrayed as a gratuitous act of rescue by HMG, however while the institute had an unencumbered property asset of such substance and value and the power under its charter to borrow on the security of such assets, it was not at risk financially.
The Board of Trade became interested in the commercial and industrial intelligence that had been developed by the institute, and advanced the view that the interests of both the government of the United Kingdom and the institute could be best served if the purposes of both bodies were merged, with an indispensable condition of the proposed transfer being that "the buildings and funds of the Imperial Institute must not be employed for the general purposes of the State". This was effected in 1902 by statute with the then Prince of Wales remaining as president of the institute. The building and endowment fund set up from the initial collection were recognised as charity assets which were consequently vested in its trustees. With its president as trustee and also as the responsible minister, the Board of Trade was required to fulfil the purposes of the institute, which remained unchanged.
Departmental and ministerial responsibility was transferred to the
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies.
Histor ...
by the Imperial Institute (Management) Act 1916 to reflect the development of administrative responsibility that had occurred since 1907.
More comprehensive changes were made with the Imperial Institute Act 1925
after a substantial enquiry into the activities of the institute, whose findings were considered at the Imperial Economic Conference of 1923.
Its purposes were reconfigured with a change in prominence from the exhibition galleries, to the promotion of "the commercial industrial and educational interests of the British Empire".
Recommendations made by the Commonwealth Scientific Conference in 1946 and political changes influencing trade and resulting in the UK and 22 other countries signing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, effective on 1 January 1948, led to the Treasury deciding to distribute the activities of the Institute. By Orders in Council in 1949 the management of the institute was passed to the Department of Education and its purposes were redefined to retain responsibility for the galleries and its other educational work, but to have no further involvement in development and trade: a change in focus which made the work of the Institute less important for many of the member countries.
The Imperial Institute was housed in a substantial and architecturally noted building of the same name on Imperial Institute Road (now
Imperial College Road
Imperial College Road is a tree-lined road in South Kensington, London, England. It runs east–west with Queen's Gate to the west and Exhibition Road to the east.
The road forms part of the boundary between Royal Borough of Kensington and C ...
), which ran between
Exhibition Road
Exhibition Road is a street in South Kensington, London which is home to several major museums and academic establishments, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.
Overview
The road gets i ...
and
Queen's Gate
Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road.
The street ...
in
South Kensington
South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
, from 1893. The building was designed by
Thomas Edward Collcutt and built by
John Mowlem & Co from 1887 to 1894; and was paid for almost entirely by public subscription. Originally, it had three copper-roofed
Renaissance-style towers, but a single 85-metre tower,
Queen's Tower Queen's Tower can refer to:
* Queen's Tower, Brisbane, residential skyscraper in Brisbane, Australia
* Queen's Tower (London), a building of Imperial College London
* Queen's Tower (Serpieri), a former royal estate near Athens
* Queen's Tower (Shef ...
(only saved owing to public pressure and the objections of the Royal Fine Arts Commission), is all that remains of the Imperial Institute after demolition in the 1950s and 1960s to make way for the expansion of
Imperial College
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
.
As the trustees of the Imperial Institute were required by the Imperial Institute Act 1925 to hold the institute buildings for the purposes of the Act, it was determined that a new bill would be required to allow for the buildings to be demolished and the Imperial Institute to be rehoused. This was effected by the Commonwealth Institute Act 1958, which included a name change for the institute to the Commonwealth Institute, to recognise the political developments with the creation of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1949 and the increasing number of countries that had been granted independence and become members of the Commonwealth. At that time the responsible minister was the Minister of Education. The Act also detailed the new site and parameters of size and cost for the new building; and stated that expenses incurred by the trustees relating to the conditions of the lease of other net expenses incurred by the Minister of Education in connection with the Commonwealth Institute were to be "paid out of moneys provided by Parliament". This reflected the arrangements made in 1899 under which the institute (then a royal charter company) was granted a fully repairing lease in exchange for releasing, at the request of the government, approximately one half of its building for the use of the University of London.
The Commonwealth Institute 1962–2015
![The Old Commonwealth Institute](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/The_Old_Commonwealth_Institute.jpg)
In 1962, the Commonwealth Institute moved to a distinctive copper-roofed building on
Kensington High Street
Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...
