30 Jun 2015
Willmott Dixon wins £20m fit-out contract for John Pawson's London Design Museum
BY Tom Anstey
Willmott Dixon Interiors have been named winners of a £20m (US$31.5m, €28.2m) contract to fit out London’s Design Museum, which is planning an £80m (US$126m, €113m) move to the former Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington.
The Grade II-listed building will become the new home for the Design Museum, which is dedicated to contemporary design and architecture.
The interior vision, imagined by British architect John Pawson, will include provision of new galleries with space for one permanent and two temporary exhibition areas. Also featured will be learning spaces, a library, auditorium, office areas and a new restaurant.
Funded by Arts Council England (ACE), the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and museum co-founder, Sir Terence Conran, the new 10,000sq m (107,600sq ft) space will provide three times more room than the Design Museum’s current location at Shad Thames. 400sq m (4,300sq ft) will be devoted to learning facilities.
“This is a high-profile and prestigious project that will see the Design Museum become one of London’s biggest attractions when we complete the fit-out, with more than 500,000 visitors expected annually,” said Willmott Dixon Interiors’ COO Mike Hart.
“We are very proud to be delivering this last, important stage of the museum’s long-term plan for a bigger home, especially as we have a long track-record restoring listed buildings into modern spaces fit for the 21st century. We will be using our experience to deliver an exceptional home that will showcase our rich cultural heritage.”
Once the design museum moves to its new home, architect Zaha Hadid will take up ownership of Shad Thames, using the site as an archive of the studio’s architecture and a venue for design exhibitions.
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