Last Chance to Tour Former Commonwealth Institute Building

17 & 18 September '11

London

As part of London’s Open House weekend on 17 and 18 September 2011, the future home of the Design Museum at the former Commonwealth Institute building will offer public tours before construction begins in earnest.

It will be the last chance for the public to see this remarkable 1960s site before it re-opens as the new Design Museum in 2014.

The museum’s move from its current site at Tower Bridge to High Street Kensington will triple the space in which to show its world-class collection, and greatly expand its education and public events programme. The new Design Museum will be a platform for promoting design as a national asset, and supporting the next generation of creative talent. The move brings the Museum into Kensington’s cultural quarter, where it will join the V&A, the Science Museum and the Royal College of Art.

Deyan Sudjic, Director, Design Museum, says:

‘Lord Cunliffe’s original design epitomised Britain’s worldwide cultural heritage, and an age of experimentation. The aim is to allow the museum to realise its potential as a world class centre for design, nurturing Britain’s ingenuity and its international influence on design of all kinds. The building is a landmark of 20th Century modernism and I urge everyone to take the opportunity to explore it before the transformation.’