, immediately south of
Holland Park
Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...
. The building, designed by
Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall & Partners (RMJM), was opened on Tuesday, 6 November 1962, by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
. It was open to the public and contained a permanent exhibition about the nations of the Commonwealth, which was designed to inform the public "how the rest of the Commonwealth lives". The Commemorative Handbook for the occasion of the opening interpreted the Institute's purpose as "to foster the interests of the Commonwealth by information and education services designed to promote among all its people a wider knowledge of one another and a greater understanding of the Commonwealth itself". In addition to the exhibition, the Institute ran an important library of Commonwealth literature, and hosted cultural and educational events.
In 1967 responsibility for the operation of the Commonwealth Institute was transferred to the
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Common ...
, and then in 1968 to the
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
(FCO). Various problems with the building had come to light since its completion, and in 1982 a total cost estimate of £312,000 was reported for recommended maintenance work, with the most important structural maintenance item being the waterproofing of the roof. Some work was approved, but the roof continued to leak, and by 1988 it was reported to the FCO that £700,000 was needed for the building to be structurally safe, with internal and essential modernisations being "likely to cost £5m". Later that year the building was given a Grade II* listing with associated restrictions on any building works or development possibilities. In 1989 a further estimate of £10m was given for more extensive refurbishment. With a background of high maintenance costs, the activities continued, but with an increasing emphasis on revenue generation, and various proposals were explored for commercial development of the site.
In 1993, the FCO announced that funding would cease completely in 1996 (the problem of the building being cited as a reason), although this deadline was extended until 1999. Responsibility of the work of the Institute and ownership of the building was transferred to a company, the members of which were all the countries of the Commonwealth (including the United Kingdom) and which was to be funded for three years by the United Kingdom. This failed to attract further funds, and in 2002 the countries decided it would cease its activities and the building would be sold. Funding of £3,996,435 was also provided for specified works to the building incorporating comprehensive repairs to the roof and some required access works. The arrangements also included an indemnity in favour of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as responsible Minister. The company continued as a charitable Trust managed on behalf of the members: the High Commissioners to London of the Commonwealth Nations, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and the four lay members. The statutes governing the Institute were not repealed until 2003 (with the Commonwealth Institute Act 2002) at which time the remainder of the original Victorian endowment fund was also released to the company without restrictions.
By April 2002, the financial model of the Institute as a corporate entity had been recognised as "not sustainable". A revised plan was immediately put in place, and all funded activities were closed by the end of November. In a general meeting in late 2002, the members agreed to the disposal of the building and to the application of the proceeds (following the settlement of all obligations) to advancing education in the Commonwealth.
The Institute held a large number of ethnographic objects and an art collection that had been acquired during the period from the opening of the Imperial Institute. From 1958 until 2003, these were under control of the responsible Minister under the legislation. Following the repeal of the legislation in 2003, some of the exhibits were returned to member countries; approximately 11,810 remaining items from the main areas of the collection (and more than 25,000 items from the secondary areas) were donated to the
British Empire and Commonwealth Museum
The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum () was a museum in Bristol, England, exploring the history of the British Empire and the effect of British colonial rule on the rest of the world. The museum opened in 2002 and entered voluntary liquid ...
in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, which itself closed in 2009, amid allegations of the unauthorized sale of a significant number of items from its collection. The remainder are now held under trust by the
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...
. In July 2004, after a progressive run off period honouring advance bookings, the Conference and Events Centre closed. This venture had been the cornerstone of the 1999 business plan, but the maintenance and running costs of the building were high; additionally, by the time of closure the recently renovated roof had begun to leak persistently, and significant expenditure was required to comply with further
health and safety
Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wo ...
requirements.
Various possibilities for the future of the building had been explored with advisers, including a public marketing campaign in March 2003. The complexity of dealing with the protected status of the building and the grounds affected the value and the terms on which the property could be sold. An application for the review of the listing was made in November 2004. This caused concern that it might lead to the demolition of the building. In the event, it resulted in a small but very important relaxation of the listing in respect of the administration wing of the building, which, when combined with a relaxation of use in relation to the frontage, meant that for the first time a viable development of the whole site could be envisaged. After creating a development plan that was favourably received by the local authority, the company finally achieved a sale in 2007, following which The Commonwealth Education Trust was formed as a successor charity, and The Commonwealth Institute was put into liquidation.
