£80m Design Museum plans unveiled

Plans for a new £80 million museum of design and architecture were unveiled today.

The Design Museum is set to move to the new site at the Commonwealth Institute building in London in 2014.

The number of visitors to the museum, currently situated at Shad Thames, south London, is expected to double to 500,000 when its new home in Kensington opens.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey said: "The UK leads the world in design and architecture and it is entirely appropriate that we should be creating the world's greatest Design Museum at this iconic London landmark.

"The new Design Museum will be a truly outstanding visitor attraction, learning resource and celebration of the best of British creativity."

The interior of the Grade 2* listed building, which has been unoccupied for over a decade, has been designed by John Pawson. There will be three times the space available than in the current museum.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "From the Olympic Park to the new bus for London, our city is a hotbed of creativity, the epicentre of design, and deserves a world-class museum to celebrate the amazing work being created here in the UK and around the world.

"Housed in an iconic architectural landmark and offering state-of-the-art learning facilities, this new museum puts design firmly in the spotlight and will become a must-see destination for visitors as well as designers and students."

PA