The professional fees for the complex processes leading to the sale of the building required to ensure that the Trustees met their responsibilities: to optimize the value received; for ensuring the security of the pension arrangements; and providing full government service-level redundancy payments for the former staff, cost about £7m.
The liquidation proved to be long and complex, and was only completed in 2015 after a
High Court hearing settled a number of uncertainties associated with the manner in which the assets had come into the hands of the company from the responsible Minister and the Commonwealth Institute Trustees prior to the repeal of the legislation in 2003.
Commonwealth Poetry Award
Established in 1971 by the Commonwealth Institute and the National Book League, the
Commonwealth Poetry Prize The Commonwealth Poetry Prize was an annual poetry prize established in 1972, for a first published book of English poetry from a country other than the United Kingdom. It was initially administered jointly by the Commonwealth Institute and the Nat ...
awarded £250 to "the best first volume of poetry (to be) published during the previous year by any writer from any Commonwealth country, except the United Kingdom."
The building
![Central Kensington](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Central_Kensington.png)
Built on a site of 3¼ acres with a frontage onto Kensington High Street of , the total floor area of the building was made up of an Exhibition Hall (60,000 sq ft), Administration block (47,500 sq ft), Art gallery and ancillary rooms (5000 sq ft), cinema, stage and dressing rooms (6000 sq ft) and basement workshops and storage (13,500 sq ft). The Commonwealth Institute was 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, and
engineered by AJ & JD Harris, of Harris & Sutherland. Construction was started at the end of 1960 and completed in 1962.
The project was funded by the British government which was obliged to compensate the Trustees for the loss of the substantial Imperial Institute building (described by Louis Bondy as in the front rank of Victorian monumental architecture). Contributions of materials and grants from Commonwealth countries were sought to augment the small sum of money that the Exchequer had allowed for the new building. The exhibition designer was James Gardner, who worked on the
Dome of Discovery
The Dome of Discovery was a temporary exhibition building designed by architect Ralph Tubbs for the Festival of Britain celebrations which took place on London's South Bank in 1951, alongside the River Thames. The consulting engineers were Fr ...
in the influential
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people:
...
of 1951, and the gardens was designed by
Sylvia Crowe. The contractor was
John Laing Construction Ltd. The former Institute building stood on a piece of land acquired from the Holland estate on a 999-year lease for £215,000. The design of the building and gardens were strongly influenced by their proximity to Holland Park. The exterior and structure has been refurbished and the interior has been substantially altered to accommodate the Design Museum.
Regarded by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
as the second most important modern building in London, after the
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
, the building had a low brickwork plinth clad in blue-grey glazing. Above this swooped the most striking feature of the building, the complex hyperbolic paraboloid copper roof, made with 25 tonnes of copper donated by the
Northern Rhodesia Chamber of Mines
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
. The concept of creating a 'tent in the park' has often been quoted as the inspiration for the shape of the roof, however, according to
Roger Cunliffe (the job architect), while Stirrat Marshall-Johnson (the architect partner-in-charge) always saw the building as being 'in the park', there was no conception of 'tent', and the phrase followed form and did not determine it. Its unusual design proved problematic, and it was said to have leaked from the outset. Other design and construction faults emerged relatively soon after completion, which in part stemmed from the restricted budget, and the building proved very costly to run and maintain. The gardens incorporated a large water feature, grass lawns, and a flagpole for each member of the Commonwealth. The interior of the building consisted of a dramatic open space, covered in a tent-like concrete shell, with tiered exhibition spaces linked by walkways. The diagonal, diamond-shaped exhibition block was clearly different from the rectangular administration wing and the junction of the exhibition and administration blocks created a considerable design problem.
The Art Gallery measured 95x44 feet and relied primarily on natural lighting. A large picture window facing the park was included to postpone the desire for escape that the four solid walls of many art galleries quickly engender. The fragility of the structure however limited the weight of exhibits. The cinema beneath the art gallery was designed for daily showings of Commonwealth news and interest films but was adaptable for other purposes. It seated 450 and could be used as a lecture hall, and had a workshop stage and stage lighting for the staging of theatre productions.
The building was listed
Grade II*
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 1988 for its roof, its place as a post-war building, its importance in the history of museum and exhibition design, and its historical significance in marking the transition from Empire to Commonwealth. The Sylvia Crowe landscape was entered in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in July 1998, but following the sale of the building it was removed. On 22 July 2005 the
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strateg ...
,
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell, (; 18 September 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British Labour Party politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dulwich and West Norwood, previously Dulwich, from ...
, rejected a proposal to remove the building's listed status, considered as an obstacle to realising the full potential of the Trust's assets in a report by property consultants to the Commonwealth Institute Trustees. In April 2007, the Commonwealth Institute building was acquired by property developers Chelsfield Partners. A planning brief, issued by the local council in August 2007, called for the preservation of the main structure of the building, preferably for use such as an art gallery that would retain its essential components. The brief also called for greater integration of the gardens with Holland Park.
Plans for redevelopment of the site were drawn up by Rem Koolhaas' architectural practice OMA, and submitted for planning permission to the
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...
in April 2009. They included construction of three six- to nine-story residential buildings, replacing the former Administration wing, and large-scale internal modifications to the interior of the main structure, to enable its use by the Design Museum. After criticism by local residents' groups and
The Twentieth Century Society
The Twentieth Century Society (C20) is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests embrace buildings and artefacts that characterise 20th-century Britain. It is for ...
– relating both to the impact of the new buildings on the local streetscape and to the skyline of Holland Park, and to the large scale of the internal modifications to the existing structure – revised plans were submitted in August 2009. The new blocks were to be lower in height, with fewer internal modifications to the existing structure.
The revised proposal was approved by the Council on 17 September 2009, and by English Heritage on 25 September 2009. The architect
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 critic ...
was to be responsible for the conversion of the Exhibition Hall to provide a new home for the
Design Museum
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 museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...
. It was confirmed in January 2012 that the Design Museum would move to the building with an £80 million makeover. The museum opened in its new venue on 24 November 2016.
Notable people
*
Madan Lal Dhingra
Madan Lal Dhingra (18 September 1883 — 17 August 1909) was an Indian revolutionary, pro-independence activist. While studying in England, he assassinated William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, a British official.
Early life
Madan Lal Dhingra was bo ...
(1883—1909), an Indian
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
ary,
pro-independence activist, who, while studying in England,
assassinated a
British colonial officer
William Hutt Curzon Wyllie
Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie (5 October 1848 – 1 July 1909) was a British Indian army officer, and later an official of the British Indian Government. Over a career spanning three decades, Curzon Wyllie rose to be a Lieutenant Colonel in t ...
, Dhingra was hanged at
HM Prison Pentonville
HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury area ...
,
denied
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
rites and buried by the British authorities.
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
privately acknowledged Dhingra's
statement "
e Finest ever made in the name of Patriotism".
*
Sir Kenneth Bradley (1904-1977), served as district and information officer in Northern Rhodesia
ambia1926-42, colonial secretary of the Falkland Islands 1942-45 and under-secretary of Gold Coast
hana
Hana or HANA may refer to:
Places Europe
* Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic
* Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period
* Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway
West Asia
* Hana, Iran, a ci ...
1945-48; in 1953 he became Director of the Commonwealth Institute and supervised the new building in Holland Park, which opened in 1962
*
Sophia Braeunlich (1854–1898), business manager, journalist; first American woman elected a fellow of the Imperial Institute
References
External links
Official siteAlbertopolis: Imperial Institute Photographs, drawings and the history of Imperial Institute
Royal Academy podcasthistorian Elain Harwood discusses the Commonwealth Institute, recorded 22 February 2010
Commonwealth Institute building information & photos*
{{Authority control
1958 establishments in the United Kingdom
Educational charities based in the United Kingdom
Cultural and educational buildings in London
Commonwealth Family
History of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Grade II* listed office buildings
Grade II* listed museum buildings
Holland Park
Office buildings in London